OutreachND again denied recognition
Michaela C. Murray-Nolan
Senior
I came to Notre Dame from a whole different world. I grew up in New Jersey and New York City, in a liberal Catholic family devoted to all things Irish. My brother graduated from Notre Dame with honors, and my sister graduated from Saint Mary's with honors. Both warned me that, as a bisexual, I would not find myself welcomed with open arms in South Bend. I came anyway, hoping both to receive a great education and to make Notre Dame a better place for its gay, lesbian and bisexual students.
I have spent two of the past three years as a member of the Standing Committee on Gay and Lesbian Student Needs. In that time we have widened the scope of Network, our educational programs, brought speakers like last week's Judy Shepherd, and begun a freshman Educational Initiative. All these things are progress.
I have also served three years on the board of the unrecognized student group OutreachND, which has increased its membership five-fold, sponsored educational speakers and implemented Solidarity Sunday. In this time OutreachND has also taken a determined stance against the politics and activism of the past in favor of support and community for its members. However, last Friday OutreachND was again denied recognition as an official Notre Dame student club. The administration feels that Campus Ministry and The Standing Committee adequately address the problems here. Allow me to educate them.
It is very difficult to be young and gay anywhere. It is even more so here. The student body has made great strides in the past three years, and I commend them. Yet hate language like "fag," "Homo," and "queer," still persists, and still hurts. We also live at one of the few remaining Universities in the country without a recognized gay student group or anti-discrimination policy. Gay groups are prohibited from advertising, hanging posters or holding meetings on campus. Gay faculty and students are not protected from discrimination in hiring, firing or admission policies. Institutional discrimination runs across the board, and it prevents our community from feeling safe or welcome here.
I am a Catholic, and yes, I understood before coming here that Notre Dame was a Catholic school. So I had all the more reason to believe that love and tolerance would rank high among its principles and policies. I have also read the Catechism, which concerning homosexuals clearly states that "all unjust discrimination in their regard must be avoided."
In three years I never tried to convince the administration that homosexuality is right or without sin. I do not need to because it is neither their place nor mine to judge such things. I am pretty sure God does not live in the Dome. But He does live in each of us and in our religion, and He tells us to love each other. Indeed, He tells us to love each other as we love Him. This includes our gay students, although apparently the administration does not think so.
Instead they told me that Campus Ministry and The Standing Committee are "most effective" at combating the loneliness, depression and confusion gay students here face. For the record, Campus Ministry runs a 36-hour annual retreat and The Standing Committee runs programs for the straight community. Campus Ministry has Bible Study for gays too, which attracts four-six people. Despite their best intentions, this is embarrassingly inadequate.
By contrast OutreachND meetings attract 25-40 people weekly. We offer peer support and community, and we obviously do a great job of it. We do our Catholic duty in offering love and support for the disenfranchised. Keep in mind Jesus was the Savior of society's outcasts.
After three years of hard work, frustration and setbacks in seeking recognition for OutreachND, I now resign from both of my positions. I resign from OutreachND not because I have lost faith in our beautiful organization, but because I am very tired. I resign from the Standing Committee because I refuse to act any longer as the University's lackey, considering that The Standing Committee relies 100 percent on OutreachND for members, workers and presenters.
As a supposed leader in the intellectual and religious landscape of America, Notre Dame should be embarrassed by its 1950s' social policies, which contradict not only current societal and scientific knowledge, but the very essence of Catholicism and its Catechism. To the upper echelon of the administration: You are the very definition of hypocrisy. You are solely responsible for the tears of Notre Dame's gay community and whatever fallout may occur from your decision.
All Viewpoint Stories for Wednesday, October 3, 2001
