at the University of Virginia

The following letter was posted by the Serpentine Society on their Facebook. Equality Matters’ research found that Chick-Fil-A donated over $1.7 million to antigay causes in 2009 alone, including hate groups listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center. We agree that it is quite unfortunate that the University chose to associate its name with this company so publicly. Additionally we note that we have had a Chick-Fil-A franchise in the Pavillion food court in Newcomb Hall for years. When EQM broke the news about Chick-Fil-A the first time, Brent Beringer, director of dining services, said at a Student Council meeting that franchise decisions were made based on student demand, but noted that ARAMARK has a superior non-discrimination policy than the University.

Update: The Cavalier Daily wrote this article about the letter and the University’s 3 week late response.

December 30, 2011

To: President Sullivan

Cc: Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Strine, Executive Vice President and Provost John Simon, Director of Athletics Craig Littlepage, Coach Mike London

Re: Chick-fil-A Bowl

On behalf of the board of directors of the Serpentine Society—the University’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) alumni interest group—I write to express our great dismay that the University is playing in tomorrow’s Chick-fil-A Bowl. While we certainly share the University’s pride in the Cavaliers’ 18th bowl appearance, we deeply regret that the bowl bears the imprimatur of Chick-fil-A, a company whose anti-LGBTQ record has been consistently noted over the years.

As the New York Times noted in January of this year, the operators of Chick-fil-A, the company’s WinShape Foundation, and the Cathy family which owns the company have given “millions of dollars” to conservative Christian causes, including to organizations “working to defeat same-sex marriage initiatives.” According to the monitoring group Equality Matters, Chick-fil-A gave almost $2 million to anti-LGBTQ organizations in 2009 alone. The company’s hiring practices are also known to be discriminatory.

Given these facts, we are saddened and disappointed that the University would choose to benefit from such a company. A bowl invitation is hard to turn down—we understand that. However, in this case it seems appropriate that the University should counter its engagement with Chick-fil-A by acting in support of the University’s LGBTQ community.

Indeed, in keeping with the athletics department’s long tradition of donating a portion of bowl proceeds to academic projects, we ask that the athletics department or the University at large make a donation to the incipient LGBTQ studies fund at the College Foundation. Established this fall, the fund will subsidize expanded academic opportunities in the field of LGBTQ studies, including a minor in the College. The athletics department and Coach London have already made admirable donations to the University’s AccessUVA program. A comparable donation on behalf of the University’s LGBTQ students would also be admirable.

We take great pride in all the University’s accomplishments, including its athletic successes. A public, material show of support for the University’s LGBTQ students in the context of this bowl game would be yet another achievement of which we all could be proud.

On behalf of the Serpentine Society, I look forward to your response.

Very sincerely,

Sean Kennedy

Co-chair, the Serpentine Society

Former VA Gov. and DNC chairman, Tim Kaine, and Brian Moran, current VA Democratic Party chairman, came to speak to the University Democrats (UDems) this morning in Garden I. Kaine is campaigning to replace Democrat, Jim Webb as a Virginia Senator in 2012.

Kaine mentioned in his talk that he wanted to keep Virginia competitive and attract the best talent from out of state, so naturally I asked him about Cuccinelli’s March 2010 opinion (see some of our coverage here, here, and here), and support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which would provide LGBTQ employees protection from being fired for being who they are. Versions of ENDA have stagnated in Congress since 1994.

We, Democrats, have to fight for the Jeffersonian notion that everybody is equal. [...] At the federal level we can do more. [...] Trying to make sure we pass ENDA, the [Employment] Non-Discrimination Act, those are things I would love to work on federally.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear such a positive answer; I suppose Mr. Jefferson’s gardens tend to be an ingratiating environment. However, we must realize “I would love to work on” is a phrase used when discussing topics like my stack of reading and job applications for this semester – we’ll see what actually gets done when it happens. “Would love to work on” is not “I will cosponsor” or “I will get off the sidelines and champion.” (Kaine borrowed Sen. Gillibrand’s slogan at one point.) A good sign for sure, but it reminds me of another politician whose views are “evolving” at a frustratingly slow pace. #evolvealready.

It seems Kaine’s rhetoric has evolved somewhat since 2006 when he came out against the anti-gay Marshall-Newman marriage amendment to the Virginia Constitution, while at the same time supporting marriage between “one man and one woman” – this position presumably has not changed. He recently reversed a 2005 position and now believes “gay individuals should be able to adopt.” The DNC also put out this lovely fluff video in which he does not mention marriage at all. In the seconds preceding my video below, Kaine touts his gubernatorial Executive Order prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for Commonwealth employees. However, that “protection” seems to have had no teeth for Michael Moore.

Kaine’s comments come at a pivotal time for the University with the arrival of many top ranking leaders including President Teresa Sullivan, Provost John Simon, Chief Operating Officer Michael Strine, and new members on the Board of Visitors. Faculty and staff are hopeful these new leaders will finally implement non-discrimination protections and provide health benefits to “Other Qualified Adults.” In an interview for part one of a wonderful series by The Cavalier Daily, Chief Human Resources Officer Susan Carkeek backs up Kaine’s comments:

Not being able to offer benefits to domestic partners makes the U.Va. benefits package less competitive than that of other universities we compete with for the best faculty and staff.

Both the University and the Commonwealth’s continued economic growth and success are hindered by the General Assembly, Congress, and Cuccinelli’s resistance to equal protection and benefit measures. With the formation of an LGBT subcomittee of the Diversity Council, we can hope that it will get better here at UVA, but just as with Kaine’s support for ENDA, until healthcare benefits are offered and non-discrimination is enforced nationally, we will continue to monitor the evolution of these issues and push all these officials to do the right thing.

Watch the video here:

Welcome new members! Thanks for visiting us at the activities fair.

We are excited to begin working with you this year. Please take our new membership survey (only 10 questions) so we can learn more about your interests, talents, and experiences. This will help us get to work fighting for LGBTQ Equality!

Click the question mark to begin or use this URL to take the survey.

We will email out the location for the first meeting and post it here once it is secured.

We hope to see you at the LGBT Resource Center Garden Party on Wednesday Aug 24 from 6-8pm in Garden 1 (near the Lawn), rainsite: Newcomb Commonwealth room. Bring  a friend!

QuAA’s Queer Film Series begins Saturday September 3 from 7-9pm, likely in the LGBT Resource Center and within plenty of time to go out after hanging with your new favorite activist buddies. We will be regularly showing a variety of indie films by queer filmmakers, your favorite gay blockbusters, and really informative documentaries. Got a movie suggestion? Email us.

If you don’t get an email notifying you of your subscription to the listserv within the next day, please subscribe yourself in the upper right corner. (don’t worry, my handwriting is just as bad…) Please invite other friends and have them sign up as well, especially if they missed us at the activities fair, or just want to learn more about the LGBTQ community.

If you have any other questions or concerns or anything you want to let us know, please feel free to shoot any of the exec members an email - our info is listed on the contact us page.

Looking forward to a QuAAwesome year! See you at the first meeting!

Pam Spaulding

LGBT Political Blogger and Accidental Activist

Monday April 18th, 6-7:30pm Nau 101

Facebook Event Link – Invite Your Friends!

Sponsored by: Queer & Allied Activism

Cosponsored by: Minority Squared, the LGBT Resource Center, the Office of African American Affairs, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and the Office of Diversity and Equity with support from the Studies in Women and Gender Program and the Department of English

Questions? email: here

Pam Spaulding will be the keynote speaker for this semester’s Proud To Be Out Week. Her talk will cover her life, her blogging, what it means to be a married queer person of color in the South – and be political, how she became an “Accidental Activist,” and how you can be too!

Pam Spaulding is the editor and publisher of www.PamsHouseBlend.com – with 300,000+ monthly visitors. The Blend launched in July 2004 as a personal response to the anti-gay state of the political landscape. As a Southern, black, married lesbian, with a family history steeped in NC politics, Spaulding and The Blend’s various “baristas” bring unique voices to the LGBTQ blogosphere directly addressing race and class issues within the LGBTQ community. Always steamin’ – The Blenders go where other blogs and news sources dare not go promptly serving up the news and poignant commentary earning Pam the title of “Lesbian Blog-Stremist” from anti-gay groups. A Durham native, Pam lives in the Bull City with her wife Kate; they legally married in Canada in 2004.

Pam has been twice honored as Best LGBT Blog in the annual ’05 and ’06 Weblog Awards. Spaulding has guest blogged on Firedoglake, for Glenn Greenwald on Salon, the Bilerico Project, and Americablog. Spaulding has provided commentary on CNN during the 2008 presidential election cycle and was also credentialed as part of the general press pool to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention. In 2009 she was named one of Huffington Post’s Ultimate Game Changers in Politics, received the Women’s Media Center Award for Online Journalism, and was named one of OUT Magazine’s OUT 100 for 2009. In 2010 Pam also landed on Politics Daily’s Top 25 Progressive Twitterers list, as well as ranking in the Top 50 Women’s Blogs. She was a panelist at the 2010 Netroots Nation conference speaking about her activism. In the summer of 2010, Spaulding was invited to a White House to cover the first ever LGBT press briefing with the Obama administration. Pam’s House Blend was nominated for the inaugural Best Blog prize at the 2011 GLAAD Media Awards.

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We got a shout out on The Blend! http://pamshouseblend.com/diary/19065/#245886

After 17 hours of interviews and even more consideration, we are proud to announce our selections for the University wide elections! These candidates are strong allies of the LGBTQ community and we encourage you to support them and our community. Many of the races had multiple qualified candidates which made decisions quite tough so we picked those we felt would be our strongest advocates. It’s good to see that our community has many friends, and we hope that those allies that we did not endorse seek appointed positions within their organizations.

Vote from Mon 21st, 10:00am – Sun 27th, 6:00pm – www.uvavote.com

Mon 28th, 8:00pm Election results announced in Jefferson Hall

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Student Council – President

Evan Shields

Student Council – VP Organizations

Zain Shaikh

Student Council – VP Administration

Mathias Wondwosen

Student Council – CLAS Rep

Marco Segura

Student Council – SEAS Rep

Seth Kaye

Honor Committee – CLAS Reps

Liz Rosenberger

Christiana White

Ann Marie McKenzie

Remy Wheat

Justin White

UJC – CLAS Reps

Charity Harrell

Victoria Marchetti

Arts & Science Council Secretary

George Wu

Third Year Council – President

Sheridan Fuller

Third Year Council – Vice President

Veronica Alvarado

Second Year Council – Vice President

Apurva Pande

QuAA cordially invites you to an evening of Victorian romance, misplaced infants, thwarted engagements, and some truly impressive drag queens (and kings!). Come out and take in this new, queer spin on a beloved classic play by Oscar Wilde. Tickets are $2 at the door. We hope to see you there!

Facebook event.

All Charlottesville Caring for Every Person Together is planning a vigil for the Charlottesville and UVA communities to come together Wednesday night October 20th at 7pm on the North side of the Rotunda to remember the 6 teens that took their own lives recently because of the anti-gay bullying and harassment they faced in school. We do not want another tragedy to occur in our community. The vigil will be a chance for the community to come together to grieve these losses and demonstrate their support for local LGBTQ youths who may be struggling and to let them know they are not alone and have a whole community that loves them. A diverse set of speakers will share personal experiences and educate the community on these issues and how we can help in our communities to prevent another suicide. Through the vigil organizing we hope to rally the community behind efforts to address issues of bullying and homophobia in the community and in our schools so that we can make our community a safer and more welcoming place for everyone. All are welcome and are encouraged to wear purple.

More updates and specific details will be sent out via our Facebook page here. There has already been press coverage here and here and will certainly attend the vigil.

QuAA is cosponsoring the 5th Annual Sleepout For The Homeless! We are very excited to be participating in great event for an issue that severely affects LGBTQ youth and the community. Please check out their website for more info on the other events and how to make a donation. It’s been raining pretty heavily this week so many of the events have been moved inside, but the people in need don’t have this luxury – please help as you are able.

20-40% of all homeless youth identify as LGBTQ and they are severely at risk for other related issues and risky behaviors like increased depression, suicide, drug abuse, sexual abuse, and forced survival sex. Almost all of this homelessness is preventable – these kids had a home, but were rejected by their parents when coming out. We will be working with local shelters and service to make sure that they provide welcoming service to LGBTQ youth.

For more information and statistics, read this LGBTQ Homelessness Fact Sheet – thanks for the research Chloe!

Hello QuAAers new and old!

We’re getting ready for a QuAAwesome new year! This summer sure has had some crazy ups and downs for national LGBTQ politics. We’re planning to get things back on track.

The first meeting will be Wednesday September 1st in Cabel 132 at 7pm! (Note the date: I made a mistake on the flier)

If you have any ideas or suggestions for the year, don’t hesitate to check out the Contact page and shoot us an email!

Much QuAA Love!

Seth

The Resolution has passed Student Council with UNANIMOUS support!

Below is the text of the resolution written with the input from many leaders around UVA. (Thanks! You know who you are!)

Please consider the resolution’s language and fill out this short form if your group would like to endorse and cosponsor this resolution. All organizations are welcome!

If your group is not affiliated with UVA, we welcome your support, and encourage you to write your own version localized for your institution using whatever parts of our resolution you like.

For an explanation of the differences between sexual orientation and gender identity:

http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/sorientation.pdf
http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/transgender.pdf

The resolution will be debuted at the Forum on Non-Discrimination and presented to Student Council to be read on April 13th and voted on April 20th. If you would like to voice your personal support, please consider attending the Community Concerns portion of the meeting at 6pm in Newcomb South Meeting Room.

Downoad as PDF

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Continuing News Coverage:

The Cavalier Daily – Anti-discriminatory bill passes

The Cavalier Daily – Students fall victim to racial slurs

Colin Hood, Student Council President – Youtube – An Address To The Student Body

The Cavalier Daily – Sending a clear signal

The Cavalier Daily – Necessary Neutrality

The Cavalier Daily – UJC votes down Kaye’s proposal

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The following 71 groups have endorsed and cosponsored this resolution:

Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc.

Queer Student Union

Student Council Diversity Initiatives Committee

University Democrats

Jewish Social Justice Council

Virginia Women’s Club Ultimate Frisbee

Invisible Children: Schools for Schools

Student Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED)

Genocide Awareness and Research Organization

Down Syndrome Alliance

Street Law at UVA

Virginia Women’s Rugby Football Club

Students for Gun Free Schools

Virginia Triathlon Team

Hoos for a Cure

Virginia Players

Hoos In Treble

Virginia Environmental Law Forum

PURSUIT

Mahogany Dance Troupe

Swing Club @ UVA

Sikh Student Association

The Declaration

Sigma Omicron Rho

Men’s Club Ultimate

Student Association of Landscape Architects

Hoo’s Rockin

Homer

Amuse Bouche

Warm Up America

Alpha Chi Omega

Nu Omega Iota

Disturbance Dance Crew

Students in Free Enterprise at the University of Virginia

Virginia Organizing Project at UVa

Global Medical & Dental Brigades

Sexual Assault Peer Advocacy

La Società Italiana

Hope with Heifer International

Black Student Alliance

The Hoos News Show

Environmental Sciences Organization

Alpha Phi Omega

Human Rights Film Festival

Minority Rights Coalition

Virginia Law Women

Comparative Anatomy

Lambda Law Alliance

Democracy Matters

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society at the University of Virginia

Virginia Women’s Chorus

Phi Sigma Pi Honor Fraternity

Habitat for Humanity at UVa

Wesley Foundation at UVA

Baking Club

American Constitution Society for Law and Policy

Vox: Voices of Planned Parenthood

UVA Inter-Fraternity Council

Students for Students International

The Filmmakers Society

Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA)

Shakespeare on the Lawn

Inkstone Magazine

Feminism Is For Everyone

The LGBT Resource Center

Women in Math and Science (WIMS)

Education Council

Workers and Students United (WASU)

College Access for Everyone

Virginia Themis Socieity

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Council

The Serpentine Society

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Queer & Allied Activism at the University of Virginia

RESOLUTION April 20, 2010

Concerning Non-Discrimination

WHEREAS, the non-discrimination policy at the University of Virginia currently includes protection for sexual orientation and has for nearly two decades (since January 1991);

WHEREAS, the University’s non-discrimination policy does not include protections for gender identity or gender expression;

WHEREAS, the Virginia Human Rights Act does not include protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression;

WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people have not yet been recognized as a suspect class by the United States Supreme Court, but are protected under the Equal Protection Clause of 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution;

WHEREAS, the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia are committed to diversity;

WHEREAS, a diverse and inclusive learning environment which respects and enhances the potential of all members of our community is crucially important to the University’s mission of achieving excellence in teaching, research and public service;

WHEREAS, the University competes to remain attractive among other leading colleges and universities to recruit and retain the best and brightest faculty, staff, students, and administrators;

WHEREAS, of the top schools as ranked by US News & World Report, 49/50 protect sexual orientation and 38/50 protect gender identity based on the research of Queer & Allied Activism and the Student Council Diversity Initiatives Committee;

WHEREAS, we honor the first anniversary of the April 4th 2009 hate crime against a gay student at the University;

WHEREAS, at least 1,617 of 9,168 reported hate crimes (17.6%) were committed based on sexual orientation in 2008 according to FBI statistics;

WHEREAS, such hate crimes send a message of fear and exclusion throughout our community;

WHEREAS, no member should feel unwelcome, unsafe, or fear violence in our Community of Trust;

WHEREAS, the medical and public health literatures report that lack of state-level protections for sexual and gender minorities is associated with increased incidence of HIV infections and greater prevalence of psychiatric co-morbidities, and that animus, prejudice, and discrimination against sexual and gender minorities are associated with many adverse health impacts, producing avoidable human tragedy and economic costs, in workplaces, health systems, and society;

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson, founder of the University of Virginia, left a legacy of non-discrimination authoring one of the earliest non-discrimination policies, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1779 which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1786;

WHEREAS, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom states: “that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy which at once destroys all religious liberty;”

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson said in his First Inaugural Address: “that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression;”

WHEREAS, Governor Bob McDonnell in his Executive Directive 1 states: “The Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution prohibits discrimination without a rational basis against any class of persons. Discrimination based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation or parental status violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Therefore, discrimination against enumerated classes of persons set forth in the Virginia Human Rights Act or discrimination against any class of persons without a rational basis is prohibited;”

WHEREAS, McDonnell continues: “Consistent with state and federal law, and the Virginia and United States Constitutions, I hereby direct that the hiring, promotion, compensation, treatment, discipline, and termination of state employees shall be based on an individual’s job qualifications, merit and  performance. No employee of the Executive Branch shall engage in any discriminatory conduct against another employee;”

WHEREAS, public colleges and universities in Virginia have autonomy within their “own charters” to “make all needful rules and regulations” concerning their operations and to “generally direct the affairs of their institutions;”

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED on this twentieth day of April, 2010, that the undersigned parties hereby urge legislation be passed to codify protections against discrimination in local, state, and federal employment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the undersigned parties urge:

(1) The Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia to reaffirm the University’s non-discrimination policy (HRM-009) protection for sexual orientation and expand the policy to include gender identity and gender expression;

(2) The Virginia General Assembly to amend Section 2.2-3900 of the Virginia Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (e.g. H.B. 1287) and pass legislation that prevents workplace discrimination for all Virginia employees (e.g. S.B. 66);

(3) The United States Congress to pass legislation that prevents workplace discrimination for all employees. (e.g. the Employment Non-Discrimination Act H.R. 3017 and S.1584.)

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