Hope College Accepts Gay Students, but Not Gay Groups
Hope College is a private school that is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. The school prides itself on its religious heritage and has had a long-stranding opposition to homosexuality. However, on February 1, 2011, the school announced plans to lift its ban on the study and discussion of homosexuality. Hope College will still not support any groups that support gay rights and issues.
The change of policy came about because of pressure from Hope alumni. The alumni asked the school to reconsider the original policy, which did not condone homosexual acts nor would it provide financial support for homosexual groups or groups that support homosexual acts.
The alumni decided to take action when Hope administrators refused to allow Dustin Lance Black, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, to show his film “Milk” on campus because the main character is gay man. The alumni created a group called “Hope is Ready,” which is “dedicated to full inclusion and open dialogue on Hope’s campus.”
Not everyone is excited about the new policy. Some students consider the policy to still not be enough. One student even called the new policy “the opposite of progress.” Another student explained that the policy is “more exaggerate, more extreme in their intolerance towards people with different views towards sexuality.”
What do you think? Should a school not support groups based on sexual preferences? Or is it not the school’s place to discriminate on this issue? Tell us below.