Since Bishop Gene Robinson’s appearance in Witherspoon’s Campus Cinema, I have heard awful things about Robinson and the GLBT community. These things have come from what I would perceive as students who normally show good character.
After “Bishop Gene Robinson lectures about religion and GLBT community” was printed in the Technician and put online, there has been a small backlash by students who are anti-GLBT. These students, not publicly in letters or flyers but in conversations, have debased Robinson and everything he stands for.
I have been in direct conversations with several students in the Scholars Program and around campus who have criticized Robinson. Most of these students were themselves Christian, but their denominations were different.
The two most common statements I have heard are “he is a hypocrite” and “how can he believe in God?” A man with such strong faith and such a strong voice should not be ignored or attacked.
I believe that the people who have said these things are, in fact, hypocrites themselves. A true Christian should not judge another person so harshly, but should care for each other and show love like Robinson does.
It is disgusting, to say the least, that these so-called Christians would verbally attack a man who is trying to do nothing but spread the message of universal love. In a world where Christians claim to want love and peace, there is an awful lot of hatred around the Christian community.
The saddest part about this is that Robinson was awarded the 27th Annual Role Model Leader Award, a high distinction from N.C. State, and students are demeaning him.
This is an embarrassment to the University, the faculty and the students. After several incidents of racism and hate in the Free Expression Tunnel and the vandalism of the GLBT Center in 2011, N.C. State has tried to gain back a credible reputation for being a university that is accepting and caring of people in minority groups.
I believe that it should be necessary for every student to take courses like USC 100, Transition into a Diverse Community, which guides students to have a better understanding people who are different from them.
After taking USC 100 this summer, I experienced a culture shock with who was here at N.C. State. I feel that every student needs to open their eyes to the world around them because N.C. State isn’t going anywhere, but how you think and act can stop you from becoming what you want.
As the saying goes, “the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”
If we cannot maintain a stable social environment that promotes the care and respect from every single member of this university for every single member of this university, then how are we going to have a community that promotes academia for everyone?
The simple answer is we cannot promote academia for everyone until the Pack sees its failure, until students hold themselves responsible for their actions, and until we get on with all of this hate.
There needs to be a call to action for the University, parents, faculty, students and anyone else that could possibly affect our community to end discrimination at all points and promote a social environment that is acceptable for a neo-diverse world.
Gregory McClanahan
sophomore, physics
