Dear President Barker,
It has been over a week since the off-campus altercation between four individuals, one of whom was severely beaten. Alcohol was involved, but that should not overshadow the fact that homophobia and misogyny also fueled the fight.
A year ago I wrote to you about the dangers of bullying that occur not just in high school but among college students as well. This bullying often targets members of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) community both within the student body and the faculty and staff, and even people assumed to be gay because of common misguided stereotypes. I asked that you write to the student body and employees about the importance of accepting the diversity around us. We should see everyone as a valuable individual with much to offer Clemson University and society.
I write to you again, now, in light of the “LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index” in which Clemson University recently participated. It was possible to score 5 out of 5 stars in relation to eight LGBT-Friendly factors such as LGBT Policy Inclusion, Support & Institutional Commitment, Academic Life, Student Life, Housing, Campus Safety, Counseling & Health, and Recruitment and Retention Efforts.
Our top two scoring categories were Counseling & Health, in which we scored 90%, and Support & Institutional Commitment, in which we scored 56%. The rest of the categories were well below 50%, and the score for the entire index for Clemson University was a 2 out of 5 stars.
Almost all of the Top 20 public schools in the country have taken this test and have scored well over 3 stars. Our neighbor to the south, University of South Carolina, is the only institution in the state to have an LGBTQ Resource Center.
In this email I am requesting, as a gay staff member of Clemson University and a graduate, that you give me permission to begin forming a Presidential Commission on the status of LGBTQ Students and Faculty/Staff in order to address these issues and more on campus. I still see Clemson University as a welcoming institution for all people, despite their differences of color, gender, religion, and sexual orientation, but unfortunately I constantly hear from new and existing LGBTQ students that they do not feel safe. They do not feel welcome by the body of Clemson University. They do not feel as if our leading institution has their interests in mind to any degree that was offered to another marginalized group not too long ago: our fellow African-American colleagues and students.
Now is the time that we show our students and those who work with us that they are here to experience Clemson University as it should be, and we are dependent on their future.
During the town hall, coming up on November 1st, there will be several members of the LGBTQ community and their allies posing questions to you about why Clemson University has failed to reach out in its recruitment and retention of not only students but faculty and staff as well. You will be asked why partnered or married gay faculty and staff, who work hard to make Clemson one of the top universities in the country, are not given the same health benefits as their straight counterparts. They will ask when Clemson University will take a stand in ending benefits discrimination in the state of South Carolina.
There will also be questions about gender-neutral bathrooms, living learning communities within housing to create a safe environment for incoming freshmen and others, LGBTQ-specific courses. the lack of a resource center. the information in acceptance packages for incoming students about services for LGBTQ people, and many other topics.
I write to you in the hopes that together we can show our current and future members of the Clemson Family that we can provide them with an equal, healthy, and safe learning environment of the 21st century: that we truly can be A Better Clemson.
Sincerely,
Joshua Morgan
Clemson University Libraries
Class of 2010
0 comments:
Post a Comment