Duquesne Sophomore Challenges 'Sexual Orientation' Harassment Charge
by Jim Brown
November 1, 2005
(AgapePress) - A student at a Catholic university in Pittsburgh is protesting the school's decision to punish him for opposing the formation of a homosexual student group on campus.
Duquesne University recently charged sophomore Ryan Miner with discrimination based on sexual orientation. Miner says he was punished for comments he made on a private website called Facebook.com after creating a group called "Against the Gay-Straight Alliance." Miner explains what happened.
"I had written a blog, and I used not the most prudent of words but words that I felt coincided within my faith in the Catholic Church," the student shares. "I said, 'Why do we have to tolerate the sub-human actions of people like this on campus?'"
Following his comments online, a judicial affairs panel at Duquesne found Miner guilty of "sexual orientation" harassment. As part of his punishment, he was ordered to take down his blog and write a ten-page expository essay on the pros and cons of homosexuality. Miner, who is appealing the action, believes the school is employing a double standard and can no longer claim to be a traditional or conventional Catholic institution.
"I think the essay is profoundly a bad idea because it argues on the viewpoints both for and against homosexuality," he says, "and the last time I checked I don't recall [seeing] any viewpoints especially for homosexuality regarding my faith in the Catholic Church and a God."
Miner notes he has been contacted by several conservative legal groups, but has yet to receive a call from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
