SERIES NOTE: THIS FALL THE ROVER WILL BE REPORTING A SERIES TRACKING THE DEVELOPMENT AND DIRECTION OF THE CAMPUS PUSH FOR THE OFFICIAL RECOGNITION OF A GAY-STRAIGHT STUDENT ALLIANCE

In 1997 the University of Notre Dame adopted the “Spirit of Inclusion” statement, in which the university committed itself to creating a more welcoming environment for “all people, regardless of color, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, social or economic class, and nationality, for example, precisely because of Christ’s calling to treat others as we desire to be treated.” In releasing this document, the university sought in part to respond to a series of requests for an officially-recognized student club intended to respond to the needs of students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ).

The year prior to the release of the “Spirit of Inclusion,” a standing committee for the needs of gay and lesbian students was created by the administration. In 2006, this standing committee became the Core Council, which was designed to “act as a resource to the Vice President for Student Affairs in identifying the ongoing needs of gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual students, and assists in implementing campus-wide educational programming on gay and lesbian issues.”  The Core Council was initially founded to help keep the Office of Student Affairs informed; it was not set up primarily to minister to and counsel students with same-sex attraction, though it has offered programming to that end.

There are members of the student body who are now vocalizing strongly that the Core Council programs are insufficient to serve the needs of students with same-sex attraction. These students argue that the needs of students with same-sex attractions could be better served through a student-run organization. For the past four years, requests have been submitted to the Student Activities Office (SAO) petitioning for an officially-approved organization that would serve as a peer-to-peer forum for expression of solidarity with students with same-sex attractions, rather than as a student-to-administration informational body.

In previous years, such requests have been denied outright by the administration the semester of the request. However, in the spring of 2012, the SAO broke suit and  instead decided to defer their decision on the most recently proposed club until the fall semester. Peggy Hnatusko, Director of Student Activities for Programming, provided the following explanation for this decision: “The University intends to review the breadth of structures and services currently provided to LGBTQ students and their allies by the University in the hopes of making the best decisions possible to support our students and the University community, all within the context of Catholic teaching.”

If this latest proposed gay-straight club, AllianceND, is approved, it will be expected to act according to its constitution, which states that “The purpose of AllianceND is not to address LGBTQ issues that are in opposition to the Catholic identity of the University.” Every official event hosted by an SAO-approved club is first reviewed and approved by SAO, which can refuse to allow events that are not in keeping with the mission of the club. The Student Activities Office could hypothetically veto proposed events or programming which would run contrary to the Church’s teaching. Although the student club would not be run by the administration, as is the Core Council, AllianceND would be fully accountable to SAO.

The primary concern of the advocates of AllianceND and members of the 4 to 5 Movement, an initiative created by Notre Dame’s Progressive Student Alliance which aims to increase ally solidarity with LGBTQ students, is to promote tolerance and acceptance of people with same-sex attractions and to eliminate hateful or insensitive slurs and prejudices which affect those people. Although these students are aware of and have participated in the programs that have been offered by the University and by the Core Council in particular, they assert that there are ways in which these programs are deficient. Many members of the Notre Dame community have posted self-made videos in which they echo the refrain, ‘it needs to get better.’ Advocates of AllianceND maintain that a peer-based club could minister to students in ways that the existing administrative bodies cannot. While it is possible that the University will again reject the club application and expand on its existing efforts to minister to the needs of students with same-sex attractions, it is also more likely than ever that AllianceND will be approved this year in response to mounting pressure from the campus community.

SAO and the University have been closely reviewing the programming which has been offered in the past. Further information on the Core Council for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Questioning Students can be found at http://corecouncil.nd.edu. The proposed constitution for AllianceND can be found at http://blogs.nd.edu/psa/2012/08/27/constitution-of-alliancend.

Timothy Kirchoff is a junior studying political science and theology. Contact him at tkirchof@nd.edu.