Reach OUT, a group of Pepperdine LGBT students and allies, is officially applying for recognition and will hopefully be approved at some point this school year. Reach OUT is a student-run organization that represents and serves the LGBT community at Pepperdine. By creating an environment in which students feel safe to discuss cultural, social and political issues pertaining to the LGBT community, we seek to cultivate diversity on our campus.
The biggest roadblock for Reach OUT gaining official recognition thus far has been administrators’ discomfort with the possibility of Reach OUT not aligning with Pepperdine’s Christian mission and its Church of Christ heritage. Many administrators seem supportive of students who simply express attraction to the same sex; this has more to do with the questions administrators have regarding same-sex sexual behavior. Reach OUT intends to stay neutral on issues of same-sex sexual relations as its members have a variety of views on the topic. Reach OUT and its members respect the student handbook’s policy on avoiding sexual relations outside of marriage, as all Pepperdine students are advised. However, Reach OUT desires as an organization to not have to expressly write into its mission statement a confirmation that the organization’s ideology aligns perfectly with policy, as it would detract from freedom of discussion. Reach OUT desires to be treated with equality, just as heterosexual students in other organizations do not have to again affirm that they wholeheartedly agree with any specific Christian ideology.
Pepperdine must realize that it is inconsistent not to demand that political clubs align with the views of the University, yet place those demands on Reach OUT. The Young Democrats and the College Libertarians certainly have at least a few ideological positions that would differ from a conservative Church of Christ stance. Yet they are allowed freedom of speech to discuss these issues in an academic setting. Likewise, the Graphic itself is not required to align with all views of the University.
Pepperdine has not articulated why those clubs are guaranteed freedom of speech while Reach OUT is not. The same arguments that apply to why political freedoms must be guaranteed on liberal arts campuses must be applied to Reach OUT.
Conflicting political views can co-exist without one side feeling compelled to silence the other. Reach OUT knows that not everyone in the Pepperdine community will agree on LGBT issues. Yet Reach OUT is entitled to express a viewpoint without being categorically defined as an attacker of University policy. As wholeheartedly as some in the Pepperdine community may disagree with that viewpoint, they must realize that Reach OUT has every right to take an ideological stand while still respecting policy.
Reach OUT is not interested in attacking the right to free speech of those who may disagree with some Reach OUT members. In large part, Reach OUT seeks to create dialogue and find common ground to create a stronger community for LGBT students. Additionally, once recognition is gained, all of Reach OUT’s events would have to be approved through the same process as any other club on campus, with the same philosophy that applies to other organizations.
Some might argue that Reach OUT could simply utilize another club, like the Pepperdine Libertarians, to facilitate discussion about LGBT issues. Although Reach OUT may be similar to a political club in ideology, it also serves as a support group to deal with personal issues, as well as a group that provides community service. And these issues go beyond the scope of the Counseling Center or community service clubs, and instead have more in common with the way an ethnic club fosters community. President Andrew K. Benton defined diversity in “Envisioning a Bold Future, 2001” as “a relentless aspiration on the part of the entire University community . to ensure full engagement of the issues, and to become a clear reflection of the communities we serve.” In the same article he also says that “it is through the inclusion and experience of others from diverse points of view that we often begin to see dimensions of truth previously unseen by us. Diversity not only enriches the educational endeavor, it is critical to it.”
Certainly it is expected that Pepperdine will exert Christian influence on certain areas of the school. Yet while it is reasonable that Pepperdine demand individual students to comply with certain policies, Pepperdine cannot pretend that its current policy is that every single organization on campus must align perfectly with one specific Christian understanding of sex and marriage. Pepperdine must truly realize that “truth has nothing to fear from investigation.”