Guest Column: Club Unity belongs on college campus

Guest Column: Club Unity belongs on college campus



ERIC WALDRON
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 04/22/07


You could spend an awful lot of time debating the ethical implications surrounding the Flagler College administration's decision to edit -- and ultimately censor -- a story in its publication, The Gargoyle, concerning "Club Unity," a thinly-veiled Gay-Straight Alliance. The constant battle of whether the paper is a journalistic instrument or a public relations mouthpiece of the college will rage on far beyond this scrimmage.

Regardless of one's opinion of the apparent totalitarian actions of the administration, the real issue at hand is the blatant homophobia in the office of Student Services and the President's Cabinet. By once again delaying and -- probably -- denying a student organization that would serve both the gay and straight communities at Flagler College, the administration is making prejudice policy and discrimination decree.

As a president's Council Scholar, who graduated last week, I am outraged.

In an interview with The Gargoyle, Dean Stewart -- without a spokesperson after his last verbal blunder concerning a previously proposed Gay-Straight Alliance caused uproar in local media -- said he thought such a club conflicted with the college's conservative mission.

Interestingly enough, around the same time the proposed "Club Unity" was submitted for approval, clubs for philatelists and outdoor enthusiasts both sailed through administrative offices. Evidently, peeling previously-licked stamps off old envelopes and circumnavigating Anastasia Island in your kayak fit right in with Flagler's dry campus and no inter-dorm-visitation policies. One might argue a lack of inter-dorm visitation encourages homosexuality but, alas, I digress.

For a liberal arts college without any official religious affiliation, Flagler currently boasts no less than four Christian clubs, including the evangelist Campus Crusade for Christ whose mission statements includes to give others "a new life in Christ." As an openly gay and proudly Jewish student, I do not feel a warm invitation to any of them.

While it is a tragedy that a college Gay-Straight Alliance would have to masquerade as "Club Unity" so the name wouldn't offend school officials administering approval status, the goals are still important to our college community.

Organizations like Flagler's proposed "Club Unity," by any other name, have existed in other schools around the world for decades, helping to provide a supportive environment where students, regardless of sexuality, can grow stronger -- academically, socially and personally -- to better participate in a diverse world. Everyone -- from students to administrators to faculty -- should thrive in an educational environment free from discrimination.

Countless well-renowned educational organizations, such as the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors, all support the goals and ideals of Gay-Straight Alliances. Why can't Flagler College's administration?

Why do President (William) Abare and Dean (Dan) Stewart then insist on institutionalizing injustice and alienating a large proportion of Flagler's student body?

In the wake of public outrage over verbal assaults by actor Isaiah Washington and columnist Ann Coulter on the gay community, it has become very clear that a majority of Americans feel homophobia has no place in society. Washington came out with a statement apologizing for his comments and checked himself into rehab. It seems pretty trendy.


Eric Waldron graduated last week from Flagler College. He says he is not affiliated with Club Unity or the Gargoyle.


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