Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 00:37:03 -0500 (CDT)
From: community <mtlambda@knuth.mtsu.edu>
Subject: Middle Tennessee State University Holds Hearings on Policy (fwd)



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	Here's a copy of the letter that will appear in Middle Tennessee 
State University's campus paper SIDELINES on September 26, 1996.

 for information see www.mtsu.edu/~mtlambda/uec.html or call (615)780-2293

STORY CONTACTS:	
	
Dr. Robert LaLance, MTSU Vice President for Student Affairs (615)898-2440
Dr. Paul Kline, University Rules Committee Chair            (615)898-2956
Dr. James Walker, MTSU President                            (615)898-2622
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	Next week, the University Rules Committee will be holding open 
hearings. The agenda will be the issue of enhancing the campus 
nondiscrimination policy to ensure equal protections without regrad to 
sexual orientation. This enhancement will benefit students, faculty and 
staff of Middle Tennessee State University as it strengthens the 
university's Statement of Mission to provide for anyone who puts forth 
thier best efforts.
	Hearing from both sides of this issue, the committee will begin 
the important and tough work of sifting through two opposing views of 
justice.
	One side will bring the belief that gay and lesbian students, 
faculty and staff are immoral and undeserving members of our community 
who are asking for extra privilege or special rights. This definition of 
justice serves none other than to exclude family, friends, roomates, 
professors and classmates from rights guaranteed us all.
	Another side will bring the knowledge and understanding that a 
person's sexual orientation should never be a reason for discrimination. 
This definition of justice has led us to understand why being a woman or 
being black is not a reason to be discriminated against, no matter what 
definition of "morals" was used to argue otherwise.
	This definition of justice will always be the safety net for the 
law as scapegoats are historically searched out and used to justify 
exclusion.
	Currently, more than 300 universityies across the nation and many 
more major US corporations (more than half of the Fortune 500 companies 
alone) ensure equal protections without regard to sexual orientation.
	The reason for this is clear. Discrimination is wrong and impedes 
humanity from living out the true potential we have to be good to one 
another. The reasons againat equality for gays and lesbians are still 
unclear and require a kind of "leap of faith" the law cannot and should 
not objectively make.
	Bringing this university a step closer to what one university 
executive staff member calls a "world class stature" means abandoning 
unjustified exclusion and reflecting a "world class" ethic to do what is 
right. In the words of Ghandi, "We must become the change we wish to see 
in the world."
	The students we send out into the world will attest to our 
expressed value on equality. We should make sure that value expresses 
understanding and knowledge.
	As we aspire to empower this university's Statement of Mission we 
will come to know that our university's greatness will follow.

Michael Grantham   -   grantham@knuth.mtsu.edu
Uniform Equality Committee Chair
http://www.mtsu.edu/~mtlambda/uec.html