Georgetown University has been getting loads of bad press lately.
First came news that a politically-connected student had instigated a homophobic attack, an assault the school attempted to cover-up. Then we heard about how school cops pulled the plug on a gay rights rally. As if that weren’t bad enough, the university took five days to report yet another hate crime.
Shameful, yes, but certainly not surprising, says one staffer.
After the jump, read what “Thomas MacMillan” has to say, including allegations that Georgetown officials regularly, needlessly investigate gay staff members. Why the quotes around “Thomas MacMillan”? Because the staffer’s afraid to reveal his identity lest the Catholic school come down on him.
Georgetown has been going through some rough times recently when it comes to homophobia. Then again, perhaps it’s time that the university faces a problem that very likely has been lurking under the surface for quite some time.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
I am on staff and I have seen other gay staff members investigated for “lapses in job performance” when in truth their primary offense was their sexual orientation. Two past students have informed me that my own sexual orientation was the subject of a class discussion. When I complained to affirmative action and to human resources, I found that the primary motivation of these two departments was to protect the university from any legal liability. Because the students would not come forward publicly, I had no recourse, and I ultimately decided to drop the issue.
My own circumstance made me angry, but more recent occurrences have infuriated me. Two anti-gay hate crimes have been perpetrated against Georgetown students within the space of about a month. Hate crimes are committed to terrorize entire communities. For GU Pride to remain silent or to have come out with a weak response would have been pathetic at best. Instead, they have chosen to be bold and to make a statement. The university’s response so far has been equally bold. When the students tried to deliver a petition to the president, they were met with a large police force barring their entrance into a building on their own campus. Even the offer of having two people deliver the petition was denied.
But I wouldn’t blame it on the school’s Catholic heritage. One might find it odd that the person from whom I received the most support in my own case was the university chaplain. He pointed to the signs around campus that say “Faith and Justice” as well as “Care for the Whole Person”. He stated unequivocally that it would be false advertising if the university did not uphold these ideals. My meetings with other university officials tended to revolve around whether or not regulations had technically been broken and what the burden of proof would be if they had been broken.
Sadly, I think the university administration is fumbling on this one. The first hate crime was covered up for two weeks. With the second hate crime, the university improved by waiting only five days to disclose the event. What explanation could there be? Personally I can imagine an army of university lawyers sitting in meetings with university administration trying desperately hard to figure out how they can best slide this issue back under the rug. Two hate crimes makes this a difficult task indeed. I certainly don’t want to see a third homophobic attack. Rather, I want the university to face up to the fact that it has a problem with institutionalized homophobia and put an end to this mess right now.
Qjersey
Not surprising at all, but I’ll make a hard LEFT and say “so why the fuck are you working at a Catholic University if you are gay?”
Now hard RIGHT: This is their religious school, your complaints are baseless, their feelings about homosexuality are part of their faith
Either way he’s fucked.
Rt. Rev. Dr. RES
Yes, QJersey, in my opinion, you are spot on !!!
Yet, the history of the Roman Church has been, in recent centuries, the tension between the liberal periti and their uberconservative wings. It is wrong to say that they are theologically monolithic. What they are, and what the Reformation churches and Orthodoxy and Anglicanism do not have, is a supreme pontiff or regal head. When liberal, one wing thrives and vice versa. The liberals were argueably very short in power, and the moderates longer, but the uber conservatives – moved by their paedophile scandals – scapegoated the least among them.
Olga
The university claims to provide a safe envrinoment for all its students, faculty and staff. Exclusions based on race, sex, or sexual orientations are not only immoral, but illegal. as a place of progressive learning and scholarship, the administration has to keep up, and start doing what they preach — tolerance.
Bubbe
No one seems to realize that Georgetown hires gay faculty…even in positions that are in religious ministries. Their Catholic identity is not the reason for any of the issues happening on campus…I should know..i’m a student.