Samantha Fox

Manhattan College Is In The Closet

            With the recent repeal of Prop 8 in California, as well as the media storm that occurred while the United Sates Senate debated whether or not to repeal the military’s ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, gay rights have been making headlines more than ever. For years, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) individual have been the victims of abuse and discrimination, yet in recent history this community has gone from being viewed as an “oppressed minority” to a powerful group, demanding their voices be heard.

            But although the growing acceptance of the LGBT community, this group is completely ignored at Manhattan College, despite the schools claim to be a “nurturing, a caring, pluralistic campus community.”

            According to Manhattan.edu, there is an extra curricular club called “Standing Together,” which is said to “foster education, but not exclusively for the college’s community of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.” The club has not been active for years, according to the club’s chair Dr. Thomas Ferguson. The last Gay Rights events that took place at Manhattan College were a “Gay History Tour,” in 2006, and a “Day of Silence” in 2008. The stagnant state of Gay Rights centered activities and meetings shows just how much Manhattan College acknowledges the LGBT group.

            In the school’s ROTC program, however, homosexuality is not just acknowledged; it’s grounds for being discharged. First Lieutenant Ryan Benson made it clear that the Air Force does not follow the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. “We have our own rules,” he says. “Someone would need hard evidence, like a photo, and would only be discharged if they were being offensive or insulting to the Air Force.” Despite Lieutenant Benson’s explanation, the actual form which aspiring cadets re required to sign states it is grounds for discharge if one “engages, attempts to engage, or has a propensity to engage in a homosexual act; states he or he is homosexual or bisexual, or words to that effect, or marries or attempts to marry an individual of the same sex.” If any of thee acts do occur, the cadet must demonstrate that “such conduct is a departure from their usual behavior and is unlikely to recur.”

            The student body at Manhattan College is even less accepting of homosexuality. In 2008, a website called “Juicy Campus” was formed, where students could anonymously gossip about one another. Jaspers took the opportunity to bash their fellow classmates, those who were openly gay in particular.  In a matter of months after it became popular, it was shut down due to the site’s excessive profanity.

Even without the protection of anonymity, students choose to be offensive. Rich Baxter, a gay junior, often hears sneers of “Adam Lambert” behind his back, in reference of the glam-rock musician. “It’s not the school that’s the problem, it’s the students,” he says.  Adds sophomore Ashton Parson, “there aren’t many openly gay people.”

For a school that claims to be so “nurturing and caring,” Manhattan College is anything but. Until they learn to accept the LGBT community, they will be encouraging the discrimination and neglect of a minority of their student body.