Thursday, March 28, 2013
Political Mayhem Thursday: Sex at Baylor
A week ago, I got an anonymous message from a group at Baylor that is trying to foster a more open discussion of sexuality (and particularly the role in society of GLBT people). They wanted me to write something for them, so I did, with the caveat that it could not be published anonymously, but only with my name attached.
You can read that piece here.
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i'm surprised at the crickets chirping in the comment section on something like this.
my (very condensed) take is that non-tenured faculty (though perhaps not all) are afraid to touch the topic for fear it will derail their path to tenure.
and while there have been student groups who occasionally bring the issue up, their numbers are rarely strong. possible reasons for that could range from fear of being ostracized by their peers to fear of punishment or reprisal by the university, if the student(s) make too much of a fuss about it.
from the university administration's standpoint, you know they don't want to touch this issue, even if it were with A&M's 10-foot pole. their preference is to keep ignoring it and hope the matter doesn't become public or lead to controversy on campus.
i do believe you're correct, mark, that a university setting, including or even particularly one with Christian roots, is the ideal place for such a discussion to occur. and similar discussions, along with other equally compelling or controversial conversations/debates, occur on college campuses all across the country.
but on this particular issue, i think baylor thinks they're in a lose-lose situation. on the one hand, if they take any step toward recognizing gay students on their campus, or especially endorsing any form of GBLT group on campus, they would anger their conservative constituents. that equals loss of dollars.
on the other hand, if the discussion came about in any meaningful sense and baylor took a hard-line stance against recognizing GBLT students, faculty, organizations, etc., then they would take a beating PR-wise across the country. in addition to the negative pub, baylor's more moderate to liberal constituents would probably be less likely to open up their checkbooks for the school.
so, at that point, it would appear that for baylor to broach the subject in a meaningful way, it would be out of a sense of responsibility to the idea of open discussion and debate.
oh, did i mention they're building a $250 million football stadium?
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my (very condensed) take is that non-tenured faculty (though perhaps not all) are afraid to touch the topic for fear it will derail their path to tenure.
and while there have been student groups who occasionally bring the issue up, their numbers are rarely strong. possible reasons for that could range from fear of being ostracized by their peers to fear of punishment or reprisal by the university, if the student(s) make too much of a fuss about it.
from the university administration's standpoint, you know they don't want to touch this issue, even if it were with A&M's 10-foot pole. their preference is to keep ignoring it and hope the matter doesn't become public or lead to controversy on campus.
i do believe you're correct, mark, that a university setting, including or even particularly one with Christian roots, is the ideal place for such a discussion to occur. and similar discussions, along with other equally compelling or controversial conversations/debates, occur on college campuses all across the country.
but on this particular issue, i think baylor thinks they're in a lose-lose situation. on the one hand, if they take any step toward recognizing gay students on their campus, or especially endorsing any form of GBLT group on campus, they would anger their conservative constituents. that equals loss of dollars.
on the other hand, if the discussion came about in any meaningful sense and baylor took a hard-line stance against recognizing GBLT students, faculty, organizations, etc., then they would take a beating PR-wise across the country. in addition to the negative pub, baylor's more moderate to liberal constituents would probably be less likely to open up their checkbooks for the school.
so, at that point, it would appear that for baylor to broach the subject in a meaningful way, it would be out of a sense of responsibility to the idea of open discussion and debate.
oh, did i mention they're building a $250 million football stadium?
# posted by 
: 10:36 PM
: 10:36 PM << Home
