Notre Dame Gay Supporters Are renewing Their Efforts For Human Gay Rights
South Bend Tribune/JAMES BROSHER ¿It¿s clear to us that there is a majority on campus that is supportive of these changes,¿ University of Notre Dame sophomore Alex Coccia says. He is a leader of an effort seeking to persuade university administrators to add sexual orientation to Notre Dame¿s nondiscrimination policy and approve a gay-straight alliance group on campus.
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They are asking that Notre Dame add sexual orientation to the university's non-discrimination policy and recognize a gay-straight alliance club for the campus.
Rather than placards and protest marches, some students and faculty last week released a video titled "It Needs to Get Better." It's received more than 18,000 views so far on YouTube, and other professors, students and alumni are now posting their own videos with same message.
Gay marriage or same-sex domestic partnerships are now legal in at least 15 states, and the U.S. military ended its "don't ask, don't tell" policy in 2011, allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the nation's armed services. It's time for Notre Dame to better serve its GLBT students and employees, advocates say.
They're calling this new effort the 4 to 5 Movement. The name is based on an estimate that about four of every five college-educated young adult Americans today back the notion of equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation.
"It's clear to us that there is a majority on campus that is supportive of these changes," said Alex Coccia, a sophomore and co-president of the Progressive Student Alliance. The student activists' group is leading the movement.
The Student Senate recently passed resolutions in favor of both changes, and the Faculty Senate on Tuesday adopted resolutions supporting the measures.
Current campus policies permit GLBT students and faculty at Notre Dame, but provide no legal protection for them, sophomore Dani Gies said. She grew up in a Catholic household that was accepting of people who aren't heterosexual, and considers condemning attitudes wrong. She said she knows four non-heterosexual students who left Notre Dame because of the unwelcoming atmosphere.
"This is definitely a civil rights issue. There needs to be a solution," freshman Nathan Lamp said. He got involved because he has LGBT friends.
It's not uncommon to hear derogatory comments on campus about gays and lesbians, particularly from male students, Lamp said. Such comments rarely are heard from women students, he said.
He said a tenured professor last semester made a joke stereotyping members of the gay community and some students laughed. "It was very inappropriate and very offensive," Lamp said. Although racial and ethics jokes are rare, in some campus circles derogatory gay jokes seem to be acceptable, he said.
It's crucial that the university address this issue and overcome it, he said. "Notre Dame is a great school and it's supposed to be open to all people," he said. Graduates can't go off to help heal and enlighten the world until they first deal with injustices on campus, he said.
"I can't in good conscience be working at a place and teaching gender studies and not step up and get involved when there is an issue on campus," said Pam Wojcik, a professor of film, TV and theater and director of Notre Dame's gender studies program. She appeared in the video.
Students aren't required to be Catholic or heterosexual to attend Notre Dame, and it's part of the university's mission as a Catholic institution to promote social justice for all, she said.
Wojcik said she knows gay and lesbian faculty members who feel they must stay in the closet, particularly if they don't have tenure. "There's a culture of fear," she said. As long as sexual orientation isn't in the non-discrimination policy, many employees feel they can be discriminated against with no recourse, she said.
Wojcik said her main concern is students, some of whom feel unwelcome on campus because of the lack of protection.
Notre Dame declined a Tribune request for an interview with the Rev. John I. Jenkins, university president, or the Rev. Thomas Doyle, vice president for student affairs, about the issue.
Efforts to add sexual orientation to Notre Dame's non-discrimination clause date back to the mid-1990s. The university in 1997 adopted a "statement of inclusion" describing the university's regard for all people, with specific reference to lesbians and gays.
Notre Dame's Board of Fellows, the highest tier of the board of trustees, in 1998 decided not to extend the policy. The fellows concluded that the existing document -- called the Spirit of Inclusion -- recognizes that each person on campus deserved dignity. The Fellows are charged with maintaining the university's Catholic character.
The inclusion policy isn't legally binding and doesn't hold the university accountable, Coccia said. "It really diminishes acceptance. It says, 'We won't legally protect you.' "
Notre Dame's employment policy adheres to federal law, stating that the university is an equal opportunity employer and doesn't discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, disability or veteran status.
Groups of students regularly file requests to create a recognized gay-straight alliance on campus, but each request is turned down, according to advocates.
The university offers a Core Council, a body that advises on the needs of GLBT students, and offers discussion sessions and educational programs, including information about Catholic teachings on issues of sexuality.
Neighboring Saint Mary's College added sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy in 2003 and approved a campus gay-straight alliance group in 2005. Holy Cross College does not include sexual orientation its non-discrimination policy and doesn't have a gay-straight alliance.
Peter Holland, a Notre Dame associate dean and chair of the Shakespeare studies program, appeared in the recent video. "It is about time things changed," he said.
The university on Monday held a campus town hall meeting to address recent campus incidents of racial harassment: two black student organizations found fried chicken parts placed in their mailboxes in the student center.
Just as the university isn't hesitant to address issues of racial injustice, it also should address issues of discrimination based on sexual orientation, Holland said. "It is absolutely clear that type of harassment is not limited to race," Holland said. Without protection, some employees live in a state of constant anxiety that they may be dismissed or denied tenure because of their orientation, he said.
"I think it's important that the policies of the university really match the practices," English professor John Sitter said. Whenever members of a group are discriminated against, it affects every other group, he said.
"It's fundamentally a matter of fairness," Sitter said. Adopting an inclusive policy isn't the same as advocating on behalf of individuals one disagrees with, he said. "You need to be able to make a distinction between acceptance and endorsement," he said.
Sitter said he knows some faculty who have left because of the lack of protection against discrimination. What no one knows, he said, is how many quality professors and prospective students never come to Notre Dame because they feel they won't be welcome on campus.
facebook.com/tribune.margaretfosmoe
Staff writer Margaret Fosmoe:
mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6329
Rather than placards and protest marches, some students and faculty last week released a video titled "It Needs to Get Better." It's received more than 18,000 views so far on YouTube, and other professors, students and alumni are now posting their own videos with same message.
Gay marriage or same-sex domestic partnerships are now legal in at least 15 states, and the U.S. military ended its "don't ask, don't tell" policy in 2011, allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the nation's armed services. It's time for Notre Dame to better serve its GLBT students and employees, advocates say.
They're calling this new effort the 4 to 5 Movement. The name is based on an estimate that about four of every five college-educated young adult Americans today back the notion of equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation.
"It's clear to us that there is a majority on campus that is supportive of these changes," said Alex Coccia, a sophomore and co-president of the Progressive Student Alliance. The student activists' group is leading the movement.
The Student Senate recently passed resolutions in favor of both changes, and the Faculty Senate on Tuesday adopted resolutions supporting the measures.
Current campus policies permit GLBT students and faculty at Notre Dame, but provide no legal protection for them, sophomore Dani Gies said. She grew up in a Catholic household that was accepting of people who aren't heterosexual, and considers condemning attitudes wrong. She said she knows four non-heterosexual students who left Notre Dame because of the unwelcoming atmosphere.
"This is definitely a civil rights issue. There needs to be a solution," freshman Nathan Lamp said. He got involved because he has LGBT friends.
It's not uncommon to hear derogatory comments on campus about gays and lesbians, particularly from male students, Lamp said. Such comments rarely are heard from women students, he said.
He said a tenured professor last semester made a joke stereotyping members of the gay community and some students laughed. "It was very inappropriate and very offensive," Lamp said. Although racial and ethics jokes are rare, in some campus circles derogatory gay jokes seem to be acceptable, he said.
It's crucial that the university address this issue and overcome it, he said. "Notre Dame is a great school and it's supposed to be open to all people," he said. Graduates can't go off to help heal and enlighten the world until they first deal with injustices on campus, he said.
"I can't in good conscience be working at a place and teaching gender studies and not step up and get involved when there is an issue on campus," said Pam Wojcik, a professor of film, TV and theater and director of Notre Dame's gender studies program. She appeared in the video.
Students aren't required to be Catholic or heterosexual to attend Notre Dame, and it's part of the university's mission as a Catholic institution to promote social justice for all, she said.
Wojcik said she knows gay and lesbian faculty members who feel they must stay in the closet, particularly if they don't have tenure. "There's a culture of fear," she said. As long as sexual orientation isn't in the non-discrimination policy, many employees feel they can be discriminated against with no recourse, she said.
Wojcik said her main concern is students, some of whom feel unwelcome on campus because of the lack of protection.
Notre Dame declined a Tribune request for an interview with the Rev. John I. Jenkins, university president, or the Rev. Thomas Doyle, vice president for student affairs, about the issue.
Efforts to add sexual orientation to Notre Dame's non-discrimination clause date back to the mid-1990s. The university in 1997 adopted a "statement of inclusion" describing the university's regard for all people, with specific reference to lesbians and gays.
Notre Dame's Board of Fellows, the highest tier of the board of trustees, in 1998 decided not to extend the policy. The fellows concluded that the existing document -- called the Spirit of Inclusion -- recognizes that each person on campus deserved dignity. The Fellows are charged with maintaining the university's Catholic character.
The inclusion policy isn't legally binding and doesn't hold the university accountable, Coccia said. "It really diminishes acceptance. It says, 'We won't legally protect you.' "
Notre Dame's employment policy adheres to federal law, stating that the university is an equal opportunity employer and doesn't discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, disability or veteran status.
Groups of students regularly file requests to create a recognized gay-straight alliance on campus, but each request is turned down, according to advocates.
The university offers a Core Council, a body that advises on the needs of GLBT students, and offers discussion sessions and educational programs, including information about Catholic teachings on issues of sexuality.
Neighboring Saint Mary's College added sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy in 2003 and approved a campus gay-straight alliance group in 2005. Holy Cross College does not include sexual orientation its non-discrimination policy and doesn't have a gay-straight alliance.
Peter Holland, a Notre Dame associate dean and chair of the Shakespeare studies program, appeared in the recent video. "It is about time things changed," he said.
The university on Monday held a campus town hall meeting to address recent campus incidents of racial harassment: two black student organizations found fried chicken parts placed in their mailboxes in the student center.
Just as the university isn't hesitant to address issues of racial injustice, it also should address issues of discrimination based on sexual orientation, Holland said. "It is absolutely clear that type of harassment is not limited to race," Holland said. Without protection, some employees live in a state of constant anxiety that they may be dismissed or denied tenure because of their orientation, he said.
"I think it's important that the policies of the university really match the practices," English professor John Sitter said. Whenever members of a group are discriminated against, it affects every other group, he said.
"It's fundamentally a matter of fairness," Sitter said. Adopting an inclusive policy isn't the same as advocating on behalf of individuals one disagrees with, he said. "You need to be able to make a distinction between acceptance and endorsement," he said.
Sitter said he knows some faculty who have left because of the lack of protection against discrimination. What no one knows, he said, is how many quality professors and prospective students never come to Notre Dame because they feel they won't be welcome on campus.
facebook.com/tribune.margaretfosmoe
Staff writer Margaret Fosmoe:
mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6329
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