Gay Student Forced to Step Down at Cornell University

In sharp contrast to the Syracuse Post-Standard's editorial supporting gay marriage and in yet another example of how Christianists want the special right to receive public or university funds and then discriminate, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship at Cornell University has forced a gay Christian out of the top leadership office. As I have said numerous times, if Christian organizations want to discriminate, then they need to get their snouts out of trough of public or in this case student fee derived money. All too typically, the Christianists with their it's all about me mind set want it both ways. Hopefully, Cornell will make it very clear: either stop the discrimination or lose university derived money. Cornell is a beautiful and wonderful university, unfortunately Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship endorses ugly discrimination. Here are some highlights from the Cornell Daily Sun:

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A campus Christian group that receives funding from the student activity fee is coming under scrutiny after a student was asked by advisors to step down from its leadership team when he told them that he had openly accepted his homosexuality. This incident is also raising questions about the effectiveness of campus mechanisms for addressing instances of discrimination.

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Chris Donohoe ’09, who joined the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship when he was a freshman, said he had been openly struggling to reconcile his sexuality with his faith in Chi Alpha before he was asked to step down from the leadership team by Matt and Tracy Herman, the organization’s pastors. The Hermans, both members of Chi Alpha at Missouri State University before graduating in 2002, became Cornell Chi Alpha’s campus pastors in 2006.

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After Donohoe finished his term as vice president, he was going to be on the leadership team last fall. The Hermans told Donohoe that they were comfortable with his position as long as he did not engage in a relationship. However, after Donohoe met his boyfriend last summer and affirmed his acceptance of his sexuality, the Hermans asked him to step down from the team without consulting the rest of the organization.

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Donohoe was asked to step down because he no longer believed his sexuality was a sin and stopped actively working to overcome it, disregarding the Bible. “The decision to ask Chris to step down was not that he did something wrong in having homosexual tendencies. [It was because] he no longer thought it was wrong. … I support the decision fully,” [Danielle] D’Ambrosio [’10, Chi Alpha’s president] said.

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Because Chi Alpha is an independent student organization registered with Cornell’s Student Activities Office, the situation has provoked a reaction from Cornell administrators. . . . . Independent student organizations at Cornell are prohibited from discriminating membership on the basis of race, religion, gender and sexual orientation, according to the Student Activities Offices Independent Organization Contract. The anti-discrimination policy, however, does not extend to the leadership of independent student organizations.

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Hubbell and Clarke have communicated the University’s position to the Hermans and the next step will be a meeting between all parties involved. In the meantime, the controversy has spread across various campus listservs, and the Student Assembly will discuss on Thursday a resolution about the future of Chi Alpha. . . . A resolution regarding the group’s current funding and funding eligibility in the future will be discussed at [Thursday’s] Student Assembly meeting,” Ryan Lavin ’09, S.A. president, said yesterday.

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I hope the student body will continue to rally against discrimination funded with student fees. I suspect that without university funding Chi Alpha would either shut down or drastically curtail its activities - either of which would be a good thing in my opinion. Here is what WVBR FM 93.5 is reporting about a student vigil:

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Cornell students are buzzing after hearing the news that senior Chris Donohoe was asked to step down from the leadership team of Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship for openly accepting his homosexuality. Matt and Tracy Herman, the organization's pastors, are facing intense scrutiny by the Cornell community. In response to the two's alleged homophobia, the Cornell LGBTQ community and its supporters have planned a candlelight protest to be held tomorrow evening. This peaceful demonstration will be held on Cornell's Arts Quad outside McGraw Hall from 7:15 PM to 7:45 PM as members of Chi Alpha gather inside the building for their regular Friday night meeting. Students have been organizing through Facebook.com, and already almost 300 people have committed to the protest.