Seton Hall’s gay marriage class — the one that had Newark’s Catholic Archbishop John J. Myers (pictured, top) dry heaving — was not taken off the school’s course list as conservative administrators had hoped. Instead, “Special Topics in Political Theory: Gay Marriage” has been meeting twice a week as scheduled, with openly gay prof W. King Mott (pictured, below) leading his charges. And Jesus has yet to turn the quad into a place to slaughter thy first born.
After weeks of death threats and hate mail from Catholics around the country, the lunatics were evidently distracted by Democrats ruining the country and have managed to lay off a school they have no investment in.
Most of the tension that surrounded the first few weeks of class has disappeared. The security guard who stood outside the door the first week is gone. The death threats against the professor have died down. But a few students still haven’t told their families they are taking Seton Hall’s most talked-about and controversial course. “A couple of students said they are not going to tell their parents they are taking a class like this because they don’t want the controversy,” said W. King Mott, the associate professor teaching the course. “But it’s a very lively class.”
[…] Students have read several books on the history of marriage and studied the gay marriage court case in California. They will end the semester by taking a final exam and writing an ethnography — a paper describing what it was like for them to take the controversial class. Mott hopes to have the student papers published. The course also has included guest lecturers, including a speaker who is in a gay marriage and an attorney who deals with legal issues related to same-sex unions. Hudson Taylor, an assistant wrestling coach at Columbia University and an activist for gay equality in college sports [Ed: And this guy], spoke to the class last month. The former All-American wrestler lectured about being a heterosexual athlete working in the gay rights movement. “It was a great experience to be able to sit down, to really get some insight and perspective on what these kids’ questions are,” Taylor said.
And if this doesn’t give the willies, I don’t know what will: THE CLASS IS RETURNING NEXT SEMESTER!! And according to university rules, if a special class like Homosexual Marriage is taught three times, it can be turned into a permanent class. What if it becomes a requirement! [New Jersey Star-Ledger]
Kieran
You omitted the most chilling line from this article, atleast to those of us who champion civil rights and the American ideal of freedom of speech:
“In 2005, he (Professor Mott) was DEMOTED from his post as associate dean of Seton Hall’s College of Arts and Sciences after the Star-Ledger printed his LETTER challenging the church’s view on homosexuality.”
Jeffree
Read the comments over at the NJ Star-Ledger: several ‘phobes & lots of support for the school/ class. One concerned parent said they wouldn ‘t allow their offspring to take that class because “I want grandchildren”!
Reality is that any student preparing for a career in law/theology/poly sci etc. could benefit from studying the issues.
Michael
If you are going into family law or some type of related field, I can see value in this. Gay divorce is going to be big one of these days, and it will present challenges not present in the hetero world. Example: Get married in one state, and move to a state where same sex marriage is not legal. You will not get granted a divorce there, since your marriage is not recognized as valid. Might need to move to a state where same sex marriage is legal, in order to get a divorce. But wait, that state may have a residency requirement of say, six months, prior to a divorce filing. How about this: Lived with your partner for 20 years and decide to get married, then wind up in divorce after a year? Be careful where you divorce when it comes to dividing property. Some states recognize the length of the relationship, others, only the duration of the marriage. Learning what marriage is, and is not, is important. I think the Prof is onto something.
autoversicherung
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