Mandi Dorrell Apr 23, 10
New Jersey

As a high school librarian in Atlantic County, New Jersey, I believe in certain values that I must teach my students. Not only do I feel it is my obligation and passion to teach students how to seek information and use it appropriately and effectively, but I also try to give them the tools they need to become self-sufficient, discerning individuals who can actively and positively interact with the environment and social world around them. I was raised to grow into this type of individual myself, and I have a great deal more growing to do. Part of my moral worldview comes from my Christianity that has been a nurturing part of my life, especially during my time at Eastern University. Part of it is my libertarian upbringing. Part of it has come from going through the struggles I have faced in my realization and acceptance of my homosexuality.

Refuge, hosted at Eastern University, is a club that has become an increasingly important part of the University’s culture. Students, from ages 6-22 and beyond, struggle with much more than working adults give them credit for. Sexuality, finances, family relationships, the political climate, drug and alcohol abuse, verbal and physical abuse, and acceptance are all issues that students deal with every day. I see this in my own students, who range from perfect, straight A students to failing students whose parents just got out of jail. The best thing I can do for my students, whether it matches with my own “agenda” or not, is the fact that I accept them for who they are and want them to succeed. Some of my students are homosexual, some are prejudiced against homosexuals. Some are black, Hispanic, and white…some are ex-gang members and some are current gang members. But I do not start a day interacting with any of these students without acknowledging that they are in my presence to become great adults.

Eastern University’s administration refuses to acknowledge Refuge because it does not feel comfortable with the club. I am amazed at Eastern’s verbal commitment to follow Christ and commit its students to follow Christ, yet its refusal to support a club with resources that will help struggling students to succeed with the help of their peers, teachers, and administrators. I would like to think that a college such as Eastern University would be the first to welcome a club like Refuge. While the University may have a guidance department and a peer mentoring group, it is obvious that these are meant to persuade students away from accepting homosexuality and instead to fit the “biblical” sense of how students should behave and live their personal lives.

Many of my coworkers are committed Christians, Republicans, and teach Christian religion in the classroom from an academic standpoint using the core curriculum standards and a global perspective. I have not once been shut out because of my homosexuality by my coworkers, and it is because they understand that my strengths and weaknesses lie in my personal commitment to God, not in who I love.

One of my coworkers, an English teacher, graduated from Eastern University. The director of the Teen Counseling Center received his Masters Degree from Eastern University. Both of these individuals are active members of our school’s gay-straight alliance.

The administration of Eastern University needs to stop thinking about what people will think of them. People will think what they will think, and opinions will be discarded-Jesus did not work to please people. He worked to serve God, and a great honor to God is accepting and supporting other people’s needs, not shutting them out. Eastern University needs to not only “recognize” Refuge, but to support it, provide resources for it to grow, and to learn from it.