After Boston College President William P. Leahy notified the student body president last Friday of his approval to take steps in recognizing a gay-straight alliance, students are reacting positively, despite the school’s affiliation with the Catholic Church, which condemns homosexuality.
The announcement comes after the student government and campus newspaper pushed for its approval for several months. BC spokesman Jack Dunn said the school has approved the recognition of this group as a support group and not an advocacy group.
BC students said they see the recognition as a strength in the school’s discretion, not a change in its core beliefs.
Hector Andrews, a freshman at BC, said it is important for every student to be represented to help give the campus a feeling of community.
‘I think that the school, like any school in society, needs to conform to changing beliefs and ideas in people,’ he said, ‘because it shows that it is strong enough to adapt to the evolving nature of people.’
Kyle Meingast, a BC freshman, agreed.
‘I don’t think that the approval shows a weakness in moral values, but rather a strong set of progressive morals,’ he said.
BC student Rebecca Kim agreed it was important for BC to approve the GSA but feels the approval would not be parallel to the school’s beliefs.
‘I do believe that as a Catholic school BC would be compromising their morals by accepting [Lesbian, Gay ‘ Bisexual Community] and/or the GSA,’ Kim said. ‘However, I understand that as an educational institution for all students, it is necessary for them to recognize the homosexual community at BC.’
Students also said it is important for the school to officially recognize such groups.
‘To prove that the institution supports all their students, the school should recognize all organizations, even those of the homosexual community,’ Kim said.
Last fall Boston University Chancellor John Silber disbanded the Gay-Straight Student Alliance at the BU Academy. Silber said an alliance would foster pressure in what BU considers a private matter, producing negative effects.
BU does recognize organizations such as Spectrum, a support and awareness group for gay, bisexual and transgender students at BU, according to BU spokesman Colin Riley.
Carolina Chang, a BU student, said the possible approval at BC was actually a sign of religious conformity to beliefs conflicting with what they should otherwise uphold.
‘Some sects of the Christian Church are compromising their Bible-rooted core values in order to be tolerant of society’s values,’ she said. ‘We live by different standards dedicated by God and not society.’
Other BU students share the view of BC students in approving BC’s decision to recognize the GSA.
‘I think that this is a positive step because it shows that despite their beliefs they can be open minded and accept other people’s beliefs,’ College of Arts and Sciences freshman Stephanie Hsieh said.
Annicka Webster, another BU student, said it is not necessary for a group such as the GSA to be recognized officially by the school.
‘Why does it matter if we have an official group or not?’ she said. ‘What matters is that we respect each other, and we don’t need a club to do that.’