Dear FEAST,
Some of you might find the recent protest at my university regarding
not including sexual orientation in the non-discrimination policy to be a
useful teaching resource. Many of the faculty here have showed the youtube
video of the protest in class and discussed the implications for a private
university of including sexual orientation in the policy as well as the
effectiveness of such activist strategies for effecting change.
I’m sure that any
support you would like to give to the students’ cause would be much
appreciated.
Please find the video of the protest here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc3ergeeZok
An article about the protest in
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/02/post_206.html
The news clip that aired on Fox about the protest:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/religion-belief/religious-leaders/john-carroll-PEHST000382.topic
Here is a segment of the Plain Dealer article referring to
the “Community Standards Statement” offered in place of including
orientation in the university’s non-discrimination policy:
The section of the
statement that has set off some students and faculty is one that, just after
saying that the university calls on everyone to respect one another, states
that the university reminds "members" of "the traditional
Catholic moral teaching that properly locates sexual activity within the
relationship of a man and a woman united for life through marriage as husband
and wife."
This section of the
Standards Statement is quite akin to the Catholic pastoral statements that
Michel Foucault analyzes in volume 1 of the History
of Sexuality, so list members might find that part of use in the
classroom as well.
Hoping for a more just
world,
Jen
_________________________
Jen McWeeny, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Phone:
(216) 397-4783
Fax: (216) 397-1819
E-mail: [log in to unmask]