Students pushing administration to approve Baylor LGBTQ+ group
Baylor University has denied to recognize and charter an LGBTQ+ student group as an official on-campus organization for nearly a decade, but students have not given up the fight.
The Student Senate passed the “No Crying on Sundays” resolution last week that urges Baylor administration to recognize and charter Gamma Alpha Upsilon, which spells out “GAY” in Greek letters, as an official student group, and to add a nondiscrimination clause to student activities. If approved, Gamma, which was created in 2011, would share in the privileges of other official student organizations, including opportunities to advertise their programs
on campus, invite guest speakers, reserve university spaces for meetings, and receive funding through the student government.
Motivated by some of the unsettling experiences she has had since coming out as queer on Baylor’s campus, sophomore Senator Veronica Penales, 19, wrote the resolution as soon as she was elected to the Student Senate last year. The resolution, which passed 31-15, is the first from the Student Senate to directly advocate for the charter of Gamma Alpha Upsilon, Penales said.
“I knew there was going to be push back from a lot of people,” said Penales, who is a member of Gamma. But the support the bill has received from current students, alumni and major donors “just screams how everyone is ready for this to happen,” Penales added.
“It’s 2020.… Times are seriously changing as a result of COVID and Black Lives Matter. The issues of human rights are highlighted constantly,” Penales said. “It’s also time for Baylor to grow up and grow with the times.”
Emma Fraley, a senior and president of Gamma Alpha Upsilon, said the resolution is seen as a “huge success” that paves the way for the group to be chartered.
“It’s definitely a great first step, but by no means does it accomplish all of its goals,” Fraley, 20, said.
The university released a statement to the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday emphasizing that it appreciates the work of the Student Senate and its role in representing the voices of Baylor students, but that the resolution is “nonbinding.”
“The decision-making authority related to this matter lies with the university administration, and ultimately, the Board of Regents. Both previously have made a strong public commitment to provide a loving and caring community for Baylor’s LGBTQ+ students. This commitment remains unchanged today, as it is embodied in Baylor’s mission that calls us to educate students within a caring community,” the university wrote.
Officials also noted that they have allowed LGBTQ+ students to meet and use campus resources through certain faculty and staff members, and the university continues to provide resources through its Title IX office, bias response team, chaplain’s office and The Spiritual Life Center, and its counseling center.
“The university understands that we must continue conversations to demonstrate love and support for students who identify as LGBTQ. We are all part of the Baylor Family and are called by Christ to love one another,” the university’s statement said.
But Fraley, who has worked in leadership positions at other chartered student organizations, said the resources Gamma has received have differed from the ones others have received, making the university seem disingenuous in its recent statements.
“It has inklings of separate but equal arguments,” Fraley said.
“The university claims to stand for things like love, compassion and justice. We should see this in their actions as well as their words,” Fraley said. “Here’s a group of people who don’t feel loved right now. Baylor has a commitment to upholding the law and upholding just basic human dignity. It’s a part of their Christian commitment.”
Gamma has seen support from the university’s LatinX Coalition, which consists of at least five student organizations, including the Hispanic Student Association, as well as support from several fraternity and sororities.
Baylor’s chapter of the NAACP released a statement Sunday backing Gamma Alpha Upsilon and urging the university to “treat all students, including LGBTQ+ students, with equal dignity and respect and to permit LGBTQ+ students to form student organizations” and participate in campus life. Such an “exclusionary policy” has not only had a negative impact on Black students who also identify as LGBTQ+ but also calls back to some of Baylor’s discriminatory history, chapter president Lexy Bogney wrote.
“Baylor University did not admit Black students onto their campus until nearly a decade after the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and we still see the legacy of this discrimination today. LGBTQ+ people are deserving of equal dignity and respect, which includes the ability to form student organizations like all other students at the university,” Bogney wrote.
Fraley said the group applied to be chartered on Oct. 23 and expects to hear back by the end of the semester. Students launched a petition the same day, with the goal of getting 5,000 signatures from the Baylor student body, and are seeking support from the greater Baylor community, including alumni and faculty.
Faculty Senate chair Matt Cordon, a law professor who also serves as a director of Baylor’s Legal Writing Center, said there are no set plans to make any decisions regarding the student bill during the Faculty Senate next meeting on Nov. 10, but the topic could be discussed.
“I’m someone who likes to have dialogue. I want to make sure voices are heard, and that’s what I’m trying to accomplish,” Cordon said.