At the request of the Student Government, college officials invited all three Presidential candidates to speak to the student population and surrounding community. Hilary Clinton is the first candidate to accept the invitation and will speak on campus this evening.
What makes this invitation “radical” is that two of the three Presidential candidates (Clinton and Obama) are pro-choice. Inviting them to speak on the grounds of a Catholic institution in the Diocese of Erie runs counter to diocese's “pro-life**” policy
Bishop Trautman announced that he would not be attending Mercyhurst's graduation ceremonies in protest. In what can only be described as a veiled threat, the Bishop stated “I am open with to meeting with [college President] Dr. Gamble in the future to ascertain how the Catholic identity of Mercyhurst can be better clarified”.
Translation: I will be meeting with Dr. Gamble and giving him a definitive smack down for daring to subvert the authority of the Church. If he steps out of line again, his tenure as college President will be short and swift.
Dear Bishop Trautman – the day your representatives stop referring to Gannon University as “THE Catholic college of the Diocese of Erie” and actually pay more than lip service in support of any Catholic grade, middle or high school outside the county of Erie is the day that I will consider giving you the benefit of the doubt. You are one of the key reasons I no longer set foot in a Catholic church, except under duress***.
Dr. Gamble, to his credit, refused to rescind the invitation, maintaining that it was extended to all candidates in accordance with a long standing policy of not supporting or opposing any political candidate, and in protection of the college's non-profit status.
I'm pretty certain how this little standoff will play out, and it will not be in the favor of academic freedom or intelligent discourse, to the detriment of the students. Mercyhurst will be forced to put into a place a policy that effectively prevents any candidate from speaking on campus. To protect their non-profit status.
Email link here if you feel like throwing a little bit of love Dr. Gamble's way. Be sure to choose the Thomas Gamble whose department is President.
*All apologies for the deliberate bad grammar.
**Only as far as abortion and contraception go. If you are pro-war, pro-death penalty, pro-corporate welfare, (enter your pro that really is an anti here)
***Duress, in this case, means I will attend mass when not attending would only create more trouble.
Sometimes when I look at US politics I think, Everything else went to pot but we sure debated the hell out of that abortion issue. Imagine a school official that would turn down the chance to have a presidential candidate speak to the students! Hurray for ignorance!
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