Pride Alliance posters too loud for some

For the third consecutive Valentine's Day, Princeton students yesterday found bulletin boards, doors and lampposts across campus plastered with colorful posters depicting couples kissing beneath the printed phrase "Love = Love."

Distributed by members of the Pride Alliance, the posters could be found in nearly every public area on campus, from Frist to Forbes. Each poster featured photos of same-sex and straight couples displaying affection.

The display comes two years after the first "Love = Love" campaign in 2005 set off a campus controversy, with many of the posters being torn down and some conservative students alleging that the campaign was inappropriate.

But Amy Paeth '08, co-president of the Pride Alliance, said there were far fewer publicly hostile reactions to the posters this year. Pride Alliance officers, she said, "have noticed a more positive vibe than last year or the year before. It's certainly more neutral or positive than previously."

After some of the posters were informally torn down in 2005, the rest were officially removed because they did not explain which group sponsored them.

"They ended up being taken down on just a technicality," Paeth said, "but all the publicity they sparked was good in that it got people on campus talking about it."

Some student reactions to the posters this year ranged from indifferent to irritated, but most were generally supportive.

"They're great," Elena Sheppard '09 said. "I think Valentine's Day is the perfect day ... to raise awareness about this, and I fully support what they're doing."

Others were less adamant in their views. Eric Finkelstein '10 said that he "honestly hadn't noticed" the posters. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I support it," he added.

The most skeptical reaction to the poster campaign came from conservative organizations on campus.

Sherif Girgis '08, the outgoing president of the Anscombe Society, which advocates socially conservative views of sexuality, said he didn't think the posters were appropriate for public display.

"I personally don't have a strong reaction to them," he said. "[But] in years past, a lot of people's concern has been taste, basically. Sexually suggestive pictures of any combination of people would seem inappropriate for flyers posted all around campus."

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"Our concern is that if the posters were aggressive, they might put people off and foster hostility instead of mutual understanding, which I believe is their goal," he added.

David Schaengold '07, a current Anscombe officer, said he doubted that the posters are an effective method for sparking discussion.

"We question if the Pride Alliance's tactics are the best way to convince others of the truth of their message," he said in an e-mail. "The 'Love=Love' posters seem needlessly confrontational to us, and [they] squash, rather than encourage, genuine dialogue."

Nevertheless, yesterday's campaign met with far less public criticism than the 2005 firestorm, and there were no observed instances of posters being removed.

"We've heard the charge that they're unnecessarily shocking," Paeth said, "but honestly we really haven't heard that much about the posters at all today."

Paeth added that, in addition to encouraging dialogue, she thinks the posters were an appropriate campus decoration given the subject of yesterday's holiday.

"Our view on the posters and the whole issue," she said, "is just that there are gay and lesbian couples celebrating Valentine's Day on campus, too."