WARNING: This will come out pretty impassioned; I have strong feelings on the subject. If your feelings are opposed, I support your decision to tell me so, but I hope that no one will be rude in what they say. I am trying to be fair as well.
What right does a university have to expel a student based on his or her beliefs? It's one thing to do so if the belief is in terrorism, imprisoning Jews, or something like that. But what right does a university have to expel a student for refusing to support a lifestyle he or she disagrees with?
I just read an article about a federal judge upholding a university's decision to expel a counseling student who opposes homosexuality (click there to read). The girl was a graduate student in school counseling who was expelled because she refused to counsel homosexual clients. "The university contended she violated school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics." I understand that they believe she is unlawfully discriminating against people who are doing nothing wrong but living a different lifestyle. But by them ruling against her, THEY ARE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST HER for refusing to support that lifestyle.
As a school counselor, you are supposed to counsel or advise students in what you feel is the best course of action for them. As someone who is opposed to homosexuality, chances are that they will feel the best advice they can give is to change their homosexual lifestyle. By refusing to counsel homosexual clients, I feel that this student who was expelled, while upholding her views against homosexuality, was in fact also trying to prevent potential homosexual clients from being offended by advice she would give that would be contrary to their lifestyle. Since when did it become unethical to refuse to counsel someone you can't honestly counsel? Say she was forced to counsel homosexual clients, and the only counsel she felt she could give was against their lifestyle. Say she cannot, according to her ethics code, counsel them in that way because it is offensive to their lifestyle. Is she supposed to lie to them and offer advice she doesn't agree with? Is that not also unethical? Isn't the best option for her to be able to refuse counsel for such individuals?
It really bothers me that a university would expel a student for something like this. If this spreads, what might happen next? Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, said, "Public universities are imposing the ideological stances of private groups on their students,” he said. “If you don’t comply, you will be kicked out. It’s scary stuff and it’s not a difficult thing to see what’s coming down the pike."
Brianne, you have a good head on your shoulders! I couldnt have said it better myself. I am getting pretty tired of seeing the liberal views being pushed, in the name of "equality" or "fairness" or "non-descrimination" until they have trashed our country and its beliefs. thanks for your sound grasp of the situation and obviously your sense of what is truly right and what is wrong. Only by passing along your opinion will others have the exposure to correct principles. thanks.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree. Also, I really wonder if the school would have still expelled the student if she were Muslim, not Christian. It's just plain wrong. I mean, I understand, it's a public university, but you're right--she could not have complied with their requirements either way and still have been true to herself. It's really, really sad.
ReplyDeleteI was reading the comments on the article and getting more and more sad...so many people were saying things like "she's not really Christian, I'm fine with homosexuality because I follow the teachings of Christ, not that Old Testament nonsense"...or "she's a bigot! she should be made to change her mind". But then I read a really good one that said, "It doesn't matter what year it is or what the polls say or who is elected as judge. God's Word is still truth. Jesus would have shown compassion and love for homosexuals but he never would condoned their sin. He would have warned them to leave their life of sin (see the scriptures for examples)...If we continually shut our ears to the voice of truth from God's Word then most likely there will come a day when that voice will no longer be preached as it has in the past. Our nation is in trouble."
ReplyDeleteAt least some people still have their heads on straight.