Sunday, April 27, 2008

The Asterisk

*An unfortunate circumstance. We're working on it.

Here is our first Blog, links to all the Falcon articles that have been written about us. For posterity.

"Local Recognition for Haven"
April 9, 2008

"Waiting for Club Status Once Again"

March 5, 2008

"A Church of Balance"
October 24, 2007

"An Alternative Christian Voice"
October 17, 2007

"New 'Haven' For Discussion"
October 10, 2007

"We Should Embrace the Gay-Straight Alliance at SPU"
May 9, 2007

Letters to the editor:

Haven deserves recognition

It was disheartening to read the article on the struggles the group Haven is facing in campus in their attempts to receive club status. It feels so much like backsliding has occurred since last spring when Equality Ride was here on campus and this subject was being discussed more regularly.

Unfortunately, the administration of SPU is pulling an old-time tactic: out of sight, out of mind. They won’t make a decision, hoping that eventually people will forget or just give up. I am proud of Haven for not giving up and for continuing to meet despite the circumstances. Sometimes you have to step backward to go forward. Besides, you never know who you are helping just by being. Homosexuality will always face adversity, especially in the eyes of legalistic Christianity, but I am so grateful there is a place for people to go where they can fi nd support and love. In a world where the suicidal rate of homosexual teens is out of control, it is so good that there truly are some people on campus being the people of God.

Isaiah Nielsen, Junior
Submitted March 12, 2008

“Expectations” unclear

I am not an authority figure in the field of psychology or on issues concerned with sexuality. Being a psychology/communications major at SPU, though, I have a valid concern with how the status of the group Haven is being treated.

The whole argument for or against accepting homosexuality rests on this question: Is homosexuality something you are born with, or is it a choice? The best behavioral scientist can only answer this question with the following two words: it depends. For example, the research shows that the more sons a mother has, the more likely that the younger sons will be homosexual. This can be tied to differences in chemical balances when the fetus is in the womb during subsequent pregnancies.

On the “nurture” side, it is very likely that the more open-minded one’s parents and peer-groups are to the gay culture, the more likely the individual will consider it acceptable to be gay.

SPU’s Lifestyle Expectations ban “homosexual sexual activities,” and in the Statement on Human Sexuality, it explicitly states that “sexual experience is intended between a man and a woman.” This is problematic for two reasons: as a behavioral guideline, it is remarkably vague in nature. What homosexual activities are unacceptable? Two men holding hands? Gay sex? Being gay? Questioning one’s sexuality? Where do we draw the line in the sand?

Also, it does nothing to explain why homosexuality is prohibited beyond stating that the opposite of it is deemed as God’s plan. What specifically about homosexuality is not part of God’s plan? Reproductive capabilities? Vaginal intercourse? Family structure?

Regardless, through the decisions SPU has taken with Haven’s club status, the administration is left with only one course of action in my mind: answering the question, “What is wrong about homosexuality, and why?” We need a more explicit statement about homosexuality in our Lifestyle Expectations if SPU is going to make moral arguments against homosexuality beyond “because the Bible says so” arguments.

As it stands, the administration has no right to deny club status to a group that encourages communication, honest evaluation, open membership to all sexual orientations, and most importantly, provides a safe harbor to those who cannot fi nd refuge elsewhere. A Christian environment can be an intimidating environment for a person who is homosexual; Haven may very well be their only safe outlet. The presence of Haven would alleviate the “emotional, mental, or physical harm or suffering” of these individuals, seek to find meaning, clarity and social support when others may “demean the dignity” of a homosexual person, and help those questioning the moral legitimacy of homosexuality to see that it is not in general “lewd, indecent, or obscene,” as Lifestyle Expectations say.

Indeed, contrary to what we are told by the administration, it would seem that establishing Haven as a recognized student group through ASSP would do more to protect and ensure the good intent behind Lifestyle Expectations than denying it would.

Tim Bauerle
Senior, Submitted March 9, 2008

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