The suicides and bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students at colleges around the United States have raised questions about campus tolerance at St. Thomas.

St. Thomas conducted a climate study in 2007 to assess diversity and inclusion on campus. Results showed that GLBT students, faculty and staff were “the recipients of the most negative and disparate treatment,” according to the executive report.

Allies President Jess Novak, a junior, said intolerance still exists at St. Thomas on some level.

“I think there’s this overarching fear and ignorance that St. Thomas really hesitates to dispel,” she said.

Novak said the study seemed like a wake-up call to the university.

“I think the university as a whole … realized, ‘Hey, we need to step up and make this more apparent and do better, and we need to make this a safer environment,’” she said.

Has tolerance improved?

Novak said she thinks tolerance has improved on campus, although she said the tolerance is “forced” as the university responds to the climate study results.

But Novak said tolerance is an important step.

“The world is different than St. Thomas,” she said. “You’re going to go out into the real world and have people who are not exactly in your workplaces. And turning the other cheek and being ignorant isn’t going to fly.”

Corrine Carvalho, Allies faculty adviser and theology professor, said she thinks the climate has not improved.

“I think it’s going to get worse,” she said. “I think it’s getting worse.”

Same-sex marriage has been a hot-button issue for the November elections, and Carvalho said the issues are more politicized and polarized than before. She said this does not help develop respectful dialogue.

“I think people are going to think it’s more of ‘I’m right, you’re wrong,’ rather than what we can learn from each other,” Carvalho said. “’We’re a university.’ That’s what we should be saying, that we should learn from each other.”

Don Beyers, Campus Ministry assistant director, said he has seen some improvement.

“I think as a whole our campus has really improved over the past few years at being honest and open in talking about these issues, which I think is a healthy step,” Beyers said.

But he said it is still a major education process and people need to understand words and actions are hurtful and do matter.

“I think that’s where we all, just like society, are going to be wrestling with trying to improve ourselves and be effective in welcoming and supporting people regardless of who they are,” he said.

Misunderstanding of Church teaching can create intolerance

Carvalho cited the document “Always Our Children,” published by the U.S. Bishops’ Committee in 1997, as an example of Catholic teaching on sexual orientation. Carvalho said the document “recognizes in many cases, sexual orientation is innate, inborn and therefore not a choice.”

She said the Catholic Church has a “very limited view” of sexuality, which is limited to marriage. The document does talk about treating people with human dignity, and Carvalho said this is the university’s first interest.

Beyers said the Church’s teaching on sexuality can only be understood in the context of marriage, and the Church defines marriage as between a man and woman. But the Catholic Church first and foremost believes in the dignity of the human person, he added.

“Anything that would create hostility and violence or discrimination against someone in anything in their life is completely intolerable,” he said.

Catholic Studies professor Robert Kennedy said “Always our Children” was a controversial document, and it has been revised since its first publication. One would have to be careful when using this document, Kennedy said.

The Church is unsure what causes homosexuality or if it is innate or not, and the Church has no official stance on this, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said the Church’s views on sexuality are not limited to homosexuality. He said the Church recognizes that, “Everybody is dysfunctional sexually … everyone is messed up. Every individual has to cope with ‘disordered inclinations.’ One kind of disordered inclination doesn’t make one person worse than the other.”

Kennedy said conversations about GLBT relationships become difficult when someone says, “If you love and respect me, you have to affirm my homosexual relationship.” Kennedy said people can see someone as a human and child of God, but do not need to affirm the relationship.

“That’s where people on all sides have really thoughtless things to say,” he said.

Carvalho said faculty, staff and students who are out and seek affirmation of their committed relationships might feel like they are not being treated with tolerance.

“They can often feel as if, ‘I understand you’re treating me with dignity, but if you’re treating me with dignity, you would recognize my relationship with this person as a committed, exclusive relationship,’” she said.

The “honest disagreement” creates difficulty in talking about these issues because the position is not black and white, Carvalho said.

Suffering students should seek help on campus

Carvahlo is also director of the Luann Dummer Center for Women where students, faculty and staff can check out books from the Allies library. Carvahlo leads “ally” training to teach students how to communicate about issues concerning homosexuality. The training looks at the Church’s teaching and other dialogues, and Carvahlo said anyone who is interested should talk with her.

Beyers said if the student who committed suicide at Rutgers came into the office and said he was in a dark place, Beyers would drop everything to help this student get the resources he needs.

“We realize that this is a very difficult journey, and it’s painful,” he said. “But nobody has to be alone in that. Nobody should be alone.”

Campus Ministry workers will tell students the Church’s teaching because they have an obligation to be fair to the Catholic Church, Beyers said.

“Ours is not the interest of judging people, but caring and providing a safe place,” he said. “Everyone has a home and space here.”

“We would never want anyone to feel like their only choice is suicide or hurt themselves in any way,” Beyers added.

To students in a dark place, Novak references the new YouTube campaign.

“It gets better,” she said. “You’re going to need other people on your journey and there are people here who are more than willing and loving to be there with you and for you.”

Theresa Malloy can be reached at mall5754@stthomas.edu.