Monday, July 30, 2012

At the University of Louisville, it's the year 1984

LEXINGTON, KY—A state family advocacy group today charged that University of Louisville officials were using their positions for personal political purposes in the wake of reports that the university is considering expelling Chick-fil-A from its student food services for its position in favor of traditional marriage. “We don’t need people running our universities who think they can use their positions to pursue their own personal special interest political agendas,” said Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst with The Family Foundation.

The group said the university was turning its nose up at the very taxpayers who support it. “If James Ramsey and U of L have no use for a private business that supports traditional marriage,” said Cothran, “then they have no business asking for funds from taxpayers in a state whose voters approved, by a 75 percent margin, a 2004 constitutional amendment saying virtually the same thing.”

Cothran’s comments came on the heels of reports that UofL President James Ramsey and University Provost Shirley Willinganz had personally pledged to boycott the restaurant chain for its views on traditional marriage and that Willinganz was looking into ways of preventing them from serving as a food vendor on campus. “Maybe it’s good that UofL leadership has come out of the closet about their contempt for the views of a majority of Kentuckians, but to even consider using their positions to persecute individuals or organizations they personally disagree with is simply Orwellian.”

“It’s 2012 almost everywhere else,” said Martin Cothran, “but at UofL it seems to be 1984.”

Cothran has criticized the university for a lack of intellectual diversity on its campus several times in recent years. “This just proves our point,” said Cothran. “The administration at UofL seems to be under one party martial law when it comes to the viewpoints it is willing to tolerate on campus.”

Cothran said the university’s position is at odds with its stated opposition to intolerance and its support of inclusion of all viewpoints. “That the university is even considering kicking Chick-fil-A off campus is a measure of just how intolerant the Tolerance Police who now run such institutions have become. If there was any doubt before that the university’s rhetoric on tolerance and diversity was empty, it has now been removed. UofL seems to be becoming a place where divergence from the party line on social issues is considered a Thought Crime.”

Cothran added that it is ironic that just as many opponents of traditional marriage are backing off efforts to crack down on Chick-fil-A, UofL would have chosen to announce the move. “It’s not exactly great timing,” he said.

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4 comments:

ZPenn said...

While I don't understand why the government should have any role in the matter of marriage, which in my eyes is either a personal decision between two people, or a religious institution (both things the government has no right to touch) I also believe very strongly that people have the right to believe that te opposite is true. I don't think the government or any government sponsored entity can violate the rights of a private business simply because they believe something. I personally think that the position on the legality of gay marriage held by the CEO of Chic-fil-a is incredibly wrong, but I believe he has the right to this opinion anyway. Also, I don't choose where I eat based on the opinions of that establishment's owner. If I did, I'd starve, because there just aren't very many conservative atheists out there. I choose where I want to eat based on how good the food tastes, and where the best customer service is. On the fast food level, you just don't get quality food and quality service anywhere but Chic-fil-a, so they will probably still be receiving my patronage for a long time.

KyCobb said...

If you want to talk about intolerance, here is a link to a pastor longing for the days when homosexuals were executed:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/kevin-swanson-nostalgic-time-homosexuals-death-penalty

Art said...

That's one fine dining establishment that won't be opening in the gay ghettos that the League of the South and the Family Foundation will be building in the New South.

KFC, on the other hand ....

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/s720x720/392359_426318160743753_806184940_n.jpg

Megalass said...

I recently attended U of L parent orientation and Ms. Willinganz made a chilling impression when she told parents who didn't participate in her "greet the people around you" exercise with sufficient zeal that she would have to take them aside for a talk
ing-to .... (All in the name of diversity and inclusion.) There were some nervous titters and raised eyebrows. It was an Orwellian moment because she was clearly serious. Too bad for the shy folks in the room. I thought "Who the Hell is this Commissar?" . Paying the tuition bill the other day almost choked me.