Gays at CNU seek protection in official policy - The Board of Visitors tells protesters it will vote on a non-discrimination proposal in February

NEWPORT NEWS -- Christopher Newport University freshmen Cara Jackson and Aiden Grennell say they want to be treated like other students on campus, but they feel excluded because they are gay.

So on Friday, the two joined about 150 other CNU students in the lobby of the David Student Union who sat with electrical tape covering their mouths and held signs to tell Board of Visitors members and university officials that CNU policy should protect homosexual students and employees from discrimination.

Board members watched, listened and agreed that after nearly three years of delay they would decide in February on whether to change the policy.

"We will take an up or down vote on it in this academic year," board member James "Jay" Joseph told students, who encircled the board in its meeting room. "We will give you a vote," he said.

CNU's current policy bans discrimination in admissions, employment or other activities on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability or political affiliation.

Students have worked since 2002 to add sexual orientation to the list.

In 2004, the board postponed a vote on the issue for an indefinite period. Board members at the time said they wanted to get more information. Last year, the board told students they didn't think there was enough student support for the measure, said Grennell. That's what prompted Friday's silent protest.

About 100 faculty members have also signed a petition in support of the amendment.

"We're just basically defending our rights," said Jackson, who along with Grennell, is a member of the university's Gay-Straight Student Union. "We should not be discriminated against or be at risk of being discriminated against because of a lifestyle we didn't choose."

Grennell said state voters' support this week of a constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex marriage made it "more important than ever to stand up" against the CNU policy.

As the third Student Government Association president to address the board on the policy, Molly Buckley laid out for members why they needed to do "the right thing."

"I walk on campus, participate in class discussion and speak my opinions knowing that I am safe," she said. "The truth is, not all students, faculty or staff feel the same way -- many walk around feeling uncertain, unsafe and unsure."

She noted that the policy should change whether or not students and employees have experienced hate crimes.

Buckley later gave board members a 42-page proposal that listed 14 public and private colleges -- including Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University and the College of William and Mary -- that include sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination policies.

Local companies affiliated with the board, such as FedEx, Northrop Grumman and Ferguson Enterprises, also have policies that ban discrimination against gays and lesbians, Buckley said.

Although Buckley said the overwhelming majority of students want to see the policy changed, three students who don't want sexual orientation added also attended the meeting, she said.

A group calling itself "Concerned Alumni of CNU" also circulated a letter saying the proposed amendment doesn't exempt religious organizations at the university that may disapprove of homosexuality.

Buckley said CNU groups that receive money from student fees go through an application process where they must open up their activities to all students on campus.

"This is the issue of the current students," Buckley said. "Not (former) students who don't attend the university anymore."

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