St. Edward's University Revokes Invitation for EQTX to Participate in Internship Fair

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Equality Texas has learned they will not be allowed to recruit interns for the fall and spring semesters on the campus of St. Edward’s University in Austin.

After signing up to participate in an Internship Fair on campus, Equality Texas received an email cancelling the agency’s participation in the fair.  In an email from Lou Serna, who serves as both Director of the Office of Service and Community Involvement and Assistant Director of Campus Ministry, Serna stated, “In reviewing the mission of Equality Texas it has come to our attention that promoting your organization and volunteer opportunities will be in direct conflict with the mission of St. Edward’s University.   As a Catholic University, we are rooted in and uphold Catholic Church teaching.”

As an alumna of St. Edward’s University and as a Catholic, I am deeply saddened and ashamed by the University’s response.

St. Edward’s mission statement says the university encourages its students to “confront the critical issues of society and to seek justice and peace.”

• Is equality not a critical issue of society?
• Is it not critical when Texans can be fired from their jobs simply for identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender?
• Shouldn’t we all seek justice for this intolerance?
• Is it not critical when employers blatantly discriminate against employees by only providing healthcare to partners who are straight and married?  St. Edward’s University falls into this category.

I think my favorite part of the St. Edward’s mission statement is this:

"St. Edward’s expresses its Catholic identity by communicating the dignity of the human person as created in the image of God, by stressing the obligation of all people to pursue a more just world, and by providing opportunities for religious studies and participation in campus ministry. St. Edward’s seeks to provide an environment in which freely chosen beliefs can be deepened and expressed."

I freely choose to believe that each and every one of us has been created in the image of God. I also freely choose to believe that discrimination, in any form, is wrong. I think this is why I choose to pursue a more just world and specifically, a more just Texas.

• Being fired for your sexual orientation or gender identity is unjust.
• Being shoved into a locker at school and called a “faggot” is unjust.
• Not having an accurate birth certificate simply because you have two same-sex parents is unjust.

While I no longer work for Equality Texas, I will continue to pursue a more just Texas by supporting their work. Not only because the work of Equality Texas directly impacts my life, but also because of my roots in Catholic social teaching, I know it is, without a doubt, the right thing to do. Every person has a fundamental right to health care, employment, and an education – these are required for human decency.

To the students of SEU, I know first-hand most of you embrace equality and balk at the idea of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. If you’re in need of an internship, and working for a more just Texas is of interest, please check out the internship opportunities at Equality Texas:  http://www.equalitytexas.org/content.aspx?id=488

Equality Texas envisions a state where all Texans are treated equally, with dignity and respect. Tell me, Mr. Serna, what does St. Edward’s University envision?

 Posted by Guest Blogger, Lindsay Marsh

Comments

[Todd Chessher]

I sent a strong email to Lou Serna at St. Ed's. His email is luiss@stedwards.edu in case anyone else wants to contact him. His out-of-office response indicated he is out of town until Sept. 9 and provided two other contacts to which I sent the email as well. They are Medina Salinas @ medinas@stedwards.edu and Vanessa Mena @ vanessam@st.edwards.edu .

Send emails to them about this injustice!

Todd

[Justin Clanton]

I also sent St. Edward's an email as an alumnus. I would encourage you to also email Dr. Martin, St. Edward's President, at georgem@stedwards.edu.

[Abel Nevarez]

I likewise have already emailed both. It's truly disappointing, especially when you consider their needless "cherry picking" of SEU's mission statement.

[Anon Y. Mouse]

I know Lou Serna, and most of the Campus Ministry staff, and I can assure everyone they are all people committed to both the SEU mission statement, and to the issues of social justice that plague not only the queer community but all oppressed and disenfranchised people. If you are upset about this decision (as we all should be), I would also recommend contacting the diocesan office, particularly the bishop, Joe Vasquez, as this is most likely a decision that came from the top down.

Contact info for the Bishop of the Diocese of Austin:
http://www.austindiocese.org/staff_detail.php?id=1859

[AMHIR]

Have they looked at the economy and job market for new grads? Graduates need internship and volunteer experience to be better suited in their search for jobs after college. I am extremely disappointed in my alma mater.

[Sean S.]

I just sent a letter to Dr. Martin, Fr. Rick and Mr. Serna. This is so disappointing, and to cite the Mission Statement of all things as authority for such a decision, when its clear language unambiguously supports the purposes of EQTX.

[Adam Easterling]

I sent a letter to Dr. Martin, the Bishop, and Mr. Serna as well.

This is very disappointing. I hope SEU changes their mind.

[Haleigh Bolton]

This is frustrating because this sends a message that SEU is not an open community. Albeit, SEU is a Catholic institution, most of the Catholics and non-Catholics that make up this community create a vibrant culture of diversity and open mindedness that is alive in well in Campus Ministry and across the campus.

Let's just say the majority of the people at SEU are a few generations ahead of the Church.

[Notamused]

As a current student at St. Edward's, I feel extremely let-down by my University. Our campus is open and welcoming to students from all backgrounds. Yet, our administration repeatedly quiets the voices of students asking for positive change on campus--don't think that the Equality Texas situation is the first like it, it's simply the first this semester. St. Edward's talks about holding it's students to a higher standard. I think it's time that the community started holding St. Edward's to a higher standard.

[Jamie Bancroft]

This kills me. They totally have undone what I brought to St. Ed's when I started the Gay & Lesbian Student Association in 1989. BOO!

[CoryB]

All I hear is complaining. It's a Catholic organization. Homosexual acts are mortal sins. All of the Apostolic Fathers and Early Church Fathers taught that marriage between a man and woman is like divine love. We are to treat homosexuals with respect, that's out of the Catechism. If you don't like that an institution - which has held this belief for over 2,000 years - find a Protestant Church that will accept it. Stop trying to impose your personal beliefs upon God's and go do some research as to why Holy Mother Church declares homosexuality as objectively/intrinsically disordered, you might be amazed at how this teaching reveals God to man even moreso.

[N/A]

They need all they can get at that internship fair... from what I recall it's slim pickins!

[Adam Easterling]

I wrote the letter to the Bishop & Dr. Martin, and thought I'd reproduce it here for you folks:

Concerning the denial of Equality Texas at the SEU Internship Fair

Dear Bishop Joe Vasquez, Dr. George Martin and Lou Serna,

As an alumnus, I feel obligated to write you this letter. Earlier today, a friend told me that Equality Texas was denied participation in the Career and Internship Fair at St. Edward’s University because the organization is in “direct conflict with the mission of [the] University.” You can read the blog post about it here. (http://equalitytexas.typepad.com/blog/2010/09/st-edwards-university-revokes-invitation-for-eqtx-to-participate-in-internship-fair.html)

Let me preface all of this by saying that if the facts have been reported incorrectly, please let me know.

We all know that Equality Texas works to end discrimination against gay and lesbian individuals in the state of Texas – and we all know why. A massive number of very serious issues face the GLBT population, including hate crimes, school bullying, employment and housing discrimination, and more.

Lou, it has been reported that you said the following: “In reviewing the mission of Equality Texas it has come to our attention that promoting your organization and volunteer opportunities will be in direct conflict with the mission of St. Edward’s University. As a Catholic University, we are rooted in and uphold Catholic Church teaching.”

However, the Catholic Church very clearly states that gay and lesbians “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” That’s straight out of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It doesn’t get clearer than that.

I don’t get it. What part of Equality Texas does the Church have a problem with?

Is it perhaps its work to make sure that homosexuality is never a punishable civil offense again in this state? (I might point out that it is the official Texas Republican Party platform that Lawrence v. Texas be overturned.)

Is it Equality Texas’ opposition to hate crimes and advocacy for safer schools?

Maybe it’s because Equality Texas tries to make sure that families with two same-sex parents are treated fairly under the secular laws of this state?

Might it be because Equality Texas works to end employment and housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation?

Or perhaps it’s because Equality Texas advocates for a secular recognition of same-sex marriage?

I suppose out of all of these possible options, the last one makes the most sense, and I understand that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposes secular gay marriage. They’ve even said that there should be a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. (http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/2006/06-052.shtml)

However, I had no idea that such a position was considered a “teaching of the Catholic Church.” I didn’t realize that it was a matter of Catholic faith that one should oppose a secular government recognizing a secular marriage between two people under the secular law of this nation. Curiously, the Catholic Church doesn’t seem to have the same position on civil divorce between heterosexuals.

Or perhaps you believe that Equality Texas supports homosexuality generally and will make people more likely to choose to be open and honest about their sexual orientation and not choose the strict celibacy that the Church believes is the only path for gay people. I suppose if you want to make it the business of St. Edward’s University to stand against gay people embracing who they are, then that is your right.

But if that becomes your business, then you will have lost part of what makes SEU a great school.

I look back on my time at SEU and I am immensely grateful for how much I grew and changed, and was shaped by the mission of St. Ed’s. I was a Religious Studies major. I lived in Moreau house for a time. I spent a couple thousand hours volunteering for local churches as a youth ministry volunteer. My tuition was mostly paid for by the highly selective Holy Cross Scholarship. I met Bishop Aymond on a number of occasions.

Full disclosure: I am no longer religious. In my junior year at St. Ed’s, I came to the very difficult intellectual conclusion that I couldn’t believe in the tenants of Christianity any longer. Maybe because of that, this letter won’t even help. Maybe you’ll see me as a failed case; perhaps an example of why St. Ed’s should clamp down on hosting an anti-discrimination group for the campus internship fair.

But if so, that will have marked a huge shift in the character of the university. The St. Edward’s that I loved encouraged its students to think for themselves and to come to their own conclusions. And they encouraged us to be ethical and to reject prejudice and discrimination wherever we found it. They encouraged us to be deep thinkers and to view people who are different than us not as apostates, or sinners, or the “other” – but rather as our brothers and sisters. Our fellow citizens. Our friends.

The mission of St. Edward’s isn’t about telling a legitimate gay rights group that they can’t have a booth in an internship fair. Quoting from our mission statement, St. Ed’s has a “commitment to provide educational opportunities for students of varied cultural, religious, educational and economic backgrounds.” They, “encourage individuals to confront the critical issues of society and to seek justice and peace. Students are helped to understand themselves, clarify their personal values and recognize their responsibility to the world community. The university gives the example of its own commitment to service.” And they “seek to provide an environment in which freely chosen beliefs can be deepened and expressed.”

I suppose it all comes down to this: What kind of university do you want to be? What kind of message do you want to send to your students and to the greater community? Do you want to be the kind of university that turns away a non-profit that does real, good work in the world to end unjust anti-gay discrimination when your own church clearly says that “all signs of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided”? Are you following your own mission statement to “give the example of its own commitment to service”?

To me, the answer seems clear. Do the right thing. Be the university that I knew. Be the university that stands up for everyone, including gays and lesbians.

Sincerely,

Adam Easterling

SEU Alumnus, B.A. in Religious Studies, 2008

P.S., I am also CCing Melinda Johnson, the executive assistant to the Bishop using their web form. It doesn’t look like Ms. Johnson or the Bishop displays their e-mail addresses publically, so I’ll have to send them this e-mail separately.

[Dating reviews]

However, the Catholic Church very clearly states that gay and lesbians “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” That’s straight out of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It doesn’t get clearer than that.

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On my point of view, Catholic must not tolerate homosexual which the bible against with.

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[Brisbane Bookkeeper]

I can't agree with the cancellation of invitation in a critical time. I hope this will serve as a lesson for everyone so that they will not be compromised.

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