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Union College event focuses on LGBTQ issues, school's policiesBy ZACH PLUHACEK / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 9:21 pm  Colin Daniels, whose mom is a Union College alumna, planned to enroll there after high school - until the school found out he was a gay activist, he says.
Before he mentioned his sexual orientation to the college, he says, "I was told that Union was the perfect place for me." Then the school, founded by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, found out Daniels was gay and an activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues. "Once I brought up the thought of me being involved in LGBTQ activism at Union ... it was: ‘Union's not the right school for you after all. You would not happy here,'" the 22-year-old said Wednesday afternoon, after he and about 25 other activists from around the country met with students and staff at Union College. Daniels, from Kansas City, Mo., is a member of Soulforce Q, the young adult division of Soulforce, an organization that works for religious and political freedom for LGBTQ people. The group pegged Union College - the 14th of 15 stops on Soulforce Q's nationwide "Equality Ride" - as one of about 200 U.S. colleges and universities that it says "have explicit policies that discriminate against LGBTQ students." The school was looking out for Daniels' best interests when a staff member dissuaded him from attending, Union spokesman Ryan Teller said Wednesday, and the same applies to other prospective and current students. Despite disagreements with Daniels' and Soulforce's point of view, Union officials said they were willing to listen and discuss it. After hosting an 11 a.m. prayer gathering, the school gave Soulforce Q about 2 1/2 hours to state its case. The event, closed to the public and media, consisted of an hour with administration and 1 1/2 hours with about 100 other staff and students. Among Soulforce Q's biggest frustrations: the lack of clear-cut rules regarding behavior and identity for LGBTQ people at Union College. "Students are just really unsure about what they are able to do," group member Jennifer Luu said. "It's very vague." The college doesn't disapprove of LGBTQ students and staff because of their sexual orientation, Union President David Smith said. It does - based on Seventh-day Adventist doctrine - "draw a distinction between having an orientation and acting that way." Soulforce wants the school to clarify the "acting that way" part. If students go against what the school considers a policy "based on principle," they can be disciplined, Smith said. In his 12 years at the school, no student has gotten in trouble because of sexual orientation, he said, but students have been disciplined for acting on their sexual orientations. He did not go into specifics. Such discipline is usually limited to a lecture, but "could lead to anything up to expulsion," he said. It's clear unmarried students of any gender aren't allowed to have sex in campus housing, but rules about such things as hand-holding and sexual acts off campus are less clear, Soulforce Q says. Students also should be able to be open with their sexual orientations, Luu said, and it's not clear how open they can be. Smith said the school might take some of Soulforce's suggestions to heart, including drafting specific rules for students and staff. However, with the end of the school year nearing, those changes aren't likely to come soon, he said. "This is a time for our campus when everything is really ramped up," Smith said. "I'm not certain when we'll be able to do that, but we certainly will be processing." Two students the administration asked to speak with the media said the event was a learning experience nonetheless. "I thought it was really interesting," said junior Serena Stevens, who supports legal rights for LGBTQ people. "It was very Christ-centered and very much about communication. "I understand the college's position on it. ... My place is just here as a student to accept everyone and love them for who they are." Junior Jared Henry, who shares the church's viewpoint, said he was still interested in what the visitors had to say. "There is a lot of room for education," he said.
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 22 April 2010 10:30 |
