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BC campus needs Queer Resource Center

By Gaveliers, The Gavel Media Team, on February 19, 2010 3:27 AM

While establishing the Society of Jesus, the very organization that would provide as the inspira­tion for the founding mission of Boston College, St. Ignatius outlined one of the major tenants of his new organization, cura personalis. Cura personalis, which translates to “care of the whole person,” instructs Catholics to provide individualized attention to the needs of others as well as a distinct respect for the unique circumstances and concerns of others. With that philosophy in mind, Boston College was founded as a Jesuit institution for higher learning.

However, the motto of cura personalis has at times been ignored by the BC administra­tion as specific parts of our community have been neglected — specifically the GLBTQ com­munity. Steps have been taken by the administration to heed the call of St. Ignatius, but more steps still need to be taken — including the creation of a GLBTQ resource center and the institutionalization of several programs including, but not limited to, “Queer Peers.”

Some in the BC community argue, that as a Catholic institu­tion, any support of the GLBTQ community by the university administration could be perceived as a condoning of homosexual­ity — which contradicts Catholic teachings on the subject. How­ever, in a letter by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Bene­dict XVI, titled “On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons,” stated that homosexuality “is a proper focus for the Church’s pas­toral care. It thus requires of her ministers attentive study, active concern and honest, theologically well-balanced counsel.”

The words of Pope Benedict XVI have been met with action across the campuses of Catholic universities around the United States. Almost 20 years ago at Fordham University, the then president of the university, Rev. Joseph O’Hare, released a public statement backing the GLBTQ community in which he stated, “Catholic teaching insists that all individuals be treated with respect and understanding as they work to integrate their own sexuality into their personal lives.”

Similar action was taken by the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University as they declared that support for gay organizations is “the Catholic thing” to do.

At Georgetown University, the administration took a similar approach to that of the BC ad­ministration: a silent co-existence with GLBTQ organizations, but a lack of a true involvement in the issue by the university. Then, in October of 2007, two attacks motivated by anti-gay bias, both involving homophobic slurs and physical assault occurred to a Georgetown student. In response, the Georgetown university admin­istration increased their support of GLBTQ students — includ­ing the opening of a GLBTQ Resource Center.

However, the BC community cannot afford to take the same path as the Georgetown com­munity did. We cannot afford to wait for a catalyst, such as a hate crime, to finally motivate the ad­ministration to become substan­tially involved in the issues that the GLBTQ community faces on campus.

The university should be commended for the steps it has already taken to assist the GLBTQ community on cam­pus – including the creation of the GLBT Leadership Council (GLC). However, more action is needed. Recently, GLC has unveiled a rough outline on ad­ditional programs and resources they would like to see made avail­able for the GLBTQ community on campus including a Queer Resource Center, a student-men­torship program, and the creation of a GLBTQ alumni network. Not only does the university need to become a more vocal advocate of solutions to GLBTQ issues on campus, but also, the administra­tion simply needs to show more support for its own students and the problems affecting them.