The other night I was sitting in Joe's Diner with my boyfriend having a nice time. And then my evening was ruined. It wasn't the food or the service or even the music. As I was sitting there enjoying the company of my boyfriend, some guy deemed it necessary to stare at me and make oogling faces. I did nothing to provoke this. I was just sitting there. He took it upon himself to turn around and do this...and I'm pissed.

You may think I'm being irrational. After all it was just this one guy, right? Wrong. I get stared at all the time. It's not cool. One day a few weeks ago I was just standing in line at Menutainment in Muse getting pasta salad and this little creep says, "I see you like your salad tossed." I said nothing to encourage this. I didn't even see him until he walked up behind me and said something.

I'm going to let you know right now that I don't dress provacitively. I don't flirt. I'm not even that nice to strangers. I do not strut. I do not wear garish makeup. So why am I getting all this attention? It's not like I'm drop dead goregous or anything. I'm pretty average. And I'm also dead sick of this. I would like to be able to walk down the street without getting cat calls or honked at. I would like to go to class without being unduly stared at. I would like to eat without receiving stares and sexual comments. I would love to go out in public without feeling like I'm being viewed as an object.

I am a woman. I am a person. I am not an object. All I am asking for is simple human respect. I deserve to be treated as a human being. Guys, you have the power to stop yourselves. Simple flirting is one thing. But staring, grotesque sexual comments to strangers, cat calls, and the like are uncalled for. Please think about your actions and how they make us feel. Stuff like that won't get you in a girl's pants. It just hurts.