After University of Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer offered a weak response to an obscene anti-Christian assault in the March edition of the Insurgent, a campus newspaper, Catholic League president Bill Donohue wrote a letter of protest to state lawmakers, the state’s three bishops and others; he also sent copies of the offensive graphics. Students of Faith, a group formed in response to the incident, subsequently filed a grievance against the Insurgent; they learned yesterday that their grievance was rejected by the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO).
Bill Donohue responded as follows:
“The grievance reads, ‘Students of Faith v. ASUO Student Insurgent.’ In other words, the offending newspaper and the panel which heard the grievance are in bed together. In other parts of the world, this kind of incestuous relationship is called a kangaroo court. What else would we expect from ASUO: after all, on April 21, they ruled against a grievance filed by a youth minister, but not before securing the advice of the university’s counsel.
“In the ruling, the ASUO ruled that ‘there are no grounds for demanding an apology from the Student Insurgent.’ In other words, there are no ethical grounds upon which an apology should be granted. Furthermore, the ruling said that the newspaper contributes ‘to the cultural and physical development of the university community,’ even when it features an obscene depiction of Jesus. Are we to believe that if during Black History Month, the Insurgent showed a naked graphic of the Rev. Martin Luther King kissing another man, both sporting erections, the same rationale would appear in a grievance filed by black students?
“ASUO is a corrupt body. In 2003, its president, Rachel Pilliod, went berserk when she received anti-Semitic mail. Today, the ASUO Women’s Center tolerates no defamation against gays and lesbians. And three years ago, ASUO demanded that the university radio station, KUGN, distance itself from the Michael Savage show (which was dumped). It all depends on whose ox is being gored.”
Contact Frohnmayer at pres@oregon.uoregon.edu
