Community affirms LGBT equality

A group of students, faculty and staff under the name GU Affirms Equality released a letter to the community last week affirming "the spiritual, political, moral and social equality of the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] members of the Gonzaga community."

The letter, which heavily cites Vatican documents and Catholic teaching, seeks to show that the Catholic Church's teachings affirm members of the LGBT community, and that recent actions on the part of the Vatican, including language addressing homosexuality in the priesthood, has not been consistent with the Church's overall teachings on homosexuality. These teachings prohibit malicious and offensive language and actions against homosexuals.

The project, facilitated by Dr. Mark Alfino, a philosophy professor, began as an idea in late November when Alfino contacted Alliance Forum, the GLBT advisory board and other campus groups to discuss recent events such as the Dr. Diggs lecture in the fall,. He felt it was not in line with Catholic teaching and recent Vatican documents that seemed contradictory to the Church's stand against discrimination, prejudice and maliciousness toward the LGBT community.

After the "Brokeback Mountain" chant at the St. Mary's game, the project gained more momentum.

"We need to address the negative publicity that Gonzaga has received and the negative human rights implications," Alfino said. He believes promoting equality and affirming LGBT members of the community will take a lot of energy, but he hopes that more than anything, GU Affirms Equality will spark discussion.

Before the group started, Alfino wanted to make sure everyone understood the commitment and that all the clubs to be involved were ready. Most people he talked to were ready to create a plan and take action by January, according to Alfino.

Three groups were organized for the project, all comprising students, faculty and staff: a contact group, a letter writing group and a steering committee, the latter comprising of about 10 people, making it the smallest of the groups.

"We wanted to make an affirmation in the letter," Alfino said. "The first idea for the letter was to describe the Catholic context for the discussion. I think we're at a critical point in the discussion for Civil Rights in GLBT equality…we could be at the tipping point."

GU Affirms Equality set up a table outside of Crosby on Wednesday and Thursday to allow members of the Gonzaga community to sign the letter. They also posted it on their Web site www.guaffirmsequality.net with the opportunity to sign the letter online. The letter had more than 100 signatures on Wednesday.

The table was staffed by several members of the Gonzaga community, including students, faculty and staff. Dr. David Boose, a professor of biology, helped work the table, as did Religious Studies graduate student Amy Hoyt.

"I guess the push for me was the incident at the St. Mary's game, which generated discussion," Boose said. "Part of the reason I'm out here is because I want my students to see me, I want to be public." Boose didn't help draft the letter, but wanted to gather signatures.

Hoyt has been impressed by the positive reactions she has heard in her classes when LGBT issues are brought up.

"Equality in all environments is really important for me," she said. "So, when I found out this was going on at Gonzaga I was really honored."

"People tend to see this as other peoples' issue," Alfino said. "But I think all people confront issues with their sexuality." This, according to Alfino, even applies to heterosexuals, which is why he believes it is so difficult to talk about.

Everyone writing the letter put a lot of effort into ensuring that it was an affirmation, not a negation, according to Alfino, who stressed the importance of a positive approach.

Ryan Olson, president of HERO (Helping Educate Regarding Orientation), got involved in the project after Alfino approached him. He has attended meetings and helped to develop ideas. He is hoping the letter will bring more visibility to the LGBT community, and mentioned that this year Queer Papers will be published with experiential stories from the LGBT community.

"The student body tends to be very apathetic towards a multitude of issues - specifically this one," Olson said. "This is the staff and faculty reacting and it means so much to gay and lesbian students to see those faculty come to support them."

When asked about any concerns over the letter, Alfino responded: "I hope this doesn't excite homophobic individuals to harass others, but it may."

Alfino hopes the letter will eventually go to all the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) presidents, including the Rev. Robert Spitzer, S.J., in the hope that they will all sign the letter.

"I want to make it clear to incoming freshmen that [Gonzaga's] a safe place to nurture their sexuality," Alfino said. "I don't want Gonzaga to become a place inside the Jesuit community for homophobia."

GU Affirms Equality aims for a semester-long campaign and plans to release a second letter asking the Gonzaga administration to "review University policies related to non-discrimination … to assure support for the GLBT Resource Center as a joint academic and student life project," and to provide more support to the Women's Studies program on campus. They will also hold a performance called "Affirmation Stories" on April 27 in the COG that will feature members of the community sharing their stories dealing with LGBT issues. Affirmation Stories will be coordinated by HERO and GU Affirms Equality.