Melinda Truelsen is a graduate student in literature and a Mustang Daily book columnist. Her column, “Reading Between the Lines,” appears every Wednesday.

What would society be like if half the population was treated like an inferior race? If their civil liberties and basic human rights were taken away based on a physical trait? These are the very questions that Margaret Atwood addresses in her 1985 novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Although this novel is probably older than most students reading this column, the issues it addresses are still hauntingly relevant.

Atwood’s novel gives us a very vivid description of what life could be like if we as a society did not continue to fight for human rights, to stand up to oppression and define ourselves as more than the drones that women and men become in “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Atwood’s semi-science fiction novel is set in the fictional land, the Republic of Gilead, which has formed within what was formerly the United States. After a huge earthquake hits California, the United States is thrown into nuclear meltdowns and pervasive strains of disease that limit fertility. In order to turn things around and stop the country from its downward spiral, a chauvinistic military coup group, who call themselves the “Sons of Jacob,” step in and take control of the nation, renaming it the Republic of Gilead and making some huge changes to human interaction and society as a whole.

Since infertility was the problem, this group blamed women for the halt in reproduction and take measures to better control them. What unfolds is a haunting description of how far hate and prejudice can go in putting people against each other, recreating social hierarchies and completely redefining how people can live their lives, particularly women in Atwood’s tale.

The redefined social hierarchy is very rigid and unyielding. For men, there are five main stations, four of which are defined through their career positions. The fifth class is that of “gender traitor,” which are men who partake in homosexuality. Aside from the “gender traitors,” the men are in charge of guarding society and making sure that everything is in running order; that no one crosses their stations.

As we can see from the men’s social classes, there is certainly a stigma around sexuality, since the only men who are shunned from society are those who are viewed as sexual beings. Expanding on this idea, women too are viewed as mere sexual objects, so their entire class system depends on their definition as sexual beings. All of the eight classes for women involve how they are defined by someone else — that is, who they are married to, who they are permitted to have sex with or what children they take care of. The highest status for a woman is wife; the lowest is Jezebel (essentially a prostitute working in a brothel).

The protagonist of Atwood’s novel is Offred, a woman who is placed as a handmaid in the new Republic of Gilead. As a handmaid, Offred’s sole purpose in life is to bear children for the Wife of the family she is placed in. Wives are not permitted to have children because it is too dangerous, as well as taxing on their physical appearance. Offred’s life as a handmaid is a very isolated one, as we discover quickly through Atwood’s seamlessly crafted prose.

Offred was once what we would call a normal woman; she had a daughter and a husband, a job and a happy life. However, after the Republic was formed, she was separated from her husband, her daughter was ripped away and adopted by an infertile wife and Commander.

Offred had her entire life taken from her under this new regime — even her name Offred is not her own. Her name is actually a name drawn from the terms given to slaves and is broken down to Of-Fred, meaning belonging to Fred, the husband in the house she serves.

We don’t learn much about Offred except for momentary flashbacks that give us the information about her former family, and that her name was once June. By the end of the novel, June is almost entirely erased and replaced by the isolated, lonely and desperate Offred.

Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” is an intricately woven and developed novel of an alternate society. It is not a simple and light-hearted book, but one that forces the reader to ask questions of self, friends, society and how those interact and function within our worlds.

Atwood did not make up class hierarchies; they all have a real grounding in history and society. With this novel, she is asking us to think about how the origins for her Republic of Gilread could be initiated.

How can we let those prejudices and feelings of inequality and hate get in the way of being equal and being fair to other human begins? We can’t, and Atwood reminds us why.

Nathan Tsoi is a computer sicence senior and Mustang Daily political columnist. His column, “First Things First” will appear every Wednesday.

I would like to wish you a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I trust your winter break was well spent with family and friends. I was certainly blessed this break. Though our celebration was simple — healthy conversation over a delicious home-cooked meal — I am humbled to consider the condition of life outside the civilized world.

Even in the wake of recent terrorist attacks, the United States is stable and secure, unlike countries such as Sudan, South Africa and Somalia. Wrought with social, political and ethnic tensions, these countries as well as others like them exist in a state of instability and insecurity.

Take for example Darfur, in western Sudan. Save Darfur, an alliance of over 100 human rights organizations, reports that an estimated 300,000 people lost their lives in an ongoing conflict that former President George W. Bush declared “genocide” between 2003 and 2005. Americans, along with the western world, are blessed to have a safe and stable society, even as we fight the War on Terror.

Food is a commodity Americans take for granted. Yes, food banks help address issues of hunger in America, but the western world knows nothing of malnutrition that countries such as Angola, Swaziland and Zimbabwe experience. World Vision reports that more than 4 million Zimbabweans are affected by the worsening food shortage, hundreds of thousands of which are children. To add insult to injury, over 600,000 children have been orphaned by aids, and about 1/3 of the adult population lives with HIV/AIDS. Elaborating on the material gifts we regularly receive such as new shoes, warm clothes, electronics and toys seems irrelevant in light of the Zimbabweans’ suffering.

In the comfort of my home, in the warm aura of family and friends, I realized that comfort promotes complacency. It is only natural that when people are the most comfortable, they are also the least motivated to work. The Marxist concept that people must work to eat is at the most primitive level, true. Without real and relevant motivation, there is no incentive to work. Fortunately, in capitalism, this motivation is raised to a higher level by personal property.

In our society, motivation to be involved in government process has been lost to prime time television and replaced by lifetime politicians who promise to solve our problems by increasing government size. As a culture, our drive to obtain personal property, financial freedom and make a positive impact on humanity has been substantially impacted by the comfort of our recliners. Ironic that our government was built on the very principles of hard work and personal responsibility we seem to despise today.

As we enter the new year, I urge you to reflect on the words of G.K. Chesterton, who, when asked to comment on the primary problem with the human condition responded, “I am.” With this simple response, Chesterton cleverly pointed out mankind’s imperfect nature. It follows logically, that if left in a state of complacency, man will not do good, but remain wallowing in imperfection. Therefore, I challenge you to answer Kennedy’s great call: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” by turning off your TVs and putting away your IPods. Fight for stability in Darfur, donate against hunger and inspire the intellect.

NSCS is involved in many community services projects. Courtesy photo

When liberal studies senior Allison Crawford was first invited to join the Cal Poly chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS), a club whose mission is to promote change through community service events and involvement on their college campuses, she accepted because she thought it would look good on her resume.

“Once I became an active member, I found that it was a hundred percent more than just putting it on a resume,” Crawford, now co-president, said. “You meet so many people and gain a lot of experience.”

After receiving national recognition this past summer, the Cal Poly chapter of NSCS is gearing up for what could be an even more noteworthy year due to high member participation.

The Cal Poly chapter has more than 600 members, all of whom were invited to join the club during their freshman or sophomore year of college. About 20 members are active members, meaning they attend the weekly meetings and regularly participate in the events, Crawford said.

In order to become a member of the club, students must be invited by the NSCS national office. Criteria required to be eligible includes having a 3.4 GPA or above and being in the top 20 percent of your class in your freshman and sophomore years of college, Crawford said.

With nine active officers this year and a solid base of active members, Michael Bingham, a junior biomedical engineering student and co-president of the Cal Poly chapter, said that this past year has been the club’s strongest since he joined as a freshman in 2007.

“When I first joined, there were not nearly as many active members. It is a lot more organized now than when I first started,” Bingham said.

The high member participation has allowed the club to organize many community-service oriented events on campus and in the San Luis Obispo community, Crawford said.

Kaci Knighton, a sophomore recreation, parks and tourism administration student, was invited to join NSCS at the end of her freshman year in Fall 2008.

“When I first got the letter, my mom thought it was a scam,” she said. “I joined anyway because I thought it would look good on a resume and be a good way to get involved in the community.”

Although she was not active in the club last year because of time restrictions, she plans to participate in meetings and events this year because she wants to become more involved in the organization, she said.

Two of the most significant events that the club organized were food drives which raised about $3,000 for the Prado Day Center, a local homeless shelter in San Luis Obispo.

“They didn’t even know we were doing it, and the looks on their faces just showed how thankful they were,” Crawford said.

Another main event was “A Fair to Remember,” a ballroom dance at the Villages of San Luis Obispo, a senior housing community.

“I was dancing with an elderly woman and she started telling me about her six kids and how her husband passed away,” Bingham recalled. “They like it when they can talk to you and tell you their story,”

Other events organized last year included PAC, a daily tutoring program at C.L. Smith Elementary school in San Luis Obispo, “March to College,” which included giving younger students tours of the Cal Poly campus, and other smaller events with local schools and retirement homes, such as study sessions and arts and crafts.

The club plans to do most of these events again this year in addition to new activities such as a beach clean up and informative assemblies about college at local schools.

Due to the Cal Poly chapter of NSCS’s involvement on campus and in the community, they were one of the 61 of 235 chapters nationwide to receive the Gold Award.

“It’s a very big accomplishment to receive it because it takes a lot of time and organization,” Bingham said. “It’s what separates us from others and puts us over the top.”

In order to receive the Gold Award, the second highest award for an NSCS chapter, the chapter had to meet specific requirements provided by the national NSCS board, including holding an induction ceremony, creating a student mentoring program, participating in “Integrity Week,” in which they explain the importance of personal integrity, creating an on-campus membership recruitment campaign and working with another campus club.

Since the Cal Poly chapter’s induction on campus in 2000, the club has never received the highest award because of a lack of active members. This year, however, the club will attempt to receive platinum status.

In order to receive the NCSC’s top honor, the chapter must have gold status and meet further requirements, including holding an informative assembly about college at a local public school. Only five of 235 chapters have received platinum status, Crawford said.

The new adviser of the Cal Poly chapter, Sharon Dobson, plans to bring the club to platinum status by encouraging members to participate in more service activities and by giving them more leadership opportunities, she said.

“There is an intrinsic need in all of us to be recognized,” Dobson said. “For some that might be being on a sport team or going to a party, and that’s fine. But being part of a society gives students the opportunity to differentiate themselves.”

The NSCS will have a booth at Open House and will also be holding a meeting Oct. 6th at 11 a.m. in building 10, room 11 for anyone interested in learning more.

Local gay marriage advocates gathered at Mitchell Park Tuesday to oppose the California Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold Proposition 8, the proposition passed last November that banned same-sex marriage.

About 250 community members congregated for an event organized by the San Luis Obispo chapter of Marriage Equality USA. The 6-1 ruling determined that the 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place before the vote remain valid.

After the passage of Porposition 8, several same-sex couples took the vote results to the courts, stating that the ballot measure was unconstitutional under state law.

The court rejected those claims, with the majority opinion stating that it is not the court’s role to determine whether Proposition 8 “is wise or sound as a matter of policy or whether we, as individuals believe it should be a part of the California Constitution,” but instead “is limited to interpreting and applying the principles and rules embodied in the California Constitution, setting aside our own personal beliefs and values.”

According to public law and political theory professor Ronald Den Otter , the ruling was almost inevitable.

“The decision wasn’t unexpected,” Den Otter said. “Very few people thought that the court would find that Proposition 8 constituted a constitutional revision and therefore, required approval of the legislature before being submitted to the voters. Very few people also thought that Proposition 8 was retroactive and therefore invalidated the approximattely 18,000 same-sex marriages that had been performed before November 4, 2009.”

Some Cal Poly student organizations attended to show their support for same-sex marriage, including the Pride Center and Delta Lambda Phi, a fraternity for gay, bisexual and progressive men.

The Supreme Court decision was a let-down for Delta Lambda Phi president Brad Purpura, who was optimistic about the possibility of Proposition 8 being overruled.

“I’m completely dumb-founded actually,” Purpura said. “I was sure that it was going to get overruled. Given what the justices said last year when they originally allowed gay marriage, I thought there was no way they were going to go back on that, but the decision today lit a fire inside myself. Now I’m fighting harder than I did prior because it’s just a matter of time until I’m afforded the rights of everyone else.”

David Kilburn, San Luis Obispo’s chapter leader of Marriage Equality USA, said that although he and his husband get to keep their marriage, it’s unfair that same-sex couples do not have the opportunity to marry.

“I’m not giving it up, but at the same time, it has a whole different meaning now that I know that we’ve been forced into a situation of having a special right,” he said. “We didn’t ask for a special right. We asked for marriage equality. That’s all we wanted.”

The crowd at Mitchell Park waved signs supporting same-sex marriage at oncoming cars and members of various organizations dedicated their support.

Helen Carroll, a clergywoman from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Luis Obispo County, offered words of encouragement to the crowd and led all participants in a prayer. Carroll emphasized that she is one of many church affiliates who supports marriage equality.

“The court made the decision that they thought best met the people’s wishes,” Carroll said. “What the decision did, beyond disappointing me, was gave me a road map for how it is to go about making justice. That road map involved changing the constitution. I have already made a covenant that I will not sanctify marriages by signing certificates until I can sign them for everyone.”

A few Proposition 8 supporters were present as well. Rather than approaching the matter from a religious angle, they argued that the group at Mitchell Park should respect the decision made by California voters.

“People voted twice on this issue,” San Luis Obispo resident Dane Senser said. “To me, it’s not about equality. I believe there is plenty of equality. It’s not about being homophobic or anything else … How many times do you have to vote on this? You have to go with the will of the people.”

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Maine and Iowa have legalized same-sex marriage and Vermont will be added to the list in September.

But supporters of gay marriage in California are hopeful, like Devin Ward, a teacher in Santa Maria, who was wearing a shirt that read “No More Mr. Nice Gay.”

“There’s a momentum. A momentum that cannot be denied that’s happening slowly but surely throughout the country,” Ward said.

Supporters from California and around the nation will meet in Fresno this Saturday for the Meet in the Middle 4 Equality conference — the next step at organizing grassroots efforts for legalizing gay marriage.