Boston College close to approving gay-straight group
By JESSICA DALSING
News Writer
Recent reports have acknowledged that Boston College is close to approving a student-run organization for both homosexual and straight students. However, the administration has yet to grant official approval to the proposed alliance, though there have been strides made at Boston College to recognize a gay-straight student group.
A recent article in the Boston Globe said, "Boston College will grant official recognition to a proposed gay-straight student alliance." Yet, this statement may have been premature.
A constitution for the group has been proposed and both the student newspaper and government have rallied to support the student group, but the administration is not completely behind the initiative.
The College spokesperson told The Heights, the Boston College student paper that the "proposal contains a framework for eventual agreement on establishing a student organization at Boston College to respond to issues concerning sexual orientation."
This sudden push is partly due to a Princeton Review article titled, "Alternative lifestyles not an alternative," that placed Boston College in second place out of 345 colleges nationwide as unwelcoming to alternative lifestyles. The Notre Dame was ranked fifth out of 345 colleges in the same category.
Sister Mary Gude, chair of the Standing Committee on Gay and Lesbian Student Needs at Notre Dame, said of the ranking, "Notre Dame has been a leader within the Catholic context due to the model of the Standing Committee."
Jason Klocek, member of the Standing Committee on Gay and Lesbian Student Needs, criticized the way resources are downplayed on campus. "Notre Dame's resources are spread out, which makes it difficult for many students to see the diverse network of resources provided by the University," she said.
The Standing Committee on Gay and Lesbian Student Needs started in the fall of 1997. The committee of both students and members of the administration promotes programs to increase awareness and meet the needs of the homosexual student on campus. Yet the focus of the committee has been evolving with the climate of the campus.
Klocek states that the committee is moving from an agenda of "educating the heterosexual community to more direct support for the homosexual student on campus."
This apparent change in campus climate does not look as if it will end in the approval of a Notre Dame gay-straight alliance though. Gude, also vice president of Student Affairs, said, "The University's position is that being such a complex issue that it is best handled as it is now."
Yet, OutreachND, the unofficial homosexual student group on campus, continues to hold out hope. The example of GALA-ND/SMC, the gay and lesbian alumni group founded in 1993, has been an influential support to the students. GALA-ND/SMC continues its mission of educating the Notre Dame community about sexual orientation issues independent of any support from the University.
OutreachND continues to act independently of the University. The group is responsible for the Campus Ministry's Solidarity Sunday, a day of prayer and hope. The members of the group gather on a regular basis for recreational activities and solidarity dinners at the dining hall.
The future for a homosexual student at Notre Dame still leaves much to be desired, but progress is being made. Klocek sets up the dynamic of campus life as follows, "A particular student may be comfortable with his roommate being gay, but how that student might react to his roommate introducing his boyfriend is another question."
All News Stories for Monday, February 17, 2003
