OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Colleges

Virginia Forcing Colleges To End Gay Protections

March 10th, 2010

Virginia is for (a restricted subset) of lovers

Ken Cuccinelli II, the Attorney General for the U.S. state of Virginia has formally warned all of the state’s colleges and universities that they must rescind their non-discrimination policies for gays, or face legal consequences.

Well, that’s all kinds of crazy. Surely “non-discrimination policies” is a really just some coded phrase to camouflage what might actually be a more reasonable request, right? Let’s look at Cuccinelli’s letter:

It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” “gender expression,” or like classification as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy absent specific authorization from the General Assembly.

Oh dear.

Yes, it appears that treating everyone equally, regardless of their sexual orientation, is illegal in Virginia. Discrimination with respect to employment and college admission is the letter of the law and, by golly, Cuccinelli is going to enforce it.

The state’s top universities—all of which have such non-discrimination policies—are reacting nervously, declining any official comments. Students, on the other hand, are having no trouble speaking their mind. Even though it’s in the middle of spring break, a Facebook group in support of equal treatment has already popped up with nearly 5,000 members.

Say, Cuccinelli does realize that being straight is a sexual orientation too, right? Hey, maybe this means I could start a gay-only faculty, offering degrees in fabulousness!

Special thanks to Slap reader Chase for alerting me to this craziness!

University Plastered With Homophobic Messages

December 5th, 2007

Hateful Fliers For Campus Security

Campus police at the University of Windsor have issued a security alert after several homophobic and racist messages were found across campus. While the content of the messages is a mystery, it was disturbing enough for the Office of the President to issue an open letter to the university community:

There have been [incidents that] deeply concern us involving abusive language and intimidating behaviour towards gay students at the Faculty of Law. The University of Windsor is committed to fostering an inclusive campus [...] however, considerable progress must be made before we are able to realize such an environment.

What, no attempt at sugar-coating the university’s progress on their vision of an diverse and tolerant campus? Why, that could only mean there’s a delightfully ironic twist somewhere here!

Yes, it turns out that one of the racist incidents mentioned in the letter involved members of a campus social justice community committed to “diversity and equity and the education of future generations of young people.”

I’d say the university’s vision needs work.

The Gay-less Countries

September 26th, 2007

Road Slap

Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, visited Columbia University on Monday. When pressed by a student about Iran’s treatment of gays, Ahmadinejad had this to say:

In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you that we have this.

While the comment elicited derisive laughter from the audience, I found the words chilling. Iran executes homosexuals. A television report produced by the CBC in February detailed a few of the stories coming out of Iran, and the horror is unimaginable.

Iran isn’t the only country to persecute gays by law and then deny they exist, either. When Canada’s own Coalition gaie et lesbienne du Québec first attempted to gain Observer Status at the UN so they could officially report on human rights attrocities around the world, Egypt voted against admittance, saying they “don’t have a gay problem in [Egypt] because there are no gays there.” Egypt actively entraps and tortures homosexuals.

Really, one only needs to look at traveler warnings to see the extent of persecution faced by gays worldwide. Misinformation and denial about homosexuality is widespread and troublesome, and this is reflected in the cruel laws of many countries.

Remedying this won’t be easy. Given Canada’s own denial of the dangers faced by gay refugees, a local start isn’t too far back.

Edmonton Stops Talking In Support Of Gays

March 30th, 2007

Day of Silence

If you’re in Edmonton today, you might get a sneaking suspicion that people are giving you the silent treatment.

For the first time ever, the University of Alberta’s annual Day of Silence has been promoted to a city-wide event. The event, inspired by the GLSEN campaign of the same name, is where participants pledge not to talk until 3pm, symbolizing the silence and self-censorship that gay and lesbian people face while closeted. After 3pm, participants gather for a terrifically satisfying group scream followed by speeches from Mayor Stephen Mandel, openly gay City Councillor Michael Phair, and other activists.

While this type of event has been extraordinarily successful around the world, right-wing special interest groups in the states are none too pleased. On April 18th, GLSEN’s National Day of Silence, “pro-family” groups are instructing parents to remove their children from school that day so they’re not exposed to the… silence, I guess.

Well, until Monday, folks: “…”

Anti-Gay Cape Breton Prof Suspended

July 28th, 2006

Human Right's Complaint

Well, I guess even studying history doesn’t mean you won’t repeat it!

An irrationally anti-gay history prof at Cape Breton University has been suspended for two weeks after posting material inciting hatred and violence toward gays. A separate human rights complaint has also been filed for his old-timey hate.

David Mullen, whom I shall call Davey (we can be chummy like that, can’t we?), received a polite letter from Shane Wallis at the university’s Sexual Diversity Centre requesting to please “separate your [anti-gay] views from your academic website,” in accordance with the university’s discrimination and harassment policy. While the request was civil and respectful, Davey responded, well… somewhat angrily:

This is my web site and I do as I please with it.
I do not subscribe to the propaganda of the homosex movement.
I am not afraid of people who engage in sexually deviant behaviour.
I am critical of their disastrous choices. [... blah, blah, etc, etc.]
Homosex is a repudiation of nature and the apotheosis of unbridled desire.

Request denied.

Davey then attached a picture of himself wielding a semi-automatic rifle above the phrase “nobody attacks me with impunity,” and changed Mr. Wallis’ signature to read “Sexual Perversity Centre Coordinator.” A clever wordsmith, that one!

Hey, I wonder if when Davey’s views are inevitably written into the history books as being as wrong, wrong, wrong, he’ll still have to teach it? That’d be neat!