Articles in University of Alaska
Judith Barrington, Valerie Miner, & other great writers in UAA annual reading series
Judith Barrington and Valerie Miner are among the writers participating in the Summer 2011 Northern Renaissance Arts & Sciences Reading Series from July 10–19 at UAA. This is the fourth year for the event, which is held annually in conjunction with the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing of the UAA Department of Creative Writing & Literary Arts (CWLA).
Anthony Romero of ACLU to speak Thursday at UAA
Anthony Romero, national executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Romero will be the featured speaker for Disparate Opportunity in America: The Ongoing Struggle for Equal Rights sponsored by the UAA Justice Center and ACLU of Alaska. The program will focus on recent developments in the continuing challenges faced by minority and underprivileged communities and the work of the ACLU in fighting for equal rights.
A Circle of Support: Counseling for friends of James Crump at UAA Thursday evening
UAA’s Student Health & Counseling Center will offer grief counseling and information on resources for friends of James Crump and others affected by his sudden and tragic death at Pride last Saturday. Please be sure also to check other resources for psychological and spiritual support about which we posted yesterday.
Brandi Carlile returns to Alaska
Both Anchorage and Fairbanks are on Brandi Carlile’s summer 2011 tour!
Gay teen from Wasilla was assaulted, tires slashed, rejected by parents but looking ahead
Cody had a horrible coming out. His college buddies at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and his brother and parents in Wasilla all reacted badly, only his sister is supportive. But he won’t let them ruin his life.
The “I’m From Driftwood” team interviewed LGBT Alaskans for their national story project, and the first video from Alaska was uploaded on Monday. The story is from Cody James, raised in Wasilla. Watch:
How sad that their son was assaulted and, instead of helping him, they caused him more harm. Hopefully, they will learn to love and support him as the wonderful young gay man that he is.
And what kind of university would allow a student to be harassed for 4 months?
The main perpetrator got a slap on the wrist, 24 hours in jail and some community service hours, Cody told Bent Alaska. The others got off. The city and campus police wouldn’t do anything to stop the bullying, so he fled Fairbanks and moved to Anchorage. When he explained to his family why he left college, they rejected him for being gay.
The University of Alaska, Fairbanks and the Fairbanks police owe Cody an apology, at the very least, and assurance that they will protect other students from being bullied out of an education. [Hint: Get an LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying policy, and enforce it.]
Cody wants to put this bad time behind him and move forward. But he could have called the FBI to investigate the assault under the federal Hate Crimes law passed in 2009. They have the authority to step in when local officers won’t take an anti-gay attack seriously.
Why the FBI? Because we aren’t protected by Alaska’s hate crimes law, and a bill adding LGBT Alaskans is currently stuck in the Finance committee.
Please contact the legislators today and tell them to approve SB 11, the Alaska Hate Crimes bill. We obviously need it.
Thanks to I’m From Driftwood for including Alaska in their story tour and collecting this important story. And thanks to Cody for being brave, finding support and sharing his story. May his life get much better and stay good.
“Inlaws & Outlaws”: Love is neither straight or gay — it’s human
There was lots of laughter in Room 101 of UAA’s Rasmuson Hall: the laughter of recognition as we shared in the joy of people whose stories of love we heard at the March 18 screening of “Inlaws & Outlaws.”
“Inlaws & Outlaws” with filmmaker Drew Emery at UAA this Friday
“Inlaws & Outlaws” by Seattle filmmaker Drew Emery is showing at UAA this Friday at 7:00 PM. “Inlaws & Outlaws” weaves together the true stories of couples and singles — both gay and straight — into a collective narrative that is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking, ” getting past all the rhetoric to embrace what we have in common: We love.
Harm at the center
Self-hatred — including, for many of us, internalized homophobia and transphobia — is the harm at the very center of us. Love others as you love yourself, but first: love yourself. Let no one convince you to do otherwise.
Homosexuality isn’t so immoral after all!
by Heather Aronno | Originally posted on The Alaska Commons
For those who were not able to attend the “Is Homosexuality Immoral?” lecture by Dr. John Corvino, you missed a good time. Hosted by UAA Student Life & Leadership’s Student Activities department, the lecture consisted of a break down of the standard arguments against homosexuality: the Bible says it’s wrong, it’s unnatural, it’s gross, etc… It was also incredibly entertaining. Corvino has a talent for keeping the pace quick and light, addressing the main arguments up front so that he can get to his favorite part, the audience questions.
Let’s backtrack a little to before the lecture. After my post on Monday (which Bent Alaska and Progressive Alaska were kind enough to re-post), I had a fun time bringing up the topic in my classes. The general reaction from students was that they 1) thought that the speaker was a conservative bigot until I straightened them out, 2) had no problem with LGBT people and didn’t see what the big deal was about, or 3) got a miffed look on their face when I brought the topic up at all. It was especially interesting, as this also marked the week that the UA Board of Regents was finally going to consider adding “sexual orientation” to UA’s non-discrimination policy. Many students didn’t know that LGBT students and faculty weren’t already protected by the policy. I felt informative, but in a depressing kind of way.
Fast forward back to Thursday night. John and I were approached by a few students outside of the Wendy Williamson Auditorium. They were handing out those little chick tracts comics. You know the ones. The hero of the story dabbles in the occult and ends up in Hell. Or the hero tries marijuana and ends up in Hell. Or the hero considers evolution and…well, you get the picture. I politely declined, and put the one that John took into the recycling bin.
[Fun Fact: Putting those little comics into Wiccan-themed books at the bookstore is not viewed as helpful. It makes the customers who buy the Wiccan books very angry, and they take it out on the store employees. Then the employees think hateful thoughts about the people who put the comics into the Wiccan books in the first place.]
But after that little moment, there was nothing but positivity leading up to, during, and after the lecture. Even the Bible Study group that attended was polite and, for the most part, asked good questions.
Afterward, I was able to speak to a few students about their impressions of the lecture:
“I thought it was really good. I’ve got to say going into it, I knew nothing more than the question on the billboard, so I had no idea about the speaker himself. I didn’t know he was a philosophy professor. And I thought… I love logic so the way that he phrased his arguments was done really well and made a lot of sense. I don’t know, it’s one of those things, I don’t think I personally learned anything new, because it just reaffirmed my beliefs already. It just felt good to have that logic behind it all.” Joe – English Major
“I really enjoyed the lecture, just because Dr. Corvino was able to break down every argument against homosexuality. It put it in perspective.” Rosalyn – Russian Language and International Studies Majors
“I thought Dr. John Corvino was very thorough in his explanation of why homosexuality is not immoral. My feelings on the issue are that it is a completely normal sexual behavior. As an evangelical Christian, I do not find anything within the Bible that tells me that it is immoral. In fact, I find that in the scripture of Jesus, and especially as Christians, we need to support equality for all human beings. So what he said fit into my religious faith.” Ceezar – Political Science Major
“It was very good. I’m not a religious man. I’m a very devout atheist. [chuckle] My personal thought is that he made very compelling arguments and I’ve been on board with him through this whole thing, so it’s not like I had any lingering discomforts or anything. He was very articulate. He wasn’t very pathos-based, which was good. He kept things very simple and understandable, and made it so he could reach out to every [person in the] audience without sounding judgmental, which is good in our modern culture. I personally enjoyed this and was glad I attended.” Lucien – UAA Student
As we walked out of the auditorium, I thought about the students who were huddled outside, handing comics to people. I wish that they would have allowed themselves to attend the lecture, because I think they would have gained something from it. Even if it was just taking a moment to see things from another person’s perspective. I’m sure that they believed strongly that they were doing the right thing, but they just plain missed the point.
Lucien, one of the students quoted above, is actually a blogger as well. And so I’ll end my post with a quote from his review, but I recommend you following this link over to his blog and reading the rest of his post.
Corvino did make a point early on that the fact that people believe that this debate is over is kind of unsettling. He said that we are at a very odd place in the war for equality for the LGBT community. There is a consensus growing among the general public that the war is over. But the sad truth is that the war is still very much alive and is not getting the attention that is used to. Corvino said that there is a difference in the public’s perception of the war because the bulk of it hasn’t been really taught to kids all that much. This came up during the discussion. While we are taught all about the leaders of the African-American movement for equality, leader of the LGBT community’s battle for equality have gone mostly unnoticed in history classes. People like Harvey Milk aren’t taught about in classes.
Thanks to those that helped get Dr. Corvino up here. Thanks to Dr. Corvino for coming to UAA and helping us find better ways to articulate our viewpoint. And thanks to the UA Board of Regents who voted to change the non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation! (Read more over at Bent Alaska.)
Other reactions to Dr. John Corvino’s “Is Homosexuality Moral?” lecture
- 17 Feb 2011. “The Morality of Homosexuality: A Lecture with John Corvino” by Lucien Maverick (Lucien Maverick’s Blog).
- 18 Feb 2011. “‘Is Homosexuality Moral?’ Recap”by Matt Caprioli (The Northern Light).
About John Corvino
Dr. John Corvino, a.k.a. “The Gay Moralist,” lectured on the topic “Is Homosexuality Immoral?” at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium, University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), on Thursday, 17 Feb 2011. His visit coincided with the decision by the University of Alaska Board of Regents to add “sexual orientation” to the nondiscrimination policy for the statewide University of Alaska system.
Dr. Corvino is a writer, speaker, and philosophy professor. For over 15 years he has been traveling the country speaking on gay rights. Combining philosophy, sensitivity, and humor he has challenged all sides of the debate about homosexuality and morality. Dr. Corvino’s writings, videos from his presentations, and a full DVD of his lecture “What’s Morally Wrong With Homosexuality?” are available on his website.
Photos by Melissa S. (Mel) Green
University of Alaska Regents vote 8–2 to add sexual orientation to UA nondiscrimination policy
By a vote of 8 to 2, the University of Alaska Regents this morning added sexual orientation to the UA Regents’ Policies on nondiscrimination. Students, faculty, and staff of the statewide public university system have been asking for years for such a policy change, led in particular by students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.
