The Waltonian

Since starting at Eastern, I have truly learned the sacrament of confession. And I must confess a number of things about my beloved major department, biblical studies. Eastern’s biblical studies courses are not designed to be like a Bible study at your youth group back home. As valuable as those may be, biblical studies here is hard. When I began at Eastern, I was accustomed to being handed all the answers on a silver platter with “Jesus” engraved on it by uncritical hands. I expected to be challenged intellectually in my Bible classes. But I wasn’t so sure that they would have an impact on my spiritual life. Now, as a graduating senior, I can fully appreciate the holistic and unassuming nature of Eastern’s biblical studies program.

It would be easy, almost too easy, for a girl like me to write off Christianity altogether. With the levels of abuse that I’ve suffered at the hands of Christians, even I am left wondering sometimes why I’m still a Christian, but especially a Catholic. Eastern’s biblical studies faculty have not only provided me the tools I need to engage with difficult and destabilizing questions and experiences; if it weren’t for the illustrations of faithfulness I had in the biblical studies faculty, I would have left Christianity long ago. And I certainly would not have learned the virtues of courage, honesty, and faithfulness. Faith is when one confesses, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). This paradoxical confession is the epitome of faith. It transcends propositions and doctrinal statements, and this is the sort of faith I have cultivated in Eastern’s biblical studies program.

I admit: it was frustrating at first not to be given easy answers when uncertainty hit. But now I realize that reassurance does not solve uncertainty—it merely hides it. The biblical studies faculty is a community of people who have been there. They know that questions are an integral part of the Christian faith. Lest we forget Good Friday where Christ cries, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This experience of abandonment is not one Jesus avoids, even if he sweats blood over it. When we struggle, if we are beaten and hated, I am reminded through my time as a biblical studies major that Christ is not only beside us but suffering along with us. Our world, our suffering, is sacred. And even if we disbelieve, the Church believes on our behalf.

My faith is better off because of the numerous crises of faith I’ve gone through at Eastern. In fact, I usually enjoy them as much as I enjoy pious euphoria. The dreaded “faith crisis” is not a modern Protestant idiosyncrasy. Saint John of the Cross, for instance, writes of the “dark night of the soul.” Mother Teresa, likewise, once said that, “If I ever become a saint, I will surely be a saint of darkness.” Father Robert Barron writes that “though it is a high paradox, the fifty-year darkness that Mother [Teresa] endured is, therefore, one of the surest indicators of her saintliness.”

The ability of Eastern’s biblical studies faculty to recognize and embrace questions that might be destabilizing is a testament, not to the alleged “heresy” of biblical scholarship, but to their honest and faithful embrace of the Christian tradition. May the God of all creation extend Her love to us all.

Source: Catholic News Agency

A few weeks ago, I walked into a half-full Gough Great Room where the Human Sexuality Task Force (HSTF) sat, prepared to answer questions and hear thoughts from students. They began the panel by reading two questions—one, it seemed, from each “side” of this “conversation”—and the panel responded to both questions. I thought that was quite fair, despite my own feelings about hiring LGBTQ faculty. Thereafter, I was struck by the level of fear students voiced about the upcoming process. In a way, it was comforting to know that I’m not the only one.

How many of us know what it’s like to be talked about but have little to no voice in the matter? How many of us know that those conversations are had and that they directly impact our mental health, academic performance, and spiritual health? How many of us feel forced to lie about who we are, regardless of what we may believe theologically? I’m not confident to give a number, but I know that these are depressingly characteristic of my own experience, the experiences of other LGBTQ people on this campus, and the experiences of LGBTQ people in the Church.

Conservatives may be scared that their voices aren’t heard, despite the fact that voices like theirs run, fund, and represent the university in most areas. On the other hand, I am scared that the suicide attempt rate of LGB youth will remain four times greater than that of straight youth. I am scared that it will remain that nearly half of all transgender people attempt suicide in their lifetime. And it is not that LGBTQ people are inherently disturbed. It is that conservative ideologies that govern our society (and university) are inherently destructive to the lives and sacredness of LGBTQ people. Demonizing LGBTQ people (sometimes quite literally—ever hear of “praying the gay away?”) is a direct cause of our horrific suicide attempt rates. We are so demonized, in fact, that after graduating from here, I would not be able to work as faculty at EU because my sexuality is considered, according to the faculty handbook, “detrimental to the well-being of the University” (p. 105).

But when LGBTQ faculty are detrimental to the university’s well-being, no amount of finagling and denial can remove the fact that this implies that LGBTQ students are also detrimental to the university’s well-being. It was clear from a number of student responses at the HSTF event that, in a fascinating twist, the utter absence or invisibility of LGBTQ professors is detrimental to the well-being of the university. This is not only because LGBTQ students have no LGBTQ role models and are given contradictory messages from the university about our worth to the community, but also because everyone in the community loses out on the unique perspectives that LGBTQ people bring to the proverbial table. When I came out, many of my friends and family members learned far more through knowing someone who is in the LGBTQ community than by reading egregious numbers of books on the subject. In light of this, if anyone wants to learn more about LGBTQ people and issues, don’t just read a book on queer theory (in fact, I’d advise against it); go talk to someone who is actually LGBTQ. I promise, we’re not contagious, and we’re not sexual predators.

Over the past two years, many of us have asked questions like, “Is being gay or trans a sin?” or “How can we agree to disagree?” Meanwhile, I and a handful of others have wondered, “Can love exist outside of justice and solidarity?” Along with the esteemed Cornel West who once said that “justice is what love looks like in public,” my answer is a firm “no.” I would hope that an institution that prides itself on faith, reason, and justice would share that very disposition. Homophobia and transphobia are sins, and Eastern University would do well to repent of them.

Sources: thetrevorproject.org, youtube.com

On Jan. 20, a representative of the Department of Education told reporters that a searchable database of universities that have been granted waivers to Title IX will be accessible to the public “in coming months.” The development of the database was started after eight lawmakers, including Sens. Ron Wyden and Bernie Sanders, signed a letter expressing their concerns that “these waivers allow for discrimination under the guise of religious freedom.” The letter also communicated worry about the lack of transparency with regard to these waivers. While the database is currently unavailable, the same information is still obtainable via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), although it is a slower and more tedious process.

Journalists of multiple publications have already made these FOIA requests and uncovered that, by the end of 2015, a total of 36 Christian colleges and universities had requested religious exemptions to Title IX regarding gender identity. The requests were made in response to a clarification of the law from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in April 2014. Of the 36 schools, 27 have been granted waivers to Title IX from the Department of Education since 2014. The other nine are pending. The OCR’s clarification stated that “Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity and OCR accepts such complaints for investigation.”

While it does not technically add any new requirement to Title IX, the statement makes explicit that Title IX protects transgender students on the basis of their gender identity. One criterion for granting a waiver to a religious school requires it to “prove that it [is] controlled by a religious entity,” which some religious schools cannot do. Examples of such schools include ones that are not officially associated with a specific denomination, like Biola University.

In addition, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) noted in a report titled, “Hidden Discrimination: Title IX Religious Exemptions Putting LGBT Students At Risk,” that, since 2013, 56 schools have requested Title IX exemptions—33 were approved for waivers from the Title IX protections for students on the basis of gender identity, and 23 were approved on the basis of sexual orientation. Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed points out that the HRC report “argues that there is danger in these exemptions granted without public knowledge of them.” In 2013, only one university had requested such a waiver. By the end of 2015, 46 schools had requested waivers, according to the HRC report.

While Dr. Duffett did sign a letter informally requesting that President Obama extend exemptions to religious institutions in July 2014, Eastern University is not reported among the schools that have formally requested a waiver to Title IX at any point in time. The HRC points out that if any institution, like Eastern, does not have a waiver, it is expected to observe non-discriminatory practices against LGBTQ students and faculty.

Though it has been part of the law since being passed in 1972, the right to request a waiver has been, until the past few years, a little-known stipulation of Title IX. Before the OCR’s statement in 2014, only a handful of universities had utilized it in the 1980s in attempts to bar women from holding teaching/leadership positions. Within the universities that have requested waivers to Title IX, there has, in a few cases, been notable outrage from LGBTQ groups associated with the universities and their allies. Most of the outraged groups are not officially recognized by their respective universities, and some are disallowed from meeting, even as an informal group.

Sources: 2.ed.gov, thecolu.mn, advocate.com, insidehighered.com, nytimes.com, hrc.org

On Thurs. and Fri., Nov. 12-13, terrorist groups attacked three different cities: Baghdad, Beirut, and Paris. The group claiming responsibility for the attacks in all three cities calls itself “The Islamic State” (aka IS, ISIS, ISIL), but in the Arabic world, and increasingly in the West, they are known as “Daesh,” which resembles the Arabic words for “one who crushes something underfoot” and “one who sows discord.”

The Baghdad attacks took place on Friday, Nov. 13. Shiite Muslims were targeted in a roadside bombing and a suicide bombing at a funeral in a mosque. According to Iraqi police officials in Baghdad and local hospital casualty counts, the roadside bombing killed five and injured 15. Located in a southwestern suburb of Baghdad, the funeral that was attacked was for a Shiite militia fighter killed in battle against Daesh. The Associated Press reported that an unnamed police official said that this suicide bombing killed 21 people and injured at least 46 others. In total, the Baghdad attacks killed 26 people and injured at least 71 others.

On Nov. 12, in Beirut, Lebanon, Shiite Muslims were again targeted by Daesh, but Christians, Palestinian refugees, and Syrian refugees were also affected in a mostly-Shiite and working-class region of Beirut. The two bombings were separated by five minutes and just under 500 feet. According to the New York Times, “The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 43 people had been killed and more than 200 wounded in the worst attack to strike the city in years.” After its initial statement, Daesh added that it intended to also target the Shiite paramilitary organization supporting the Syrian government, Hezbollah.

In Paris, a series of seven attacks killed more than 132 people and injured over 200 others on Nov. 13. Among the dead were eight Daesh members who killed themselves during the attacks. The following day, a number of arrests were made in Brussels, Belgium,in connection with the attacks. Two suspects remain at large. The Guardian reports that 87 of the total deaths occurred in a concert hall called The Bataclan where US-based band, The Eagles of Death Metal, played a show. Also sites of attack were two streets, multiple restaurants, and outside the Stade de France, a stadium where a soccer game was underway. A Muslim security guard named Zouhair prevented one of the attackers from entering the stadium. Multiple reports say that Iraq warned France of the attackers the day before the attacks happened and that Turkey warned of them at least twice in the year prior to the attacks, but neither heard back from the French government. The two suspects and now deceased chief organizer of the attack were on a terrorism watch list handed to Françoise Schepmans, who is major of the capital municipality of Brussels, Molenbeek, month before the attacks.

Following US leadership, France has been targeting alleged Daesh members in Syria and Iraq in a series of bombings; eyewitnesses report that attackers mentioned this during the attack. A France-bound plane was grounded in Amsterdam after a threatening tweet associated with Daesh was discovered by airline officials. These events have sparked serious anti-Muslim sentiment in France, with protests calling for the expulsion of “the Islamists.” France has been on the forefront of the US-led battle against Daesh. Following the attacks in Paris, France launched a barrage of military strikes on the de facto Daesh capital in Syria.

In a speech given on Nov. 14, US Secretary of State, Sen. John Kerry, stated that for the past five years, Syria has been struggling through civil war. According to Kerry, “one in twenty Syrians [have been] wounded or dead. [The civil war] has compelled one in five Syrians to flee as refugees. It has displaced half of that country’s population.” The Global Terrorism Index found that the majority of terrorist attacks target private property and citizens. Despite a large majority of Muslims around the world having condemned these attacks, there has been a spike in anti-Muslim sentiment and anti-Muslim attacks in the West.

Sources: nytimes.com, usnews.com, twitter.com, euronews.com, usatoday.com, bbc.com, interactives.ap.org, nytimes.com, mirror.co.uk, state.gov, abc27.com

In light of the recent faculty and staff layoffs, recommended by the Organizational Design Task Force and approved by Dr. Duffett, many might be wondering what sort of financial situation our university is really in. Are we really in financial danger? Or in danger of being in danger? Additionally, questions may arise about how well we really do in comparison to other universities. Is our revenue greater than our expenses? What is the average salary? Who is paid the most? How have the average salaries changed over the past few years compared to the highest salaries? Are women paid equally to men in equivalent positions? With the help of information provided by Pernell Jones, VP for Finance and Operations — most of which is based off of forms filed to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and EU’s Forms 990 from 2011 to 2013 (tax filings for non-profit organizations), which are available to the public online — the Waltonian staff takes a critical look at Eastern University’s finances.

To start, like President Duffett has stated, EU’s current financial position, while urgent, is not all that different from other universities across the country. Moreover, the distribution of faculty salaries is not significantly different from distribution from other univerisites — even Villanova University, whose highest compensated employee earns nearly $2.5 million per year.

“Significant” in this piece refers to statistical significance on a normal distribution (bell curve). All statistical significance levels (confidence levels) in these analyses are set to p=.05.

Expenses and Revenues

Eastern’s core revenue totals $55,291,465. Core expenses total $57,330,899. This means that there is a net core deficit of $2,039,434. In comparison to 19 other Christian colleges and universities compared in the FASB document, this is the second greatest deficit. While Cabrini is at a deficit of $86,839, the 15 remaining institutions break positive, meaning that their core revenue is greater than their core expenses.

Though, on the face of it, Eastern seems to be doing categorically worse than other institutions, this deficit is not uncommon in the average US higher education institution. In statistical terms, Eastern’s deficit, even in comparison with those 19 institutions, is not statistically significant. Again, when adjusted for revenue and number of full-time equivalent enrollees (FTE), Eastern is still not significantly different than other institutions.

Like most other Christian universities, Eastern is a heavily tuition-driven school, with 78% of EU’s revenue coming from tuition and fees (see Fig. 1). When enrollment drops as significantly as it has at Eastern (by 11.5%), this has a large effect on the institution’s financial health, especially projecting into the future if the drop in enrollment persists. On the other hand, Fig. 2 shows that almost 50% of Eastern’s expenses are on instruction, which includes the salaries of professors.

Salaries

The average salary of an EU faculty member in the 2013-2014 tax year was $74,043. Since 2009-2010, the average salary has netted a decrease of $635. This is not significantly different from the average salaries at Cabrini, Villanova, Messiah, and Lancaster Bible College — a few of Eastern’s “benchmark institutions.” But though Eastern’s average salary has consistently decreased, the average salaries at other comparable institutions, with the exception of Lancaster Bible College, have consistently increased over the same period (Fig. 4). When comparing the proportion of female salaries to male salaries in equivalent positions at Eastern to the above institutions, four-year private college average, and the average Pa. university, Eastern is not significantly better or worse in terms of equitable pay by gender. But when compared only to the above comparable institutions, Eastern the ratio of female to male salaries is significantly lower. On average, female assistant professors at Eastern earn $0.80 for every $1 male assistant professors earn (Fig. 3).

While the average salary has had a net decrease of $635 between 2009-2010 and 2012-2013, the highest-compensated EU employee has had a net increase of $9,811 over the same period. The highest paid employee — the president of the university at the time, Dr. David Black–was paid $279,215 in 2012-2013 which is 3.77 times more than the average salary. The five highest-compensated employees, on average, made $242,155.25 per year which is 3.27 times more than the average salary. This means that for the average faculty member to earn as much as the highest paid or the five highest-paid employees, they would have to work 3.77 or 3.27 times as many hours, respectively. In other words, assuming the average professor works 40 hours per week, they would have to work 151 hours or 131 hours per week to earn as much as the highest paid employee(s). If the five highest-compensated employees took a pay cut to match the average salary, 13 faculty or staff members could have been spared from being eliminated by Dr. Duffett’s decision to fire 34 staff and 11 faculty. Moreover, if we account for the ten highest-compensated employees, how many more faculty and staff would have been spared?

Conclusion

While this brief analysis may answer a handful of questions, there are handfuls more to be asked. Why was the elimination of 45 faculty and staff members preferable over a pay cut from the highest-paid employees’ salaries? Why are female assistant professors paid significantly less than male assistant professors? What can Eastern do to pay its female assistant professors more equitably? Why has the highest salary increased by nearly $10,000 while the average salary has hardly changed?

The most important remedies and answers to these problems and questions are transparency and justice. Whether that comes in the form of democratic economic justice or in the form of whistleblowers is up to Eastern as a community. Do we want to throw more gasoline on the fire or extinguish it with the love of Christ, which is true justice?

The advent of LGBTQ rights is upon us, not just in the United States, but around the world. Contrary to what the religious right and the liberal left will have you believe, LGBTQ rights are far more complex and numerous than just “gay marriage.” While they are not perfect or all-encompassing in any iteration, the myriad of legal changes and protections across the globe include marriage equality (Japan), the option to check “no gender” for intersex children and for parents who don’t want to impose a gender on their child (Germany), surgery no longer being required for a gender change (Chile, Colombia), a variety of non-discrimination ordinances (Dallas, Tx., Ukraine), and many more. While I’m ultimately not wild about governments in general, I think these changes signify an important socio-political shift. Such a shift will hopefully give way to a safe global society for LGBTQ people.

In one sense, these changes in countries that I have no personal connection with might simply not impact me at all. While many non-LGBTQ Christians view this as a “condoning of sin,” for a Christian and member of the LGBTQ community such as myself, it means that I might see a future where I can travel, within my own country and abroad, without fear of harassment, violence, or other forms of discrimination and the health risks caused by them. Travelling while LGBTQ—especially as a transgender woman—can be incredibly daunting and even dangerous. When I consider possible vacation options, study abroad options, graduate school options, or just living options, I need to be especially aware of the social climate of where I am going. I cannot simply assume that any given region will treat me with dignity (even places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, or New York City).

When it comes to the horrendous level of poverty LGBTQ people experience, cultural shifts in countries, states, and even cities is important because many of us cannot afford to simply “leave if you don’t like it here.” Even regarding my own education, I have been told to “leave if you don’t like it here.” It is no wonder that 1 in 6 transgender people report leaving school due to harassment. There is also a history of forced sterilization of transgender people across the globe that is still in practice today in many places.

In the end, justice is not just about making a few individual people happy—it’s about replacing systems of oppression that affect a large portion of a certain demographic. Even if I’m relatively unaffected by something, or more importantly, if I benefit from something that dehumanizes and oppresses others, the onus is on me and the community as a whole to actively oppose those conditions and work to create safer, more equitable conditions for all members of the community. Whether it is LGBTQ rights or any other cause, justice consists in the liberation of every member of the community.

Sources: cooperativa.cl, elespectador.com, huffingtonpost.com, thetaskforce.org

On Sept. 21, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) convened to evaluate the memberships of Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) and Goshen College after the two Mennonite schools became the two first CCCU member institutions to include the categories “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in their non-discrimination policies. Though the CCCU reports that “approximately 75 percent of members agreed in full or in principle with the Board’s recommendation to consider moving EMU and Goshen to non-member affiliate status,” both EMU and Goshen left the CCCU voluntarily.

Two other schools—Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OWU) and Union University—also left the CCCU voluntarily due to their convictions that they could not remain members of the CCCU “as long as some member colleges were willing to hire as faculty members people in same-sex marriages,” according to InsideHigherEd.com. Additionally, various other member institutions threatened to leave the CCCU if Goshen’s and EMU’s memberships were maintained. The CCCU also added Point University and several other institutions as members on Sept. 22.

As a CCCU member institution, Eastern is also affected by these events. In an interview, Dr. Duffett expressed his disappointment with the situation, saying “I wish the other schools hadn’t left … I wish they had stayed in the tent.” While there are ethical disagreements at Eastern, in the CCCU, and in the Church at large regarding sexual ethics for LGBTQ people, Duffett stated that he doesn’t “want to see a dilution of Christian education.” Duffett continued, “I don’t see anything coming out of separation.” After saying “I think you can be a Christian and be LGBTQ,” Duffett added that he thinks an institution can be Christian and still hire LGBTQ faculty. According to Duffett, Eastern has no desire to leave the CCCU, nor is there any exit strategy for Eastern to do so.

“The Weather Vane,” EMU’s newspaper, reports that EMU’s president Loren Swartzendruber stated, “All along, even when the process started back in July… I said at several points along the way, ‘I am ready to voluntarily withdraw, because I do not want to contribute to a split. [sic]” While the CCCU’s mission is “To advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help our institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth,” there are no requirements for member institutions to discriminate against LGBTQ faculty or students. Swartzendruber continues to affirm EMU’s commit to a Christian education: “We are a Christian university—that’s in our mission, we aren’t changing that—and, currently the policy is full-time, tenured-track faculty members must be Christians. So, in my mind, we met the criteria, but I also knew that some people would disagree.” “The Weather Vane” also reports that Swartzendruber said “For me, the most disappointing thing about that is, I don’t think the Christian witness is served very well when we keep drawing boundaries.”

Likewise, Goshen’s “The Record” reports that the president of Goshen, Jim Brenneman, said “We decided to withdraw rather than see a pretty major riff in the association had we stayed.” Additionally, Brenneman stated in a press release that “[GC’s] Christian commitments and values have not changed, and while our desire has been to remain at the table with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we don’t want to cause further division in the CCCU. It would distract us, and the CCCU, from the other important work at hand.” Brenneman also said “[Our withdrawal] is in keeping with our commitment to peacemaking and social justice.”

Last spring, rigorous conversations about human sexuality continued from the previous summer and fall in the form of intentional public conversations and lectures. These events were the fruit of a task force that was first convened by Dr. Duffett in the summer of 2014. This task force was formed in response to the backlash Duffett received from students, alumni, and faculty for signing a letter to President Obama in conjunction with over 100 US Christian leaders. In the letter, Duffett and his fellow signees asked Obama to grant religious institutions exemption from “any executive order providing nondiscrimination guarantees for LGBT employees of federal contractors”.

The members of the task force have changed since last spring. Dr. Christopher Hall left Eastern to take a position as president of Renovaré, Jocelyn Paul graduated from the Templeton Honors College, and Dr. Walt Huddell’s period as ex officio faculty senate moderator ended at the close of the semester. While Dr. Hall was not replaced, the position formerly held by Jocelyn Paul will be filled by student chaplain Maria Emanuele, the position occupied by Dr. Huddell will be filled by Dr. Wendy Mercier, professor of exercise science and nursing.

Last spring, the task force initiated its first phase by facilitating a semester-long conversation on “The Nature of Sexuality and Sexual Difference.” The second phase, planned for this semester, seeks to explore “Relational Sexual Ethics.” Next semester will involve discussions on how to proceed based on what we have learned and may include policy changes regarding the hiring of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. The policy in question currently states that engagement in “homosexual conduct” is “detrimental to the well-being of the University,” and it allows for the termination of a tenured faculty member without a probationary period. According to Dr. Huddell and student moderator Efram Harkins, the role of the Task Force in policy changes is unclear. It is also unclear how the OrganizationaDesign Task Force will affect the policy review process.

The schedule of events hosted by the Human Sexuality Task Force this semester is as follows:

Sept. 24: Human Sexuality Pastors’ Panel, Maria Emanuele moderating (7:00-8:30 p.m., Gough Great Room)

Oct. 9: Al Vernacchio with Joe Modica — “For Goodness Sex – A Conversation About Healthy Sexuality,” Landi Turner moderating (10:00-10:50 a.m., McInnis Auditorium)

Oct. 21: “God Values Us: Where is God in my HIV?” Calenthia Dowdy moderating (7:00-8:30 p.m., Eagle Great Room)

Oct. 29: Rachel Held Evans — “The Misuse of Power in Gender Relations,” Amy Perez moderating (7:00-9:00 p.m., McInnis Auditorium)

Nov. 3: “Marriage and the Common Good after Obergefell v. Hodges: A Debate between Stephen Macedo and Ryan T. Anderson,” Steven McGuire moderating (7:00-8:30 p.m., Warner Library Atrium)

Nov. 13: T.C. Ryan — “Christian Spirituality in a Sex-Saturated Culture,” Margaret Peterson moderating (10:00-10:50 a.m., McInnis Auditorium)

Nov. 17: “Fears and Anxieties of What’s Over the Horizon,” Efram Harkins moderating (7:00-8:30 p.m., Gough Great Room)

There will also be two informal conversations on events, hosted by Drs. Cary and Saba, and student task force members Maria Emanuele and Efram Harkins. These conversations will take place on Oct. 5 and Nov. 2, both at 10 a.m. in McInnis 254.

Sources: eastern.edu, irfalliance.org, waltonian.com

As Jordan Kolb wrote in “Goshen College, EMU Change Hiring Policies” on page 1-2, Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) both changed their hiring policies regarding LGBT faculty. Over the summer, both Mennonite schools announced their additions of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to their non-discrimination policies—a motion contrary to their Mennonite denomination’s beliefs. While sexual orientation and gender were added to the non-discrimination policies, what these changes mean for transgender students in particular is unclear. Nonetheless, it is a very respectable thing when people and communities take tangible steps to support and defend the oppressed in their communities, even in the face of denominational or political difference. I wish I could say this about the Eastern community.

After signing an anti-LGBT letter that was sent to Obama in the summer of 2014, Dr. Duffett insisted that “Eastern University will not discriminate against students or employees based on sexual orientation.” But no handbook policy stating this has ever existed. Also conspicuously absent is any mention of transgender people (the ‘T’ in LGBT) in all of Duffett’s statements and in any formal EU policy. Jodi Beyeler, Director of Communications at Goshen College, stated that “If we become aware of transgender students wanting to live on campus, we determine the best housing situation for them on a case-by-case basis, in conversation with the individual students. We strive to meet student needs while honoring understandings of life in a community.” EMU representatives did not respond in time for publication, but their handbook was just as ambiguous as Goshen’s regarding transgender students. While this ambiguity isn’t exactly a condemnation, it is very concerning to me, especially given my own experiences of discrimination at Eastern.

Nonetheless, the hiring decision of Goshen and EMU gives me hope for the future of Christianity. It gives me hope that I and so many other LGBT people might not be ostracized, abused, and otherwise violated by Christians who think “disagreeing in love” is a viable substitute to living a loving and just life. I am baffled that people laud Eastern for its alleged commitment to justice when LGBT people are routinely singled out by EU hiring and housing practices. As someone who has repeatedly been ostracized by churches and Christians, the housing and hiring policies and practices at Eastern as they stand right now do not give me the same hope that Goshen’s and EMU’s do.

What do you say to a person when they tell you “that thing you’re doing to me makes me want to not live anymore”? At Eastern the response is, “we have to be mindful of those who disagree with your fundamental existence. You should consider compromising, and we’ll figure something out so we can keep doing that but have you not complain about it.” EMU and Goshen seem like they might respond in a more substantially loving manner. While not all LGBT people are suicidal, Eastern’s sort of pseudo-accepting rejection contributes to the fact that, according to the Family Acceptance Project, “LGB youth who come from highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGB peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection,” and the fact that, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, transgender people are more than 40 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population.

In other words, Eastern University is complicit in the socio-cultural suffocation of LGBT people, and this institution would do well to learn from Goshen College and EMU. Goshen’s and EMU’s commitments to justice are manifestations of the heart of God, albeit not without more room to improve. Of course, our communities would be nothing without the tenacity, love, and commitment of their own LGBT members. I pray for the day I can include Eastern among a small list of communities where people like me can be safe and healthy. Today is not one of those days.

Sources:

Family Acceptance Project

Injustice at Every Turn

www.oneeastern.com

I have met very few people who unabashedly like this new brand Eastern adopted last spring. Perhaps it’s just the people I surround myself with, but to me, the brand comes off as pretentious and almost as an attempt to distract from EU’s own internal problems. The most immediate problem I take with “Wake ^ The World” (barring the cheesy attempt at being syntactically relevant) is its completely unqualified association with the white savior complex. The first webpage launched for this campaign told the story of the EU women’s soccer team that went to Zambia in May 2014. The page featured a picture of one of the soccer players with a young Zambian child, describing it as “a perfect example of what it means to Wake Up The World.”

Did it not occur to anyone making this brand that this was exactly the same motivation behind colonialism? Or perhaps that was precisely the point: that those other people of a different culture need saving through Christian evangelism. Of course, “sharing one’s faith” is not synonymous with “evangelizing,” so it cannot (and should not) be said that the women’s soccer team was only there to subjugate the culture and exploit them into “Christian repentance.” Instead, I see this situation much like I tend to read the Bible—certainly something happened, but there is undeniably authorial freedom to make the events into what they are trying to communicate. In this case, we have an unseen author (of the brand) and we can only infer things from what they say and how they say it.

I’m sure many are wondering how this was even chosen. On April 17, 2014, the marketing staff sent out an email inviting all EU students to an elaborate branding event. The event was held six days later, on April 25, a Wednesday. Club leaders may likely know that Wednesdays are notoriously the busiest days to hold events, thus students would be less likely to attend. The event mimicked the same sort of neoliberalism that would later be embodied in the brand, “Wake ^ The World.” There was plenty of FREE food and beverages (a good draw for college students being pushed further into debt by their university) and a contest for a 55” flat screen TV.

At this event, the brand was revealed. In other words, students and faculty had little to zero agency in choosing how our university would be represented. What would have been done if the feedback reflected that the community did not want a new “brand”? What if “faith, reason, and justice” was one that the community found to be illuminating and motivating?

Personally, I’m more inclined to take a university seriously with a motto like “faith, reason, and justice” than one with “Wake ^ The World.” And I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m not alone in this. While “faith, reason, and justice” has not been discontinued (which would have been really awkward, given the new wall art in the back of the Dining Commons), it is disconcerting to me that it is being used less and seems to be taken over by “Wake ^ The World.” In a way, “Wake ^ The World” is directly at odds with “Faith, Reason, and Justice,” especially when Eastern keeps hitting its own snooze button.

Sources: www.eastern.edu/admissions/wtw