News
Vigil Protests Actions of Chi Alpha, Demands Greater LGBT Rights
April 26, 2009 - 11:00pm
More than 200 people gathered in front of McGraw Hall, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship’s meeting location, on Friday night for a 30-minute silent vigil in support of Chris Donohoe ’09, a student who was asked to step down from a leadership position in the fellowship due to his sexual orientation.
“It was wonderful, I was overwhelmed with such a gratitude,” said Donohoe, who stood before the crowd for more than a minute gathering himself from tears before he could enunciate his closing address. “The support from this community was so uplifting to me. I think I would remember this moment for the rest of my life.”
Blanca Hernandez ’10, Donohoe’s best friend, organized the vigil through a Facebook event in order to help Donohoe attract more people to his cause. She found the event a success.
In solidarity: Supporters of Chris Donohoe '09, who was removed from his leadership position in the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship last week, staged a silent demonstration in support of LGBT rights in front of McGraw Hall on Friday.
“Chris was talking about how I have different friends than him and no one would turn up [from my invite list]. The turnout was much, much bigger than we expected. We were very surprised,” Hernandez said.
Students who attended the vigil said they were empowered and touched by the event.
“For a University that throws a lot of weighty words around, words such as ‘diversity’, ‘acceptance’, ‘equality’, I have rarely felt as touched by the Cornell spirit of caring and fairness as I did at the Against Homosexual Discrimination vigil this past Friday,” Melanie Jacobs ‘09 stated in an email.
“I found the vigil to be the most powerful and respectful demonstration I’ve seen at Cornell,” stated Nicky Chopra ’09 in an e-mail. “[It] was beautiful, and clearly the first symbolic step in some crucial improvements for the rights of all Cornellians, regardless of race, color, creed and orientation.”
Many Christian students, such as Daniel Tattersall ’12, also expressed sympathy for Chris’s position. They also maintained that in order to receive funding from the Student Assembly Finance Commission, student organizations need to comply with SAFC guidelines as well as University guidelines which include stipulation against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“There are many Christian sects that say being Christian is not at odds with being gay,” Tatterall added.
“I myself am of the Christian faith, and the messages of tolerance and love for one’s neighbor are the most important convictions that I have taken away from my religion,” Liz Curran ’10 said. “I do not think anything can overcome these most basic messages of faith and humanity, and it saddens me that Chi Alpha failed to recognize this.”
Danielle D’Ambroso ’10, president of Chi Alpha, responded to this sentiment by pointing out that although a lot of people seem to think that Chi Alpha has something against homosexuals, she has reaffirmed multiple times that the group really does not hold a grudge against Chris or other homosexuals, and that she and Chris are still friends.
“I don’t have any hate towards them — I love them because they’re people. I disagree with their actions, but I disagree with a lot of people’s actions; I disagree with my own sometimes,” D’Ambroso said.
She also said that she does not have much knowledge about Chi Alpha’s funding situation in the future because meetings are still being held regarding that issue.
“There were people from the Christian community outside of Chi Alpha who came to support us,” said Cesar Rivadeneyra grad, vice president of Chi Alpha. “We normally do a sermon and a worship session, but [Friday] night we just prayed because it was such a [meaningful] night for us,” he added.
For Donohoe, the goal of the vigil was to motivate progressive policy change and student awareness for the neglected LGBT and minority community.
Donohoe also claimed that he was removed from his leadership position back in November 2008. The event is surfacing now, Donohoe said, because he could not decide how to deal with the complicated situation. He first attempted to maintain close relationships with members of Chi Alpha, but quickly realized it was impossible.
“It was just a growing process, not only what happened [with Chi Alpha] but everything that led up to it. In high school, I was sent to counseling every week for four years by my family to break from my sexuality,” Donohoe said.
The first University personnel he opened up to was Nina Cummings, health educator at Gannett Health Services, who referred Donohoe to Mary Beth Grant, the judicial administrator who oversees incidents of violations against Cornell’s code of conduct, right before winter break.
Grant took an interest in Donohoe’s situation. After examining the appropriate University documents and meeting with the University council, she advised Donohoe that it is best to pursue this issue through the Dean of Students, and passed Donohoe onto Kent Hubbell ’67, the Dean of Students, as well as Reverend Kenneth Clark Sr. of Cornell United Religious Works.
According to Grant, there were three documents that were pertinent to Donohoe’s situation, all of which were not violated by Chi Alpha’s actions. The first document, the Campus Code of Actions, contains an “explicit loophole” that allowed Chi Alpha to expel Donohoe from his leadership position without incurring punishment. The second document, the Independent Organization Contract which is mandatory for all campus organizations, states that all students must be guaranteed membership regardless of his or her gender, race, sexual orientation, etc. Since Chi Alpha removed Donohoe from leadership, not membership, this document was not violated either. The third document, the CURW Covenant, is a very complicated document drafted to outline the religious rights of organizations like Chi Alpha.
“It was really disturbing how none of the documents actually protect LGBT and minority students. It’s a slippery slope and those documents must be changed,” Donohoe said.
Grant was so surprised by the obvious loophole in the Campus Code of Actions that she immediately filed a request to revise the Code. After meeting with several University officials after spring break, Donohoe says progress is on the way.
“To my understanding the University is going to change them,” Donohoe said. “But the process is slow. The [Independent Organization Contract] will hopefully be revised by the beginning of the next school year, so next year when student groups sign that contract there will be slightly different wording that guarantees not only membership, but also the full benefits of membership, including eligibility for leadership and other things [for LGBT students].”
“At this point, [this is] actually a policy battle, not an intent to punish Chi Alpha,” Donohoe said. “The real story is LGBT center [which is effected by the budget cuts], the polic[ies] that need to be changed, and groups on campus that still support [the actions of] Chi Alpha.”
Donohoe says he will remain a faithful Christian regardless of Chi Alpha’s actions, and plans to pursue “a career as a social activist to make America a better nation, and dedicate [his] life to social change.”
“[The vigil] was the culmination of everything I’ve come from, and everywhere I’m going,” he said.
More than 200 people gathered in front of McGraw Hall, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship’s meeting location, on Friday night for a 30-minute silent vigil in support of Chris Donohoe ’09, a student who was asked to step down from a leadership position in the fellowship due to his sexual orientation.
“It was wonderful, I was overwhelmed with such a gratitude,” said Donohoe, who stood before the crowd for more than a minute gathering himself from tears before he could enunciate his closing address. “The support from this community was so uplifting to me. I think I would remember this moment for the rest of my life.”
Blanca Hernandez ’10, Donohoe’s best friend, organized the vigil through a Facebook event in order to help Donohoe attract more people to his cause. She found the event a success.In solidarity: Supporters of Chris Donohoe '09, who was removed from his leadership position in the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship last week, staged a silent demonstration in support of LGBT rights in front of McGraw Hall on Friday.
“Chris was talking about how I have different friends than him and no one would turn up [from my invite list]. The turnout was much, much bigger than we expected. We were very surprised,” Hernandez said.
Students who attended the vigil said they were empowered and touched by the event.
“For a University that throws a lot of weighty words around, words such as ‘diversity’, ‘acceptance’, ‘equality’, I have rarely felt as touched by the Cornell spirit of caring and fairness as I did at the Against Homosexual Discrimination vigil this past Friday,” Melanie Jacobs ‘09 stated in an email.
“I found the vigil to be the most powerful and respectful demonstration I’ve seen at Cornell,” stated Nicky Chopra ’09 in an e-mail. “[It] was beautiful, and clearly the first symbolic step in some crucial improvements for the rights of all Cornellians, regardless of race, color, creed and orientation.”
Many Christian students, such as Daniel Tattersall ’12, also expressed sympathy for Chris’s position. They also maintained that in order to receive funding from the Student Assembly Finance Commission, student organizations need to comply with SAFC guidelines as well as University guidelines which include stipulation against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“There are many Christian sects that say being Christian is not at odds with being gay,” Tatterall added.
“I myself am of the Christian faith, and the messages of tolerance and love for one’s neighbor are the most important convictions that I have taken away from my religion,” Liz Curran ’10 said. “I do not think anything can overcome these most basic messages of faith and humanity, and it saddens me that Chi Alpha failed to recognize this.”
Danielle D’Ambroso ’10, president of Chi Alpha, responded to this sentiment by pointing out that although a lot of people seem to think that Chi Alpha has something against homosexuals, she has reaffirmed multiple times that the group really does not hold a grudge against Chris or other homosexuals, and that she and Chris are still friends.
“I don’t have any hate towards them — I love them because they’re people. I disagree with their actions, but I disagree with a lot of people’s actions; I disagree with my own sometimes,” D’Ambroso said.
She also said that she does not have much knowledge about Chi Alpha’s funding situation in the future because meetings are still being held regarding that issue.
“There were people from the Christian community outside of Chi Alpha who came to support us,” said Cesar Rivadeneyra grad, vice president of Chi Alpha. “We normally do a sermon and a worship session, but [Friday] night we just prayed because it was such a [meaningful] night for us,” he added.
For Donohoe, the goal of the vigil was to motivate progressive policy change and student awareness for the neglected LGBT and minority community.
Donohoe also claimed that he was removed from his leadership position back in November 2008. The event is surfacing now, Donohoe said, because he could not decide how to deal with the complicated situation. He first attempted to maintain close relationships with members of Chi Alpha, but quickly realized it was impossible.
“It was just a growing process, not only what happened [with Chi Alpha] but everything that led up to it. In high school, I was sent to counseling every week for four years by my family to break from my sexuality,” Donohoe said.
The first University personnel he opened up to was Nina Cummings, health educator at Gannett Health Services, who referred Donohoe to Mary Beth Grant, the judicial administrator who oversees incidents of violations against Cornell’s code of conduct, right before winter break.
Grant took an interest in Donohoe’s situation. After examining the appropriate University documents and meeting with the University council, she advised Donohoe that it is best to pursue this issue through the Dean of Students, and passed Donohoe onto Kent Hubbell ’67, the Dean of Students, as well as Reverend Kenneth Clark Sr. of Cornell United Religious Works.
According to Grant, there were three documents that were pertinent to Donohoe’s situation, all of which were not violated by Chi Alpha’s actions. The first document, the Campus Code of Actions, contains an “explicit loophole” that allowed Chi Alpha to expel Donohoe from his leadership position without incurring punishment. The second document, the Independent Organization Contract which is mandatory for all campus organizations, states that all students must be guaranteed membership regardless of his or her gender, race, sexual orientation, etc. Since Chi Alpha removed Donohoe from leadership, not membership, this document was not violated either. The third document, the CURW Covenant, is a very complicated document drafted to outline the religious rights of organizations like Chi Alpha.
“It was really disturbing how none of the documents actually protect LGBT and minority students. It’s a slippery slope and those documents must be changed,” Donohoe said.
Grant was so surprised by the obvious loophole in the Campus Code of Actions that she immediately filed a request to revise the Code. After meeting with several University officials after spring break, Donohoe says progress is on the way.
“To my understanding the University is going to change them,” Donohoe said. “But the process is slow. The [Independent Organization Contract] will hopefully be revised by the beginning of the next school year, so next year when student groups sign that contract there will be slightly different wording that guarantees not only membership, but also the full benefits of membership, including eligibility for leadership and other things [for LGBT students].”
“At this point, [this is] actually a policy battle, not an intent to punish Chi Alpha,” Donohoe said. “The real story is LGBT center [which is effected by the budget cuts], the polic[ies] that need to be changed, and groups on campus that still support [the actions of] Chi Alpha.”
Donohoe says he will remain a faithful Christian regardless of Chi Alpha’s actions, and plans to pursue “a career as a social activist to make America a better nation, and dedicate [his] life to social change.”
“[The vigil] was the culmination of everything I’ve come from, and everywhere I’m going,” he said.
This is simply white people overreacting... again
It is a sad thing, bordering atrocious, that people throw around words like discrimination and injustice like a hot potato.
That is not what happened here. What happened here is a classic case of white people overreacting, trying to jump on the bandwagon of a cause when they are ignorant of the opposing views and perspectives and of the situation as a whole. If you want to be truly open-minded, you would try to understand other perspectives before making judgment. Instead, people here are quick to judge, and slow to reserve judgment. In fact, people who are protesting are so close-minded, they can't conceive of the possibility how these events are not discriminatory or bigoted. That is true ignorance and bigotry.
What does white have to do with it? White people have had a history of overreacting. As a minority I can testify that many minorities hold this view. White people are quick to call the police when there's no reason to (like when Subway messes up a white lady's sandwich). White police are quick to shoot minorities (mostly black people) when there is no real threat. It might be cultural, it might be genetic - but 1 thing is clear to many minorities - white people overreact. Perhaps it's to make up for all the doing-nothing while slavery was going on and Jim Crow laws were in tact. Perhaps it's self-justifying, self-serving and self-justifying. Perhaps people have good intentions but just try too hard to make a difference before understanding the situation. Passion, good intentions, plus ignorance, still leads to injustice.
I am by no means a fan of Chi Alpha. But what I see here is an attempt to punish an organization or make policy changes that would, because it has a viewpoint that isn't aligned with yours? That's called persecution - religious persecution. You can find something you disagree with in every religious group. Why not attack them all? There are restrictions on leadership in many religious group that most of you would find unacceptable and discriminatory to people's inherent desires, lifestyles and choices (a common one is no sex before marriage). Go persecute them all if you're going to attack one. At least be consistent.
Talk about racist. So
Talk about racist. So interest in social change and in people's rights is a white thing? Being a minority doesn't entitle you to criticize other people based on race. (P.S., I'm a minority too and you in no way speak on behalf of all minorities -- I would be standing there with Donahoe with all the white people you have such disdain for.)
Talk about satire?
I tried to make a comment on the vigil that is as outlandish as the vigil itself. It is a ridiculous protest, so I made a ridiculous protest against it. I'm guessing most people realized that while reading the comment and didn't start crying "racism."
That's called racism -
That's called racism - stereotypical racism.
White people have a history of "overreacting"? Just like Asian-Americans try hard in school and African-Americans love chicken? You must have forgotten to mention the story of the Black woman from Florida who called 911 last month because a McDonald's ran out of McNuggets. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,504125,00.html] And while it's impossible to strictly define the subjective term "overreacting", it's clear that the trait isn't racially isolated.
Was it an "overreaction" when a group of African-American students held the Strait with assault rifles? In a historical context, perhaps not, but it was certainly a strong "reaction". The LGBT community was compelled to react to this situation as well. Was it an "overreaction"? Well, considering the volume of contemporary political debate over gay rights, and the absence of an armament of AK-47's, my vote is a solid 'no'. Furthermore, is it fair to give all the credit for this protest to Whitey? Of course not. The other 10,000+ whites who didn't show up in front of McGraw on Friday either didn't get the memo, or weren't in the mood for an old-school "overreaction".
Can we agree on something? Yes. I believe we both agree that XA is within its right's to employ some discriminatory policies when choosing their leadership. XA, for better or for worse, is not a Christian organization that overtly supports homosexuality, and they shouldn't be made to change on account of one epic shit-storm. Would it not make sense if Eddy Herron, editor of the Cornell Review, were removed from his post for outing himself as a communist? Groups who are organized under common beliefs have a right to enforce those beliefs, regardless of how unpopular the move might be for non-members.
Is the LGBT community making a lot of noise, without any hope of having an impact on XA's policies and bylaws? Yes. Do I disagree with it? The answer to this question is a bit more complex. I believe that the LGBT's could be doing something more productive with their time, leadership, and event planning expertise. For example, why not start a gay-friendly Christian group and make Chris Donohoe president? Regardless, the friction between XA and the LGBT's has raised eyebrows, and once again the Sun is a forum for debate, which is a positive. Once again we're called out as students, citizens, intellectuals and future leaders to pick sides on a hot-button issue.
Have you chosen a side? Or are you going to reserve judgement because this is a "white problem"?
To be fair, and to give you a chance to respond, I'll make a few concessions. 1. Everybody loves chicken. 2. Whether or not it's true, most Cornellians would say that they've encountered at least some empirical evidence of the "Try-Hard-Asian" stereotype & 3. I just totally overreacted to your bullshit.
Perhaps everyone likes to overreact...
If you couldn't tell, my comment was meant to be satirical. And I got the overreaction response that was expected. People are overly sensitive about race and sexual orientation and all such issues.
I'm all for people hatin on Christian gay-bashing. I hate on Christian gay-bashing - I think it's immature, unfounded, hypocritical and downright evil. This just isn't a good example of it. The kid wants to be a hero, but really, he just went back against a document he signed willfully, got called on it, and since conveniently the issue happened to be gay sex (the same thing would have happened had it been straight pre-marital sex w/o repentance) - everyone jumps on a bandwagon and starts protesting. Chill out.
Hatin' but not protestin'?
Check out my first response again and see if you can pick out any elements of satire. If you can't, either I don't know how to properly convey my thoughts, or you might not be incredibly bright. Just remember, when your "satire" is directed at a particular group, you can expect a response.
But you're right, people are overly sensitive about race and sexuality. Looking at comics like Dave Chappelle, Tracy Morgan, Russel Peters, Eddie Izzard, and Anthony Kalloniatis (Ant), satires on race and/or sexuality have helped them build successful careers.
And you're also right that if he had been caught catchin' dome from a freshman girl in the Olin stacks, and that was the reason he was demoted, no one would protest. But you're wrong when you say that he "wants to be a hero". This kid has grown up both a homosexual and a devout Christian. His parents made him attend "counseling" to rid himself of his "affliction" once a week through all four years of high school. Now, in college, he's dealing with the same painful issue, but this time he's being opened up to a whole new world of compassion and acceptance. He didn't organize the rally. One of his close, female friends insisted he let her put it together, and to unexpected fanfare. Even if he really didn't want to be a hero, he's still a hero to many people here on campus. If his story gets out to the rest of the world I'm sure he will inspire more people.
But is "everyone" jumping on a "bandwagon" here? Not at all. Let's do some simple math. In exit polls in the 2008 presidential election, about 4% indicated themselves as either L, G, B, or T. 4% multiplied by roughly 15,000 total Cornell students comes out to a roughly (and conservatively) estimated Cornell LGBT population of around 600. There were only around 200 people at this vigil. The other 400 either missed the "bandwagon" or maybe there was a Project Runway marathon that night.
So what's with all the attention on this issue? It's an oddity. Remember Ted Haggart? (google it, keep up) 99% of people think this story is either shocking, compelling, horrifying or hilarious. It's news, baby.
Religious Freedom
I find this situation to be disturbing and not because of Chi Alpha's actions. There is something called freedom of religion in this country. Everyone who is protesting against Chi Alpha is basically wanting them to change their doctrinal convictions. People don't seem to grasp how deep this issue truly is. Sure, some Christian groups embrace homosexuality, but you must remember, that others view homosexual activity as being a sin. This doesn't mean that they want to treat people who are engaged in homosexual lifestyles poorly any more than they would treat unmarried heterosexual couples living together. A sin is a sin. All people sin. What matter's is the individual's response to his or her sin.
A Christian group's leadership plays a different role than say the leader of a banjo club. You would kind of assume that the leader of a banjo club was good at playing the banjo, but he or she could just be interested in banjo's as well. I am not associated with Chi Alpha, so I don't know the exact details of their leadership, but from what I have read, the "leadership" positions in question are more related to being Bible Study leader-types (more like spiritual leaders) than say, a typical club secretary. This puts them more in a position of leading lives that can serve as examples to others. In fact, they may be even trying to help other students work through sin issues. Now, if, based on the Bible, this group feels that homosexuality is a sin, then it seems reasonable for Chi Alpha to ask Donahue to step down. How can you have someone considered to be openly living in sin helping others to deal with their own sin issues? Personally, I see this as being the same situation as if, say, one of the unmarried leaders was living with a member of the opposite sex and arguing that he (or she) was doing nothing wrong at all. It is one thing if a person is very concerned about a specific temptation to sin and working to overcome it, but it is another if they say, this isn't really a sin, when the rest of the group thinks that it is. How can the group continue to hold to its doctrinal beliefs of what it considers to be sin if one person on the leadership decides that an act isn't really "sinning." It would change the nature of the group. Think about this: Imagine having a conservative Christian church. If one day the pastor came out and said "I think that people should have the freedom to do what they want and that God won't mind," it wouldn't really make sense for the church body to keep him (or her) as their pastor.
There needs to be religious freedom (and protection) for religious groups on campus. For many religious groups (Muslim, Jewish, Christian, etc.), it might be difficult to not "discriminate" in some way. For instance,what if a Bible Study leader in a Christian group came out and said "I don't believe in the Bible anymore. In fact, I think Islam is a more true religion." Would it make sense to keep this person in a leadership position? If he or she were asked to step down, wouldn't this then technically be considered persecution based on religion? It seems as though, ultimately, only a handful of religious groups would be able to completely fit the presented definition of what it means to be completely "open-minded." The stance taken against Chi Alpha is basically one that involves people at the university trying to force religious beliefs (definition of what is sin) upon a particular Christian group. If a religious group doesn't fit the exact belief system of some other people, then the protesters are basically saying that it should not exist.
In response to Religious Freedom...
In response to Religious Freedom... Very well stated. I completely agree.
Religious Freedom
I agree 1000% with you. It surprised me as I was reading the article how the former president of Chi Alpha and the educators/administrators of the university seem to be disregarding Chi Alpha's freedoms.
If I joined the LGBT
If I joined the LGBT community and became a leader, then openly declared that I didn't believe in diversity on campus, they'd probably make me stop being a leader too. Then, I would hold a vigil in my honor in protest of the injustice of it all. Honestly, if he disagreed with the views of the group, he should have just left without trying to convince everybody he was right.