Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Exclusive to The Agora: Kathleen Temple's resignation letter
Is it about the "homosexuality issue?" No. And yes.
Note: Bible and Relgion Instructor Kathleen Temple recently announced her resignation from EMU’s faculty. The following is the complete text of the letter of resignation she distributed to her students, reprinted with her permission.
I have been enjoying the privilege of teaching in the Bible and Religion Department here at Eastern Mennonite University for the past eight years. I love to submerge myself in my subjects, Bible and Philosophy. I love to work with EMU students and my colleagues. My eight years in this ministry have been deeply stimulating, engaging, successful, and rewarding. But this semester, Spring 2004, will be my last. I will soon return to my previous profession as a dressmaker and tailor. See me at Ragtime Fabrics in Court Square, downtown Harrisonburg.
I am leaving EMU, and yes, perhaps it does have to do with the “homosexuality issue.” The issue, though not always on the surface, has been continually swirling around our community and buffeting many of us. Though I am happily married to an individual who happens to be of the opposite gender to myself (I am therefore not attacked for my own sexual orientation identity), I have been criticized for having the “wrong” opinions about same-sex relationships, and for associating with women who love women and men who love men.
Wait. I had better start over with my explanation.
I am leaving EMU, but no, it is NOT about the “homosexuality issue.” I could remain on the EMU faculty if it were simply that we have a contentious issue, one on which we have divergent and strongly-held opinions. I could stay, maybe for quite a few more years, if it were simply an intellectual or spiritual or ethical issue. If it were just an issue, we’d be studying the attendant questions. We’d be debating it. We’d be asking one another about our experiences and insights and emotions about it. I would enjoy exploring and working on the “homosexuality issue” if it were treated as an issue, because we would all be learning and growing and finding out more about one another and our diverse sexualities in the process.
So, no. My resignation is not about the homosexuality issue. No. Rather, it is about disrespect toward women who love women and men who love men and harassment of those of us who want to ally ourselves with our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers. Such treatment toward sexual minorities and their allies is by no means the only discrimination that happens in the EMU community; too often other persons and groups perceived as “different” face hurtful attitudes and actions as well. But who would dare to sanction and defend those bigotries? Unkindness toward sexual minorities and their allies is unique and constant – it is the one type of discrimination that is condoned by those in power. I no longer want to participate in an institution that continues not only to commit but even to defend harassment, hurt, exclusion, and castigation of people because of their sexuality. I find it difficult to do my work under the dread that another incident against sexual minorities could happen at any moment.
I am not going to list all the cases of this sort of unkindness in the EMU community. I am sure I am aware of only a fraction of them. I will note, however, that there has, to date (as far as I know) been no apology for the summary and unfeeling way Sue Blauch was dismissed (though all agreed that she had been a model employee for 15 years), no apology for the vilification of Ken Roth (though he merely expressed publicly his personal opinion, as a personal opinion, about same-sex relationships), no apology for the intimidation of EMU employees by the November 2002 statement by the Board of Trustees, and no apology for the firing of Tom Arbaugh (though he and his partner maintained a celibate relationship). Also, to date, I have seen few serious attempts to defend and walk alongside any student who has come out as lesbian or gay or bisexual. On the contrary, persons who attempt openly to stand with students of diverse sexual identities fear for their own safety. I could go on.
I have remained at EMU as long as I have not because I did not know what is happening, not because I am tough enough not to be frightened by what I observe, and not because I think the discrimination is waning. I have remained at EMU these eight years because I believe in EMU’s mission, because I love the Mennonite Church and her young people, and because I get strong support and encouragement from the myriad staff, faculty, and students who are working to eradicate discrimination of ALL kinds from our community, that we may truly learn to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.
But now I am tired.
I will miss being part of the Bible and Religion Department. I will miss chapel. I will miss teaching and learning with students. I will miss my inspiring colleagues.
I thank you all for the deeply rewarding conversation and companionship.
Oops!
In the Mar. 19 headline story “Rivalry’s roots run deep,” I mistakenly credited Goshen College’s founding to the General Conference Mennonite Church. While Goshen was founded by western Mennonites, it was founded by members of the old Mennonite Church, not the GC’s. That’s my bad! I've corrected this mistake in the online archive to prevent confusion.
-jby
Sports at EMU: Reflections of a former athlete
By Andrew K. Jenner
Looking back at my athletics schedules for the seven seasons during which I competed on EMU’s cross country, track, and soccer teams, I discovered that I ate 94 meals, spent 21 nights in hotels, and traveled approximately 12,800 miles at EMU’s expense.
Although it would be very difficult to place an exact dollar figure on this (the number of people sharing my hotel rooms, number of people riding in the vans and buses with me, etc. complicate the picture), it is definitely a lot. As a former athlete with both an appreciation for and criticisms of the athletics program at EMU, I would like to examine spending priorities on campus with regard to sports, as well as the overall effect of athletics as a recruitment tool.
Athletics and EMU Spending Priorities
According to EMU’s Annual Financial Report, the athletic department spent $687,588 in 2002-2003, or 3.02 percent of an entire institutional expenditure of $22,760,075. This money is used to pay for athletic equipment, team travel expenses, and coach’s salaries.
The $687,588 sum brings more to the university than fancy uniforms and nights in hotels for athletes, however. According to Lester Zook, head cross-country coach, “there’s varied benefits at different levels – benefits for the athletes, benefits for the coach, benefits for the community, benefits for the institution. That’s…what the price tag is buying.”
On one hand, the amount of money spent on our athletic programs seems extremely high. An on-campus resident with a full meal plan can currently expect to pay $23,960 each year. $687,588 could more than pay for 28 students to attend EMU, living on campus with a full meal plan, completely free of charge. At the same time, compared to other, similar universities, EMU’s athletic budget is relatively small.
“Our coaches’ salaries are low, our recruiting budgets are extremely, extremely low,” Athletic Director Larry Martin told me. “[Bridgewater College’s] men’s [basketball] recruiting budget is $20,000 per year…That is three times what our entire department’s [recruiting] budget is.”
Whether or not $687,588 is a proper amount to spend on our athletic programs at EMU, there are other parts of the university that appear to be under-funded. The Shen (our yearbook) had its budget cut this year by 20 percent, from $25,000 to $20,000. This cut, combined with overspending in past years, means that the upcoming yearbook will be smaller and have fewer pages than in the past few years.
As another example: last week, the Student Government Association gave a $4,100 gift on behalf of the EMU undergraduate body to Common Grounds so that the campus coffeehouse could remain open after it used up its Lilly Grant funding and failed to turn a profit.
This is not a call for EMU to immediately reallocate part of its athletic budget to bail out the Shen or Common Grounds. This is a request, however, that we think critically about providing a meaningful, holistic educational experience for all students. For some, athletics may be the most meaningful part of college, but for others it might be time spent with friends in Common Grounds, and still others might highly value the yearbook as a record of their college experience. Keeping this in mind while deciding how to use our limited resources is crucial.
Athletics and Recruitment at EMU
Another aspect of the relationship between athletics and EMU is the way in which athletics is used to recruit students. Sports, according to President Loren Swartzendruber, are “an important recruiting tool” at EMU.
“It’s pretty significant in the recruiting area,” Martin said. “Our coaches work very hard throughout the year recruiting people.” Objectively, using athletics to recruit new students to the university is no different than using chemistry, English, or nursing – it is simply one part of the university that undoubtedly will be attractive to some prospective students.
Incidentally, recruitment by track and field coach Paul Johnson was one of the major reasons that I chose to attend EMU. I strongly feel, however, that an unexamined reliance on athletics as a way to keep numbers up and tuition dollars rolling in is not a good direction in which to head.
Swartzendruber echoed this sentiment: “I’m not real crazy about having a lot of athletes who come here only for athletics. I think that does shape an institution in a way that I’m not sure I want to see us go…It is good for school spirit…but…it ought to be seen as part of the larger mission [of the school].”
Swartzendruber’s comments seem to conflict with Martin’s recruiting philosophy; the athletic director feels that nothing is wrong with recruiting athletes who have no other reason to come to EMU. He said, “…if the school would get larger…[then] we can concentrate on a more total package” – one which presumably would include more than an athletic interest in EMU.
One of the best aspects of an education at a small liberal arts college is the opportunity to explore and engage in a wide variety of interests. Several of EMU’s features – our cross-cultural programs and our Anabaptist heritage, for example – make us distinctive. Our athletics program, however, is not something that makes the university truly special; overall, our teams are neither exceptionally good nor exceptionally bad. This is not to say that EMU athletic teams should not do everything possible in order to perform to the best of their ability, it is simply an observation. By emphasizing athletics as a recruiting tool, however, we send the message that an increasing focus on intercollegiate sports is the direction we want to head. Is this truly the case?
Looking Ahead
In the end, my feelings toward the emphasis placed on sports at EMU, and at universities in general, are mixed. Sports have always been and will continue to be a very important part of my life; some of my most valuable experiences in college have involved my participation in varsity athletics in one way or another.
The recent success of the women’s basketball team is one example of the positive impact that sports have on the university. Martin estimated that the NCAA tournament game that EMU hosted over spring break, which the Lady Royals won 63-62, drew around 800 people from the community with no other direct connection to EMU. In terms of positive publicity for the school, that “success will more than pay for the investment in women’s basketball,” said Martin.
I would be the last to advocate ending the athletic programs at EMU. I think they undoubtedly benefit, as many would attest, the athletes, other students, and the community. At the same time, I am disturbed at the sense that EMU must try to keep on par with other similar colleges in terms of commitment to athletic programs and facilities. The fact that Bridgewater College chooses to spend $20,000 on recruiting for men’s basketball should have no bearing on how much EMU spends in this area.
Furthermore, the use of athletics as a recruiting tool can quickly get out of hand. “If athletics is necessary to bring [students] here,” Zook told me, “then more and better athletics [are] necessary to keep reaching out.”
But if not through athletics, how will EMU continue to attract the tuition dollars upon which it depends? This is not a question that lends itself to easy answers, but one that requires a great deal of collective self-examination and vision. In terms of both financial decisions and recruiting strategies, it is time begin a serious debate within the campus community – where do want to see ourselves in the next five, 10, or 20 years, and how will we get there?
An actor's take on the Monologues
By Tara B. Kreider
As a participant in the production of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues, I’d like to share my own reflections on the Monologues, respond to Martha Greene Eads Feb. 26 letter in the Weather Vane, and share my opinion on EMU’s decision to dismiss the play from campus.
First, I affirm and respect those involved in deciding whether the play should be perfomred on campus for giving an ear to our request. However, I was quite disappointed by most of the things Eads used to explain the decision to keep the play off campus. To her credit, she spoke the truth when she said the play shows Ensler’s commitment to “denouncing violence against women and affirming female embodiment.” However, Eads’s description of its content was far from what I, and most audience members, received from the play.
For example, Eads’s idea that Ensler vilifies men through the stories runs contrary to the responses we received from men after the show. For example, one man remarked, with the agreement of several more, that he did not feel slandered (as he thought for sure he would), but empowered and refreshed. I’m assuming that the “vilifying men” idea came from the fact that nearly every male mentioned in the play is an abuser, but I must add that this fact merely reflects reality: Nearly every case of abuse against a woman is by a man, oftentimes a man she knows. However, nowhere does the play imply that all men are like the men in the stories. In fact, Ensler invites men to join women to help create a world where women can thrive instead of suffering in silence.
Additionally, I differ in opinion to the claim that the play promotes lesbianism, autoeroticism, and promiscuous heterosexual sex. In regards to homosexuality, the fact that the play includes a monologue of a woman (who happens to be lesbian) does not give lesbianism “privilege over heterosexuality” just as telling a story about a woman who eats pasta alfredo for lunch doesn’t necessarily encourage others to eat pasta alfredo over pasta marinara…it’s someone’s story! This monologue is not meant to be judged by its morality. The point of this particular story is that the woman is reacquainted with her whole self and sends the underlying message that women should be treated with gentility and respect, with attitudes and behavior that affirm her worth and stimulate healing.
Eads implies in her article that EMU takes a stance against masturbation. I’m assuming, therefore, that the word has been dumped into the category of sexual immorality. If so, I’m slightly uncomfortable with this stance because masturbation is unmentioned in the Bible - even the book of Leviticus. As I understand it, the women of the play who portray masturbation in a positive light find masturbation to be a healthy way of getting in touch with their bodies. For some, masturbation can be done without lustful thoughts. I would argue that condemnation of masturbation has been passed down with little reflection on what the Bible says or doesn’t say on the matter. Nevertheless, the major goal of the scenes mentioning masturbation is to illustrate the process these violated women go through in the direction of healing.
There is one monologue in which the woman sleeps with a man outside of marriage, which I assume Eads is referring to when speaking of heterosexual promiscuity. If we step back for a moment to look at the broader picture, we find that the spirit of this monologue is of appreciation for and awe over the miracle of a woman. This is a refreshing thought when so many women are beaten, raped, tortured, and shown a general lack of respect at home and abroad. This monologue, in stark contrast to the others, is hopeful and refreshing in the way it calls us back to reverence and respect for all parts of the body.
Of course EMU doesn’t affirm the premarital sex spoken of in the play, but the spirit of the play is unifying, compassionate, and empowering while it reclaims self-respect for women and promotes nonviolent activism - all things EMU could support in good conscience - and certainly better than those conveyed in many of the movies we show on campus, Chicago being one of them.
These monologues give a voice to the voiceless, telling unreported and forgotten stories with a boldness the issue deserves. These collected stories are painfully REAL and should not be beautified to be presented in “a more positive” manner. I know I’m not the voice of the minority here, as all of the audience members, including those who were Christian, responded positively to the honesty of the monologues.
In closing, though it worked out nicely to show the play at Court Square Theatre, I think EMU missed out on a great opportunity to develop “the spiritual muscle to enter [into the suffering of others]…and in that dangerous space of stunned unknowing, invite the deeper wisdom” (Eve Ensler).
Michael 'n' me
By Roxann L. Allen
You know who I hate? Mike Kniss. Yeah, I really do most of the time. I call him “King Pootie.”
One time I called him up to talk to him about campus issues, like what we should do about trying to get a faculty senate, and just to talk about stuff in general like friends would do. About 30 seconds into our conversation he goes, “Yeah, that’s great, but uh my phone is dying and so I’m gonna hang up. Bye.” Astonished, my mouth agape that he would just hang up on me in mid conversation, I got real pootie. So I quickly IMed his roommate to complain about him and was soothed.
Another time I was reading a newspaper article about the play A Raisin in the Sun, my favorite play of all time. He walks in and says, “What are you reading? Oh yeah, I hate that play.”
During another conversation I told him that I want to go to graduate school and eventually become a teacher, an occupation I that took me a lot of soul searching to find out I would take much pride and joy in. He says, “No, you’d make a terrible teacher.”
He also ate like eight tablespoons of my Nutella when he was at my house a couple weeks ago. Dude just ain’t right. Plus he wears a chain.
Paradoxically, I am at the same time completely in love with Michael. Mike and I disagree on almost everything, from how to involve more students on campus to why African American history is way better than Colonial, to why France is a much better spring break location than cold, dirty Chicago. Our constant debates keep things fresh, and it is our passionate intellectual intercourse that keeps our relationship exciting. He really doesn’t mind when I hate him on certain days. He’ll usually just ask me, “So why do you hate me today?”
And I’ll say, “Today?!”
And he’ll say, “Yeah, ’cause the reason changes like every day.”
I like to tell Michael that he’s wrong and it is only through his unabashed willingness to tell me that I’m wrong that we get along. It’s also how we learn from each other. One day we met over lunch to talk about homosexuals in the Mennonite church. I was trying to promote the idea that since the church is built around families and celibate singles, and Mennonites have the right to define “family” and “celibate” however we wish (a man and a woman married with children), then we have a right to exclude non-celibate homosexuals from the church. Michael growled and shook his powerful forearms at this idea, called me out, and debated with me until I understood his point of view and could take it seriously. Thanks, Michael. I call that a sacred conversation.
I think that even though Michael and I disagree on many issues, we agree on process. To be sure, I really, really like Mike. He’s an extremely intelligent, friendly, welcoming person who you should all make your friend right away. The two of us have an understanding that even though we’re gonna piss each other off just about every other day, we’ll still laugh at ourselves and each other while expecting the other to take us seriously. I’m sure he’ll laugh at this article as soon as I make him read it. And then he’ll tell me what he doesn’t like about it, and I’ll get mad at him and the saga will continue.
EMU needs more news
By Nicki Y. Hoffman
Why are students so unconcerned with the happenings of the “outside world?” I, for one, recognize that I am extremely uninformed with regard to anything outside my immediate community, far more than I ever was in high school. This disturbs me. At Bethany, I and my classmates discussed current issues during school hours and (even) in several classes, though often they didn’t relate to the chemistry or literature we were studying that day. My choice of television shows, if any, commonly included news programming, and I read a sizeable portion of the news section in my city’s paper almost every day (including those nasty, controversial, anger-inducing opinion articles, but I’ll leave that discussion for later, or someone else).
I knew of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 almost as soon as they had occurred – that is, once we finished part of a song in Jubilate and realized an announcement was being made over the intercom. I knew the stances of candidates for the 2000 elections and who my classmates supported. I knew new information daily as Bush’s press for war in Iraq progressed and even participated in the international student walk-out day on Mar. 5, 2003. I was called a traitor, mentally unstable, and too young to have any opinion because I cared about what’s going on in this world and spoke my opinion. Things have changed since I came to EMU.
I expected to find here a student body passionate about events in local, national, and global contexts. I expected to find an environment where awareness of events in the greater world is the norm and active involvement and voicing of opinion is encouraged. Silly, idealistic me. Rather, I found a group of students whose biggest concern seems to be how (horridly) early they have to get up for class, a student newspaper where personal opinions are now discouraged as too potentially opinionated even for the Opinion page and the scope of news coverage stretches about as far as a new restaurant downtown. The school itself does little, if anything, to help students stay informed about important events. I didn’t even realize that Bush’s State of the Union address was coming up until a day or two after the speech, and I’m in a politics course!
Isn’t there something wrong with this picture?
A fellow student and friend from high school informed me that a poster containing information on the presidential candidates had been placed in the Campus Center for a couple of days prior to the New Hampshire primary and was subsequently removed. Now, as far as I know, the election will not be over for several months yet, even if both sides have already gone into attack mode. So why should information on candidates be taken down so quickly? And why, when it’s considered important enough to send all students an announcement whenever appointments are available for massage therapy, is it not important enough to tell students that information has been posted about those people who may soon be the leaders of our country?
Apparently, we also get one copy of Harrisonburg’s local newspaper delivered to each dorm. Although I have not personally seen the evidence of this, I will, on others’ testimony, assume it to be true. Why not opt instead for a paper that provides more comprehensive coverage of national and global issues, like the Washington Post? Why not deliver one copy of this comprehensive paper to each dorm floor – with the number of residents, one would think we could afford a mere three or four papers per dorm; after all, it’s not like I’m requesting 42-inch plasma display flat-panel TVs. And students are more likely to take a break in their own floor’s lounge than to head down to the first floor (for those of us not on first floor, of course), so more students would be likely to see the paper in their own lounge.
Students’ access to reliable news needs to be recognized as essential and aided by this institution, but right now we are an isolated community: it is far too easy to sit in our rooms studying politics without a second thought – or a first, for that matter – as to the politics going on all around us. The world is happening, and this school – and its students – would do well to realize that what we learn through awareness of national and global issues is at least as important as what we learn from textbooks and PowerPoints and chemistry labs.
P.S. – I believe we students have a responsibility to put forth effort in keeping ourselves informed as well; for this reason, I have changed my homepage to BBC News Online and encourage others to do the same.
Parting advice for you young-uns
By Jeremy B. Yoder
To quote a certain hobbit: this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE!
The Agora has been more work than I’d have preferred, but it’s also been an entertaining and rewarding project, especially as something to do during my first Weather Vane-less semester in almost four years of college.
And I would say it’s been a success.
We probably haven’t made any dramatic changes to the landscape of thought on the EMU campus, but we proved that a truly independent paper can operate here, and even thrive.
We’ve distributed more than 500 paper copies and drawn over a thousand website hits – and each issue after the first has been fully paid for by an outside sponsor. We’ve begun to widen our range of contributors: three new voices in just this issue, and two of them belong to underclassmen. We’ve even been judged worthy of anonymous Opinion Board venom. Imagine where we could go if The Agora continued publication next semester.
In retrospect, I wish we could have drawn more contributors from the conservative side of campus – I know it’s out there, because I’ve heard complaints that we don’t represent it – which could have made The Agora a true marketplace of ideas. But I’m satisfied that we’ve helped to bring to the forefront some opinions and news items that wouldn’t have been carried by this semester’s Weather Vane, which was our primary goal.
It seems to be traditional for departing seniors to dispense unsolicited advice to the rest of campus, and, after editing two campus papers, I do feel like I have some for those of you underclassmen who want to make EMU everything it ought to be. You know who you are. Here’s the laundry list:
1. Know what’s going on. When something happens on campus that shouldn’t, it’s unlikely anything will be done about it unless someone knows it happened and takes action to prevent it happening again. Take the College Night event that used to bring military recruiters to campus – it might still be happening every year if those of us who cared hadn’t found out and raised a fuss. Keep your eyes open at all times.
2. View the administration with suspicion. Don’t get me wrong – there are some very nice people in EMU’s leadership. But they make mistakes, too, and they’d rather not have anyone ask awkward questions about why they made a given unpopular decision. Students are the reason for a college’s existence – if anyone has a right to question the way things are done around here, it’s us.
3. When taking action, cover your bases. Do your research, take the time to look professional, and always cite your sources. This holds true for leading protests, moving policy decisions through SGA, and writing for a campus media outlet – if you take the time to be competent, your opposition might attack your views, but they can never discredit you. Plus, no-one will read a badly-written opinion (or support a poorly-planned program) unless they already agree with it.
4. Work for the Weather Vane. Do it right, too – take Dick Benner’s news and feature writing class, spend a couple of years increasing your responsibility on staff, then burn yourself out doing the best damn job you can as editor-in-chief. It’s the best way I know to contribute to campus life and gain really useful skills while you’re at it. Plus, after Dick’s finished with you, you’ll know how to keep on top of Item Number 3.
That’s about it. Me, I’m leaving in a little more than two weeks, so the rest of you are on your own after that - or, depending on your point of view, you’re finally rid of me. Good luck, EMU. You’ll probably need it.
