Tomorrow, students at the University of Portland, the city’s largest Catholic college, are planning to protest their school’s policy—or lack there of—toward LGBTQ students, staff, and faculty.
According to a student activist group calling itself Redefine Purple Pride, students plan on demonstrating from 12-2 PM in the college’s Academic Quad by duct taping their mouths shut to symbolize how the school “silences them.”
At issue is the religious school’s Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy, which nods to state and local laws but does not explicitly mention LGBTQ issues. It reads in part:
The University of Portland does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, age, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law in its educational programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other school-administered programs or in employment.
Redefine Purple Pride member Maraya Sullivan, who describes her college’s policy as “a don’t ask, don’t tell thing,” told the Mercury her group is currently petitioning the university’s board of regents to change this policy to include protection for LGBTQ students, staff, and faculty. (According the petition’s website, the effort has already gathered 1,112 supporters).
For its part the University of Portland says it’s taking claims of discrimination seriously. University spokesman Joe Kuffner gave the Mercury a list of LGBTQ-friendly actions the school has put in place, including the creation of the “University-sanctioned Gay-Straight Partnership club” and the university’s probably-not-legally-binding Statement of Inclusion, which the school adopted in 2011. And the statement does indeed include the following very inclusive language:
Our belief in the inherent dignity of each person is founded upon the social teaching of the Catholic Church. At the center of that teaching is the fundamental mandate that every person, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social or economic class, age, or disability shall be treated with respect and dignity.
University spokeswoman Laurie Kelley told the Mercury, while she wasn’t sure if the statement was legally binding or not, “It’s a statement we stand by, and any one that violates it will be punished.”
But, say activists, statements like these might not reflect the attitude of all school administrators. In a very notable blunder during a public talk, university president Father Bill Beauchamp, made the following statement, which was later tweeted and went viral:
We know that there are faculty and staff in same-sex relationships on campus, they are not public about it and we don’t ask them. But if someone were to go very public about it and make an issue, then we would have trouble.
In response to his slip, Beauchamp issued a statement(PDF) to the student body in which he wrote that some of his statements “may have been taken out of context or perhaps misunderstood.” In the same statement, while affirming the college obeyed federal and state laws, he gave a wink to the protections afforded the college as a private religious institution.
“The government has respected our right to create policies that we believe reflect the teachings of our faith, and that is what we have done,” wrote Beauchamp.
Sullivan told the Mercury she understands the difficultly her group could face in getting their Catholic school to endorse LGBTQ-friendly policy. But says, her response to anyone that wants to, as she puts it, “pull the Jesus card” and use religion to exclude people is this: “I would say that social justice has been a major part of all our classes and is a huge part of Catholicism.”
So you want to force everyone to take “diversity training” classes? Go fuck yourself. This is why people who support you still find you to be assholes. Because a few ignorant folks exist now EVERYONE has to take time out of their day to take your bullshit ‘diversity training’ courses? You’re doing more harm than good for your movement.
Human rights may require a hour or two of someone’s day.
It’s just sad you think this “diversity training class” will do anything positive. Bill Burr has a good bit on domestic violence segments on TV, as though any woman beater is going to see these segments and go “oh, gee, I guess I was totally wrong! I’ll stop now, sorry honey!”
This group’s intentions may be good but the execution is piss poor and will put a lot of people off. Don’t denigrate every straight person by arrogantly assuming we don’t care about your cause and then demand we allot our time “training” ourselves on something we already know. All you’re doing is building up resentment.
Hey arenit/st. john’srules,
A diversity training class won’t do any good with you b/c anyone as violently, prematurely opposed to such a thing is beyond reproach, an asshole and shoud be the one to fuck off. Don’t denigrate other straight people by thinking we all bristle whenever there’s an LBGTQ protest. That’s solely on you (and perhaps other self-hating closet cases). Also, you couldn’t be more detached from the context. Are you a UP student? Faculty? Have you ever been? Have you ever been to college? These are are college students on a small campus. Free-floating trolls are not their concern (sadly, that’s never the converse though). Also, you are not worthy of invoking Bill Burr. Stop it. Thanks.
TSW
Growing up and realizing it’s time to start acting like an adult is sometimes hard, but eventually we all should at least try. Even you, arenit.
As usual, you can’t debate on the facts so you resort to just shouting “troll”. Again, this is why people support your cause but not certain self righteous individuals in it.
I’m sure there would be an argument on the facts, Arenit… if you actually bothered to bring any facts to the table. So far your arguments are based in subjective rhetoric. Until you can present the facts relating to your argument, the troll comment stands
I don’t get it. What else do you people expect from a Catholic school?! The key word is ‘CATHOLIC’, folks, as in people who believe in virgin births, vengeful and homophobic (yet simultaneously all-loving and completely magnanimous, somehow) gods and demigods, and who think that the pope is anything north of an out-of-touch codger with blue-balls who was (and is) complicit in countless cases of pederasty.
Complaining about unfair treatment of LGBTQ folks in places like that is tantamount to whining about the treatment of cows in a slaughterhouse.
If you want to stop the horrible shit that goes down in slaughterhouses, then you probably shouldn’t eat meat. If you want equal rights for gays/queers in religious institutions, quit believing in Santa Claus and go to a real school.
Now if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to go protest the use of metal in a metal factory…
So…just to get back to the point, these students didn’t say anything about “diversity trainings.” There is absolutely nothing in the article or petition about that. They want their school to officially adopt a policy inclusive of protections for LGBTQ people, which doesn’t seem too much to ask, even if they are Catholic. The statement by their president shows it’s something that should be explicitly included. They’re also a university, and educated people are supposed to be smarter than bigotry.
YOU’RE ALL TERRIBLE, UP SUCKS, I’M TAKING A HALF DAY. FUCK YOU.
ERN: watch the youtube video if you missed the part about diversity training courses.
Yes, preach to the converted. That’s really what I want you to waste my time with.
Question is: Would such training be mandatory? Would EVERY student and staff have to take them? I’ve seen nothing that even suggests it.
One way to solve the problem is for the community not to financially support the “university”, and for students to switch schools. Keep in mind, they once had a policy of blaming a rape victim for violating underage drinking as the cause of her rape. Google University of portland rape and see for yourself…