Controversy On Alison Bechdel's 'Fun Home'

Tiana Emanuel

Professor Goffman

Section 52

Essay 1.3

The world is filled with different people, from different places, who have different beliefs. The students at Duke University refusing to read Alison Bechdel’s autobiography Fun Home are misguided. Ibanca Anand, a student at Duke University states, when asked about the autobiography that, “It has the potential to start many arguments and conversations, which, in my opinion, is an integral component of a liberal arts education.”(“Fun Home Picked for Class of 2019 Summer Reading”) In choosing Fun Home as a reading selection, Duke University’s intentions were just to give incoming students a shared experience with other members of their class. Most of the religious students of Duke University

Yet the controversy isn't as simple as it seems. The small, vocal minority of the incoming freshman class that refused to read Fun Home might be overreacting, but their feelings must continue to be taken into consideration, so with that the reading of Fun Home should remain optional. Some people consumed by religion and stuck in their beliefs don’t want to accept that the LGBTQ community is growing and becoming a social norm. What the non-compliant students of Duke don’t know is that, with an open mind comes many opportunities to learn. A student’s religious beliefs shouldn’t allow them to refuse an assignment. The students concerned with their religious faith don’t realize denying the reading requirement promotes ignorance. They don’t care to open their minds to learning about other ways of life. You can never really understand what a person’s life is like until you take a second to learn about their life and the

Part of going to college is to gain more information and using it to make more informed choices about what you want to believe. There are probably students at Duke who are religious, but still read the book because they know it's just a different point of view. They do not necessarily have to like it or agree with it, but it shows that they respect different perspectives. Duke University should keep the reading of Fun Home optional. They do not want to make students feel disrespected or feel that their human rights are being taken away from them. There should be a meeting between the faculty of Duke University and the parents of incoming freshman to reassure the parents that the reading’s intention is to just to be informative and not to change or persuade their child’s way of thinking. Again Ibanca Anand says that, “Fun Home is a book like no other. The author uses the unique graphic medium to tell a story that sheds a lot of light on important and weighted issues like mental health, interpersonal relationships and human rights, all critical issues that students will become acquainted with in college”. Being of Christian faith, I wouldn't mind reading something that went against my belief because I feel very strongly about my faith. I know no matter what other people’s beliefs and opinions are it won't change what I believe. Being a very open minded person, it's easy to listen and accept others