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University of California system, set to judge us by the desires of our flesh & the longings of our hearts?

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Now nearly fifty years ago, in one of the greatest speeches any American has ever delivered, Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed his vision of how to treat people who differ from ourselves, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

It’s not the color of their skin which defines them, but the quality of their character.  So too should it be with sexual orientation.

It seems, alas, that we’ve gone for the vision of a society where we evaluate each individual according to his qualities of character to one where his difference becomes paramount.  Two weeks ago, I blogged about a proposal being floated in the University of California system to ask “incoming freshmen to identify their sexual orientation, a move that might cement such declarations as an emerging topic in the college admissions process.”

That story is getting more legs, with an LA Times report yesterday on the matter:

California’s state colleges and universities are laying plans to ask students about their sexual orientation next year on application or enrollment forms, becoming the largest group of schools in the country to do so. The move has raised the hopes of gay activists for recognition but the concerns of others about privacy.

“The negatives of this,” writes, Tina Korbe,

. . . vastly outweigh the potential benefits. Not only could the information be improperly used — say to either discriminate against or give preference to LGBT students — but it also suggests sexual orientation is somehow relevant to education. The college admissions process should aim to determine what students would be able to meet the rigorous academic requirements of a university experience.

Read the whole thing.  Knowledge of an individual’s sexual orientation won’t help determine whether or not he has that ability.  “LGBT screening,” Donald Douglas (who alerted me to the above story) fears, “will embed another layer of political correctness on campus and put pressure on instructors to satisfy the grievances of the various student constituencies.”  (Via Instapundit.)

Once again, read the whole thing.  He writes from experience, relating in his blog post anecdotes from his experience in higher education (here in California).  He also quotes Ward Connerly a man who, when on the University of California Board of Regents, successfully spearhead the effort to grant benefits to same-sex partners of university employes, believes “schools should accept or reject students based solely on merit, and stop the practice of measuring the makeup of incoming classes by race, gender or sexual orientation.”

Indeed.  Let us stay true to Dr. King’s vision and treat those factors as incidental to our essence.

FROM THE COMMENTS:  davinci quips that “There is a stark contrast between liberals and conservatives. Liberals are reeeallllly into group think and group rights, whereas conservatives are concerned with individual thought and rights.”

AND MORE FROM THE COMMENTS:  Mary poses some interesting questions, “What happens if you change your sexual orientation while in school? Does it become lying on your application and grounds for dismissal? It’s none of the university’s business what my sexual orientation is. What does that have to do with learning?”

Comments

  1. There is a stark contrast between liberals and conservatives. Liberals are reeeallllly into group think and group rights, whereas conservatives are concerned with individual thought and rights.

  2. But if we opt to judge people by their Character not by the color of their skin, or sexual preference, then people would have to HAVE content to their character. Not a problem for most conservatives, but those liberals would be up a creek.

  7. Dear UCLA Admissions,

    I have a 3.75 GPA. I’m a National Merit Scholar, All-State fullback and study piano. I work with underprivileged youth, speak French and Italian and participate in Theatre.

    I also like to perform fellatio.

    Does this mean I can get a scholarship?

    Best Regards.

  8. And if they won’t let me do so because I’m a guy, is that an act of sex discrimination?

    These are the same people that are saying gender is a social construct and not a biological one; so, by their standards, it is discrimination.

    I expect a sharp increase in the epidemiology of homosexuality in California in the near future.

  11. Regarding my comment @7…

    I never had a 3.75 GPA on my LIFE, nor was I a National Merit Scholar. In fact, everything in my comment was satire, save for my HS football experience.

    And the stuff about liking guys, of course. 🙂

  12. What happens if you change your sexual orientation while in school? Does it become lying on your application and grounds for dismissal? It’s none of the university’s business what my sexual orientation is. What does that have to do with learning?

  14. Mary, now those are great questions. . . . For most of us, it seems, our sexuality is fixed, but for those like Alexander the Great, it appeared to be of a different nature.

    Not sure you can change your sexual orientation, but if it is less fixed, you might identify as gay (or lesbian) at one point in your life and not so identify at another. . .

  15. BDB, where does your notion of bisexuality come into play. Yes there are folk with fixed sexuality, some folk’s sexuality is fluid.

    And there is the point to consider that some folk abstain from certain sexual activity until they feel comfortable. See LATE BLOOMERS.

    BDB, these are questions that you do not need to answer, but are for a point of introspection.

    I have seen you point out having a teen crush on a hollywood hunk. But what is the timing of your ‘coming out’. When, how long, to who. . .

    And as I am reading some of the commentary/stories about universities posing the sexual orientation query, it seems most of the intent lies after admissions, and students are engaging in the enrollment process.

    from the link on the change in the military academies:

    Today, Normoyle and Hall are co-leaders of the Spectrum Diversity Council that boasts 60 to 65 members. They say the experience of going to the academy is one they would never trade, but they acknowledge that life is different since the repeal.
    “It’s hard to separate the personal changes from 18 to 21 (years old), but the repeal of DADT was less like flipping a switch. It wasn’t like one day I’m hiding my sexuality and denying who I am and the next I’m out and proud. It was more like a continuum; I progressed through my own comfort with being gay,” Hall said.
    “I had come out to friends my senior year in high school and wasn’t sure if I was ready to live under DADT,” Normoyle said. After a year at another school, she decided to go to the Coast Guard Academy after all.
    “I knew the Coast Guard was what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to go to the service academy. I wanted to show people that it didn’t matter if I was gay; I could just do my job and make friends. I thought I would put my personal life in the back seat.”
    She found this easier said than done.
    “I felt separated from my friends having to hide something that big, a part of my life,” she said. “We have an honor code at the school, and you practically had to lie to people when they asked if you’re dating anybody, if you had a boyfriend.”
    Normoyle and Hall say the Coast Guard Academy administration has been very encouraging of their club, with Rear Adm. Sandra L. Stosz, the first female superintendent of the academy, a major supporter from the beginning, according to Hall.

  16. rusty, just read the link to my Alexander post for my thoughts on the fluidity of (some people’s) sexuality. Believe me, I have long engaged in introspection on this matter. 🙂

    Did I indicate a teen crush on a Hollywood hunk? Hmmm. . . . was it Johnny Depp?

    PS. Probably because I hadn’t had enough coffee this morning, I neglected to use the word, “fluidity” in describing our sexuality. Now that you did, rusty, I did this quick site search; should help you see my thoughts on the matter.

  18. Well, NDXXX, in that movie, I found Harry Hamlin terribly sexy, one of my first teen crushes. . .

    Guess that’s why there’s vanilla an chocolate. . . . Each of us has his own tastes for masculine beauty.

    Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — March 17, 2012 @ 12:16 pm – March 17, 2012

  19. Dan, I am a less troubled about this development than you are. First of all, from reading the two stories you linked, it appears that sexual orientation (unlike other categories) will not be a basis for admissions. This question will appear on a post-admission form, and my guess is it will be a question that will appear with questions such as gender, race, Hispanic origin, etc. I believe even these questions are voluntary, so the student does not have to answer.

    The purpose, at least for now, is to try to get an estimate of LGBT students to see if there is a need for additional resources. I don’t think this is going to help, however, since I’m not sure of how accurate the totals given in this form will be considering these will mostly be 18 year olds answering this question. And further, as you probably know, since the UC system is strapped for cash big time, it doesn’t seem like they can allocate further resources anyway.