Last Friday, A and I watched what I like to call "the- much- awaited- epic- but- not- as- hyped- up- as- Troy- because- it- might- disappoint" movie, Alexander.

I found it a bit dragging and the story did not captivate me right away. I was getting bored when somewhere in the dialogue, young Alexander and his schoolmates discussed the story of Achilles, particularly his relationship with Patroklos. My ears perked up when they mentioned that Achilles and Patroklos were lovers. What?! Lovers??? They were bestfriends! Oh, well, maybe this is one of the historical theories and they inserted it in the movie. Later on, during the scene where Alexander and Hephaistion were proclaiming their love for each other, my eyes grew the size of saucers upon the realization that they were -- gay! I turned to A and whispered, "You mean to say their gay?!" A, a bit incredilous about my naivete, whispered back, "Yes, didn't you know?" I shook my head.

Now, don't think I'm homophobic. I'm not at all. In fact, I envy my sister, Cami, for having a gay almost bestfriend who she loves telling stories about. I believe every girl needs one gay friend. What surprised me was that how come I never knew that Alexander and Hephaistion, Achilles and Patroklos were lovers.

When I got home, I told my sister, Ara, about my new discovery. I asked, "Did you know that Achilles and Patroklos were-- " She cuts me off, "Lovers? Yes!" I replied, looking a bit confused, "But in school, when we took up The Iliad, we were told they were bestfriends!" She replies, "Yup, they're bestfriends.." and then the realization hit me. "And lovers!," we both said in unison.

I wondered why, in the entire semester, five months, it was never mentioned that they were lovers. In fact, it was never mentioned that homosexual relations were accepted in Greek cultures or that romantic love between men were considered purer than love between heterosexuals or that women were just regarded as a means to propagate the specie. And then it dawned on me.

My college was being run by Opus Dei members. Now the Opus Dei, no offense to Opus Dei members or whose parents are Opus Dei members, are impossibly conservative. Well, of course, you've heard that in our campus, no one is allowed to wear sleeveless or spaghetti strap tops, shorts or skirts that ends 2 inches above the knee (only upon graduating did I realize the rationale for such stupid dress code: your classes are held in airconditioned rooms! It's hella freezing, you'd even bring a jacket with you!). Okay, sometimes they can go overboard with this rule. You know how , with today's fashion, when girls sit down, a small portion of their backs are exposed? That is a no- no for them. And oftentimes, the administration would get my name because of this. Once, I was walking in the hall and suddenly, some woman just rudely pulled my top down and my pants up from behind! My jeans were the low rise ones and I guess my shirt was a tad bit tiny. But my God! To be so rude as to do that! She doesn't even know me!!! I think I was considered one of the top dress code violaters in my school and I was on the watch list.

Do you wanna know how ridiculous they can get? If you go to our library and flip through a magazine, you'll find out that all sexy pictures are cut out. Yes, seriously. There is a hole in the magazine article you're reading simply because on the other page, a girl was wearing an uber short, spaghetti strapped Dolce and Gabbana outfit. More ridiculous is when they draw sleeves on the sleeveless tops of the models with- get this- black marker pens!

Now, isn't that insane or what? Did they think that if the male population saw a picture of a woman wearing sleeveless tops, they'd turn into horn dogs?! Did they honestly think placing sleeves on pictures would help us be more conservative? Or that they are indirectly teaching us values? Did they not think that once we crossed the streets of Pearl and Amber, we would see other women dressed in such revealing tops? Did they not think that probably a good three fourths of the female student body actually wear clothes with no coverings for their shoulders (sleeveless tops)? Or that their tops are practically hanging on by a piece of thread (spaghetti strapped tops)? Or worse, that their boobies are actually holding the top up (tube tops)? Or, gasp!, that they wear huge hankerchiefs as tops AND they have no bra on? Seeing that they already think that sleeveless tops are revealing, I wonder what they think of one piece bathing suits? Do they even go to the beach?

Whoa, whoa, whoa... I'm totally digressing here. First, I was talking about Alexander's homosexuality then I jumped to the teachings in my uber conservative school and then now I'm in fashion. Let's get back in track here.

So my point is, why did my school choose not to tell us about Alexander The Great and Hephaistion, Achilles and Patroklos's sexuality and relationship? Was it because they thought it was so "morally unacceptible"? Did they think that by telling us about homosexuality, they were encouraging it already? Were they shielding us from homosexuality? Were the shielding us from the knowledge of homosexuality? Did they not think that outside the school, we would encounter other people who preferred partners of the same gender? Are they so morally upright- and uptight- that they would purposely leave out such an important fact, a piece of Greek culture which we devoted an entire semester for.

I love my alma mater despite its strict dress code and the apathy of the students- but that's another story. I love and defend it when people joke about its reputation. But in this instant, I despise it because if something was morally wrong to them, they would choose not to teach it. In doing so, they are hampering the enrichment and broadening of our minds which totally defeats their purpose as an educational institution.

In short, other words, I feel educationally cheated.