Pepperdine University has denied the application of a group of students seeking to form an LGBT club called “Reach OUT”, according to L.A. Weekly.
In a statement to the school’s newspaper, the Dean of Students Mark Davis says that Pepperdine must remain faithful to biblical teachings that sexual activity is only between a man and a woman. He states that “Pepperdine seeks to be faithful to this teaching because we believe it is God’s will and therefore we cannot endorse another view or take a neutral position on sexual morality.” This tony, private university located in the hills of Malibu is affiliated with the Churches of Christ.
Davis goes on to point out that there is already a university-sanctioned committee on LGBT issues called “Building Bridges.” However, students say this is not enough and they have created a petition in hopes of reversing Davis’ decision. To date, they’ve gathered more than 4,000 student signatures but it seems unlikely the administration will budge. Davis’ statement goes on to add that “although Reach OUT stated in its application that it has no position on sexual activity, we do not believe it is possible for a LGBT student organization to maintain a neutral position.”
Like the university’s “neutral position” that sex is only between a man and a woman?
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It’s surprising that this sort of discriminatory situation has occurred at a school located in Southern California. Though Pepperdine is known for being somewhat conservative, the current student body (which numbers more than 7,000 grads and undergrads) is clearly more diverse and tolerant than administrators there would like to believe.
Photo: L.A. Weekly, Wikipedia
erasure25
Ken Starr is the dean of the Pepperdine School of law. Its definitely a conservative university.
Shannon1981
Gay kids, PLEASE if at all possible, stay away from religious institutions. Seriously. There will never be any support for you there.
Isaac C
I agree with the school’s decision and second what Shannon wrote.
Mike UK
why on earth would gay kids go to a place like this, surely they could get an education at a uni that actually appreciates them for who they are and not just a cash cow!
Cam
@Isaac C: said…
“I agree with the school’s decision”
_________________________
Funny how these hypocritical schools don’t have rules against divorced teachers. After all, God, and Jesus SPECIFICALLY spoke out against Divorce and Adultry, yet only St. Paul said anything about gays.
Funny how they don’t have a prohibition against clothing of mixed fibers. Because that comes from the same section of the Bible that talks about gays. Funny how they do not avoid serviing pork in their cafeteria, although that is also in the same section of the Bible.
Oh wait, THATS right. Those people don’t REALLY care about their religion, they just like the few parts that they can use to defend their bigotry.
Shannon1981
The thing is, the very book these people use as their authority on life, the Bible, condemns homosexuals. Of course, it condemns all kinds of other things, but, as Cam pointed out, that hardly matters to them. In short, I do not understand LGBT people associating with people and institutions and religions that directly condemn them. It is akin to masochism to me.
Isaac C
@Cam: I’m not sure why you posted this in response to me, but I’ll reply:
“…they just like the few parts that they can use to defend their bigotry.”
That’s exactly right. And they’re within their right as a private religious institution to do so, no matter how inconsistent and unfair it may seem. GLBT students should not be attending these institutions and demanding accommodation, its location in the L.A. area notwithstanding.
“Building Bridges” has already been accepted, anyway.
Joetx
@erasure25: He was the dean at the Pepperdine school of law, but has been president at Baylor, another ass-backwards christian school, since 2010.
GaryB
@Shannon1981: For the record, I went to Loyola Marymount, a Jesuit institution just down the coast from Pepperdine. The battle for a student org had already been fought and won by the time I arrived, but we were always trying to do outreach to the students at Pepperdine, who couldn’t even meet in the privacy of their own dorms. Even though we were at a Catholic university, we campaigned for a full LGBT Student Center and were very successful (they gave us even more than we asked for!). There were a few LGBT courses in the Gender Studies department, Student Housing and Student Psych Services sponsor a weekly LGBT discussion group, and we were constantly getting support even from the Jesuit community. While I know it isn’t so nice at every religious institution, I take exception when you claim ALL religiously founded schools offer no support to their LGBT students.
Rachel
Okay, then. Homophobic doesn’t make it with me so after bugging my daughter to go to Pepperdine, where I was supposed to go and changed my mind oh so many years ago, I will now take it off her list. She is smart, beautiful, athletic, a strong Christian,oh, and straight, but has been taught that God does the judging, not men.
So long, Pepperdine, you are a great disappointment.
Crysta
I say let the financials do the talking, boycott schools that do this crap!
Don’t go there, don’t hire people who went there, just cut them out entirely!
There is enough support these days, that we can, and will, use our wallets to do the talking.
Shannon1981
@GaryB: I am glad you didn’t have a bad experience, but I stand by the fact that when a religion’s very documentation, as well as many of its leaders, condemn an entire population of people, better safe than sorry. I’d rather advise them to go to a secular institution than face this BS, especially in the wake of the discrimination, harassment, condemnation, suicide, and all the rest coming at us, with 99% of it coming right out of the Christian camp. I think it foolish for any LGBT student to consider religious institutions for employment, higher education, or anything else. That’s just me, though.
I thank tolerant Christians like you and Rachel, but the majority of the people in power in Christianity despise homosexuals on the basis of religious belief and we would do well to steer clear until we have Federal level legislation that protects us.
Giff
I graduated from Seaver College a few years ago, the undergrad school at Pepperdine. The school has constantly denied gay groups from being formally recognized, so this should come as no surprise. Only a few years ago did a Catholic group get formally recognized…for years the school pulled the same thing as now with this group – that the Catholic faith was inconsistent with the Church of Christ teaching.
My first week at Pepperdine I was told one-third of the guys at the school were gay…this, come to find out, was not far from the truth. The school has MANY gay guys…I imagine most (like me) go to a Christian school to hide the fact they are gay but then eventually come out when they see more gays there. I still talk with many on campus (all of which are fraternity members) and more and more kids come to the school completely out of the closet…it’s a sign of the times that younger generations are more open about their sexuality than just a few years ago when I was there.
One professor was out to the campus but it was hardly discussed. There is a definite double standard at the school as I know many staff who have had multiple marriage or, children out of wedlock and who still work at the school.
Isaac C
@Rachel: Oh bitch please, they’re not thinking about you.
B
No. 5 · Cam wrote, “After all, God, and Jesus SPECIFICALLY spoke out against Divorce and Adultry, yet only St. Paul said anything about gays.”
It’s not even clear that Paul said anything about gays – he used one or two Greek words that he seemed to have made up, so nobody really knows what he meant (no other writer before him used it). Even worse, it’s not clear that Paul actually wrote that – some of it may have been written by another person many years after the fact. It was apparently a common practice for a follower of some worthy to write a theological document and sign the worthy’s name to it.
Try http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibc7.htm for the details. Also http://www.religioustolerance.org/homarsen.htm
Chuck
I had no idea that Pepperdine was a Christian school. I remember they came to my High School to recruit. Luckily I didn’t choose them, though some friends did.
I think all religious schools should be abolished. Religious education is a disservice to children and students teaching them idiotic ideas (creationism) and instilling bigotry and hate in their students.
Danny
“Faithful to Bibical Teachings” – what a joke. Moses, Abraham, David, Samuel, etc. were all polygamists… they taught polygamy. They all taught you should murder disobedient children and purchase slaves from neighboring countries. If this “university” is following biblical teachings, they are a bunch of sickos.
Cam
@Isaac C:
Because they just need to embrace their bigotry. Claiming it is for religious reasons is hypocritical and obviously so.
Isaac C
@Cam: But they are in effect embracing their bigotry by not allowing this gay group.
Shannon1981
@Chuck:
I think all religious schools should be abolished. Religious education is a disservice to children and students teaching them idiotic ideas (creationism) and instilling bigotry and hate in their students.
You’re right. And the first step to that is to completely separate church and state, and forbid all politicians from donating to these institutions, and they get not one dime from the federal or state government. Also, due to teaching creationism, they lose state and national recognition for secular accreditation, so unless the graduates wish to become preachers or something, the degrees are a joke in the mainstream competitive workforce. That way, ignorant teachings are not seen as “higher education.” People will step up and take notice of this and not go there, and soon these schools will be no more, and horrific stories of discrimination like this one will be out the door as well.
13Zeroither
Fuck religion. It needs to die. But it would take a miracle if someone had a huge army to overthrow the governments of the world to create a global culture suicide to start all over (in order to murder religion. Fuck it into the depths of time). In its place would be the new world with each country having its own unique food, clothes, language, culture, etc. BUT ALL of the countries in the new world will be not racist, sexist, and homophobic.
A person can dream… 🙂