It is one thing for civil disobedience to occur to protest irrational government discrimination against gays in New York City. And a great thing. But at a Jesuit Catholic university in the middle of a college basketball game? Watch how each of these civil rights supporters are individually escorted off by the police. We need to do this more and more, everywhere and every place we can - especially in Catholic colleges which refuse to grant gay and lesbian and bi and transgender students the dignity and respect they fully deserve as human beings made in the image of God. Their statement:
In light of the recent decision by the John Carroll University administration to not specifically include the protection of Lesbians, Gays, Bi-Sexuals, Transgendered, and Questioning students in its Anti-Discrimination Statement, we, the students, faculty, and alumni of John Carroll University choose to voice our support for those the university leaves without protection.
John Carroll's mission is to create people for others. That means support, protection, love, and understanding for all people without regard to color, creed, sexual preference, gender, age, or other personal factors. That's the goal of a Jesuit institution.
By not explicitly voicing its support of LGBTQ students, faculty, and alumni, John Carroll's administration is breaking those unspoken bonds of trust that make JCU a community.
It's time for those who have called Carroll home in some capacity to speak up and demand of the President, Board of Directors, and Administration the words that promise safety and security to those whose rights are so tenuous and often unprotected.
In short, we expect better of John Carroll University. We demand better.
God bless them. As he blesses all who stand up against bigotry, intolerance and stigmatization. And they seem to be making some headway.