in which tliey are brought into the world,rnmust be revered aecordingly. God’s creationrnof an immortal soul is profanedrnwhen child-bearing becomes a laboratory’rnexperiment, a media event, or an entryrnin the Guinness Book.rn— Christopher CheckrnT H E CULTURE WAR rages on atrnBarnard College, where two sharp-eyedrnharpies, Sandra Chefitz and Shannon T.rnHerbert, have humbled the last vestigesrnof traditionalism within its ivy-coveredrnhalls. Upon discovering that a Barnardrnbrochure boasted that graduates of women’srncolleges were more likely to marryrnand bear children than were alumni ofrncoed institutions, Chefitz and Herbertrnemitted outraged shrieks that could bernheard well beyond the confines of thatrncountercultural coven.rnTen or even five years ago, their briefrnwould have been taken up by feministsrneager to discourage and discredit the institutionrnof marriage. Today, as the NewrnYork Times breezily informs us, “in additionrnto those who saw the brochure asrnstereotypical, some students saw thernstatement as a sign that the college didrnnot value lesbians as much as other students.”rn”It was,” whined Chefitz, “a slaprnin the face.” These two daughters of Sapphornwent into action, demanding andrngetting a meeting with the dean of admissions,rnand circulating a petitionrnprotesdng Barnard’s blatant “homophobia.”rnThe administration reacted predictably:rnThe pamphlet, sent to parentsrnof prospective students, was hastily withdrawn,rn”Marriage in our culture is seen as thernpinnacle,” complained Miss Herbert,rnpresident of Lesbians and Bisexuals inrnAction at Barnard. As if to underscorernnot only the perversity but the humorlessnessrnof her stance, this militant Sapphistrnwent on to lament the fact thatrn”there is a stigma attached to women’srncolleges, a stereotype that they producernunshaven, unmanageable, unruly women,rnor women who become lesbians.”rnThe photo accompanying the stor)’ revealsrnthat the first adjective surely doesrnnot describe Miss Herbert, whose carefully-rnplucked eyebrows and elaboraternmakeup imply expertise in the art of depilation.rnHowever, her swarthy fellowrnamazon. Miss Chefitz, with her “butch”rnBobby Darin haircut and dark androgyny,rnhas the hint of a mustache shadingrnher upper lip. Both smile disdainfully atrnthe camera, lips frozen in the shape of arnvictorious smirk.rnWhat lies behind that smirk ought torndisabuse conservatives of the notion thatrnthere can be anything like peaceful coexistencernin the culhire wars. Gay activistsrncontinually deride the concept of a “gayrnagenda,” insisting that they merely wantrnequality before the law and protectionrnfrom marauding thugs. But there is indeedrna gay agenda, and it has nothing torndo with “tolerance” or a more libertarianrn”live and let live” approach to public jjolicy.rnQuite the contrary. By calling forrn”hate crimes” legislation that would prosecuterna person’s thoughts, and presumablyrnhis public utterances, and not justrncrimes of violence against gays, gay activistsrnare leading the most recent andrndangerous assault on the First Amendment.rnWlien Christian groups took out arnseries of newspaper advertisements exhortingrngays to change their sexualrnchoices, the gay lobby held a press conferencernin Washington, D.C., to accusernthem of inciting violence against gays,rnpointing to the death of Matthew Shepardrnin Colorado. From the nation’s capitalrnto the ivied halls of Barnard, the gayrninquisitors would outlaw “hate speech”rnand expunge all favorable references tornthe traditional family from the publicrnrecord. The Barnard incident revealsrnthat it is one or the other: Gay “equality”rnmeans the elimination of the traditionalrnfamily as the cultural locus of our institutions,rnboth public and private.rnThe Times reports that what the amazoniansrnand their sympathizers foundrnparticularly galling was that the offendingrnsentence extolling graduates of women’srncolleges for their marriageabilit)’ andrnfecundity was in a section of the pamphletrncalled “Alumnae Achievement.”rnIndeed, it was put on par with the factrnthat “women’s college alumnae accoimtrnfor 30 percent of the highest rankingrnwomen in corporations.” Raising a familyrnan “achievement?” Not in the newrnhate-free world of “tolerance” and “diversity.”rn— Justin RaimondornOBITER DICTA: Chronicles is sad tornreport the departure of our long-time artrndirector and illustrator, Anna Mycek-rnWodecki. The unique look and appearancernof Chronicles were, in large measure,rnshaped by Anna in her 12 years withrnthe magazine. As she pursues a more exclusivelyrnartistic career, she goes with ourrnwarmest good wishes.rnOur new art director is no stranger tornthese pages. H. Ward Sterett of Roscoe,rnIllinois, has often provided artwork forrnChronicles, most recently in April 1998.rnMr. Sterett received his B.F.A. from thernUniversity of Colorado and his M.F.A.rnfrom Northern Illinois University, andrnattended the L’Abri Fellowship, wherernhe studied the effect of Christianity onrnart. He currently works as a sculptor,rnpainter, and printmaker in Roscoe.rnClyde Wilson, a contributing editor tornChronicles, is the author of a new book.rnThe Most Promising Young Man of thernSouth: James Johnston Pettigrew and HisrnMen at Gettysburg. Released by thernMeWhiney Foundation Press, the bookrnshows that “Pettigrew and his men personifiedrnthe undaunting bravery of thernConfederate cause.” Professor Wilsonrnmakes a convincing case that “Pickett’srnCharge”should really be known as “Pettigrew’srnCharge.”rnAfter a year’s absence, the artwork ofrnStephen Anderson returns to our pagesrnthis month. Mr. Anderson, a folk artistrnfrom Rockford, Illinois, is self-taught. Hernis affiliated with the Phyllis Kind Galleryrnin Chicago and New York.rnTwo poets are featured in this issue.rnHarold McCurdy, a talented satirist, isrnthe author of eight volumes of verse, includingrnhis current collection, RealizingrnWestward. Our second poet is JaredrnCarter of Indianapolis. Mr. Carter’s firstrncollection of verse. Work, For the Night isrnComing, won the Walt Whitman Awardrnfor 1980; his second. After the Rain, wonrnthe Poets’Prize for 1995.rnIn Massachusetts, Chronicles can bernfound at The Bookstore, 1485 MemorialrnDrive, Chicopee; Borders Books & Music,rn300 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill;rnBorders, 151 Andover Street, Peabody;rnBorders, 85 Worcester Road, Framingham;rnBarnes & Noble, 660 BeaconrnStreet, Boston; Hudson News, 1 lArnMount Auburn, Cambridge; CornerrnStore, 1752 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington;rnGateway News, 7 WashingtonrnStreet, Wellesley; A.J. Hastings-Newsdealer,rn65 South Pleasant Street,rnAmherst; Newsbreak Inc., Route 6, Stuart’srnPlaza, Swansea; B. Dalton Booksellers,rnSouth Shore Plaza, Braintree;rnBarnes & Noble Superstore, 150 GraniternStreet, Braintree; Barnes & Noble Superstore,rn270 Hartford Avenue, Bellingham;rnand the Harvard Co-op, Harvard University,rnCambridge.rnMARCH 1999/9rnrnrn