Town hall meeting on non-discrimination policy set for Jan. 31

by Princine Lewis | Posted on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 — 10:07 AM

Update: In anticipation of there being greater interest than the available venue will accommodate for this evening’s town hall meeting on the university’s nondiscrimination policy, the university has scheduled a live webstream of the event. It should be accessible at 6:15 p.m. to anyone on the Vanderbilt network.

Watch the live stream.

Current Vanderbilt students, faculty, and staff wishing to view the webstream from their homes off campus may visit the ITS website to learn how to access the network remotely.

Vanderbilt University leaders will address questions recently raised about how the university’s nondiscrimination policy applies to its registered student organizations at a town hall meeting Tuesday, Jan. 31, from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. in Room 114 in Furman Hall.

While the meeting is principally for Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff are welcome to attend.

James Hudnut-Beumler, dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, will moderate the discussion with Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Richard McCarty and David Williams, vice chancellor for university affairs and athletics, general counsel and university secretary. They will explain and take questions about the university’s position in an effort to ensure the content and purpose of the nondiscrimination policy are more fully understood and to continue to discuss any concerns.

Student groups who wish to become a registered student organization – which means using the Vanderbilt name, having the opportunity to apply for funding from student activity fees and access to university resources – must complete an application process through the Office of the Dean of Students.

To qualify for this status, the group’s constitution must be aligned with the university’s nondiscrimination policy and the group must sign a form affirming they will comply with university policies, which require that membership in registered student organizations be open to everyone and that everyone, if desired, has the opportunity to seek leadership positions in those organizations.

Contact:
Princine Lewis, (615) 322-NEWS
princine.lewis@vanderbilt.edu

John

It’s good that the open meeting is being held, and I hope the leaders will be open to dialogue about the reasonableness of the policy as it stands. The provision that ties recognition to a rejection of reasonable, group-determined standards for leadership seems to many to contradict both common sense and constitutional rights.
Fearless Bear

While sensitivity to the rights and feelings of others is a trait to be valued, the role of a University should be primarily in the provision of an atmosphere of academic freedom and respect for the views and ideas of others. Freedom of worship and the free exercise of religion should be among the foremost values if an institution is truly a comminity of free people. When you force association of some on others in a manner that disrespects the time honored religious views of the others, you are dictating belief and limiting religion in amanner that direspects the religion. As a parent of a student, I am disgusted that the Administration is so blind.
http://holidaylonging.com/ Holiday Longing

Let me get this straight. Your so-called nondiscrimination policy discriminates against religious organizations that wish to select leaders that agree with their religious beliefs and not be forced to select leaders that don’t…
Vanderbilt Junior

Fearless Bear:
The university is not forcing association between people. It’s allowing for association to exist! If a religious student group does not want a person as their leader, they would still have the choice to democratically turn them down. Religion is not meant to be exclusive! Religion is meant to be shared with others. Also, the protection of religion is an important part of Vanderbilt’s creed, but so is race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. This policy encompasses more than religion and would keep student organizations from discriminating against people’s identities. So many people are turning the clause on religion into a threat when it’s actually protecting the students!
Water Horse

I just hope that VU will also insist that:
The football team will make room for Chess Team members;
The Hustler (or current student newspaper) will publish all articles submitted;
Sigma Nu must accept any Phi Kappa Alpha’s that decide to jump ship;
and that I be allowed to renew my application to Phi Beta Kappa!
Fearless Bear

Junior, that is nonsense. If what you say is true, just ask the Administration to put the sentence back into the Policy that they deleted. That sentence expressly said the School was not ever going to interfere with religious expression.