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Who Watches the Watchdogs?

Hayes Appointment Tells Us How Soft Bishops Still Are

University of San Diego president Alice Hayes was named July 24 to the U. S. bishops board which is supposed to monitor priest sex-abuse scandals. Other board members include Leon Panetta, former chief of staff for the Clinton White House, and Robert Bennett, President Clinton's former defense lawyer in the Paula Jones case. According to a July 26 report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Bishop Robert Brom "said he couldn't recommend her more highly, calling her a sensitive, competent advocate for youth. He also thinks she'll be strong enough to confront church leadership amid accusations of misconduct and cover-up by hierarchy."

Hayes, 64, has been president of USD since 1995. On July 1, she announced she will retire from USD effective June 30, 2003, provided a replacement can be found. The Union-Tribune reported on July 1, "During [Hayes'] seven years at the campus, the university propelled itself from a regional institution to a nationally ranked doctoral university. It enhanced its reputation with establishment of an institute for peace and the soon-to-be-completed 73-laboratory science and technology center.

What the Union-Tribune failed to report, however, is the way in which "diversity and inclusion" have been promoted at USD during Hayes' tenure, particularly the inclusion of homosexuality.

In 1997, the university undertook a "substantial diversity initiative," funded by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, titled "Creating Cultural Competency." According to a USD statement dated October 16, 2000, the Cultural Competency initiative is based on the university's "commitment to developing a community which is characterized by a rich diversity of people and ideas, valuing of differences, and inclusion for all."

Cultural competency as defined by USD is "the ability and willingness to interact respectfully and effectively with individuals and groups, acknowledging the common and different elements of our cultural identities." In another document on USD's website, the school acknowledges that "cultural identities" includes "sexual orientation."

In keeping with its goals of "diversity and inclusion," USD harbors two active homosexual student groups: Pride for undergraduate students and Pride-Law for law school students.

In 1998 and again in 2002, the Pride group marched in the annual San Diego Gay Pride parade. Pride-Law members participate in activities sponsored by the Tom Homann Law Association, "San Diego's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Bar Association." In 2001, the university hosted a "coming out" play, Wish Fulfillment.

During the 2001­2002 academic year, Pride hosted several pro-homosexual seminars on USD's campus, including a Gay Parenting panel, Gays in the Workplace, and a Rainbow Forum, featuring speakers from the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network and the San Diego Lesbian and Gay Men's Center.

News Notes reporter Allyson Smith attended the gay parenting panel on November 14, 2001. Prior to the meeting, Smith sent extensive documentation to President Hayes concerning pro-homosexual events on campus and phoned her office to suggest she send a representative to monitor the panel.

When Smith arrived that evening, she instead found an armed campus security guard in the room. The guard tried to evict Smith from the meeting after she challenged the adult panelists for distorting Catholic doctrine concerning homosexuality and berated them for "screwing up kids' heads."

Smith described her experience in a letter to Hayes the next day. She concluded by saying, "Dr. Hayes, I should not have had to be the person to tell the students and the two homosexual [panelists] the truth. Indeed, I should never have had to go to USD in the first place to attend a 'gay parenting panel' in which students were fed nothing but lies in direct contradiction to Magisterial teaching. Least of all should an armed security guard have been sent to the session to monitor the proceedings; rather, someone from your staff should have been there to see firsthand how Catholic teaching is disregarded at USD."

Hayes responded: "I have received your recent messages and your expression of concern about the University of San Diego's gay and lesbian students. The University of San Diego does not promote homosexual activity, and has made a specific point of recognition of Catholic teaching in its non-discrimination policy statement. We recognize the presence of gay and lesbian members in our community, and respect the dignity of every individual. Student organizations are not given formal approval or recognition by the university and their activities are not sponsored by the university. These organizations are allowed to exist on campus, as required by law, as long as the organization agrees that it will respect Catholic teaching. We do not require that all members of the university community profess and practice the Catholic faith. The university supports the Catholic teachings and guidelines established for the Diocese of San Diego by the Office for Social Ministries."

Rainbow Educators is another pro-homosexual group that operates freely at USD. According to its website, "The Rainbow Educators are a group of students, staff, alumni/ae, and faculty who give presentations and workshops at USD on sexual orientation and other diversity issues. They speak to classes, residence halls, athletic teams, staff and faculty groups, Greek organizations, and student clubs. Their workshops are interactive, dynamic, and fun; they include films, role plays, visualizations, Q&A, and personal stories."

A similar group, the Rainbow Alliance, was founded at St. Louis University in 1991 while Hayes served as executive vice president and provost there.

In addition to the activities of these groups, USD has promoted "diversity and inclusion" in other ways during Hayes' presidency.

In 1998, the university named an openly homosexual professor, Dr. Joseph Colombo, as chairman of the Religious Studies department. He and associate religious studies professor Evelyn Kirkley, a member of the Unitarian Universalist church, are listed as donors to the San Diego Lesbian and Gay Men's Community Center in that organization's February, 2002 newsletter, The Centerpiece.

During the 1999­2000 academic year, student Todd Gloria, with the assistance of Kirkley and law professor Steven Hartwell, applied for a $10,000 grant to implement a Rainbow Visibility program "to address this noticeable exclusion of gays and lesbians at USD" and to "raise awareness to the fact that gays are a distinct culture, to develop cultural competencies in this area and specifically to dispel stereotypes, diminish homophobia, and enable effective and comfortable engagement between USD and gay communities."

In October 2000, USD held a Hate Crimes Prevention Week featuring keynote speaker Judy Shepard, mother of slain homosexual University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard.

In early 2001, USD received a Peacemaker Award from the San Diego Mediation Center for holding a year-long Colloquium on Sexual Diversity. The purpose of the colloquium, according to USD's website, was "to create a dialog among the university community and gays, lesbians and bisexuals on campus. The group was led by clinical law professor Steve Hartwell and religious studies associate professor Evelyn Kirkley."

In May 2001, USD's Board of Trustees approved adding "sexual orientation" to the school's non-discrimination policy.

In October 2001, the USD Counseling Center formed a new support group for "lesbian, gay, and bisexual students" led by Erinn Tozer, a senior staff psychologist. In announcing the new group, Tozer said, "This is opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning students to explore issues relevant to their experience, including self-esteem, oppression, relationships, personal power, family, and role stressors. It is also an opportunity to decrease the alienation and isolation of being a lesbian, gay, or bisexual student in a majority heterosexual environment."

Earlier this year, the School of Education sponsored an experimental course titled "Finding Common Ground: Using Adolescent and Children's Literature to Explore Issues Related to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Straight Identities."

In May 2002, USD honored one of its "distinguished" graduates, Lynn Schenk, with an Author E. Hughes Career Achievement Award. Schenk, a former U.S. House of Representatives member who racked up a 100 percent pro-abortion voting record while in Congress, currently serves as chief of staff to pro-abortion California governor Gray Davis.

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