The Seaver administration’s decision not to grant official club status to LGBT group Reach OUT has fallen under scrutiny with several Pepperdine institutions. The Graduate School of Education and Psychology Diversity Council, GSEP Psy.D. Student Government Association and the Seaver Theatre faculty have all issued statements questioning and, in some cases, opposing the policy.
Most recently, the Seaver Theatre faculty released a statement via Facebook yesterday in support of Reach OUT, reading, “The creation of an official LGBT alliance on our campus will foster a safer and more tolerant environment for all members of the University community.” The Theatre faculty declined to comment on the statement.
In an email to students and faculty, the GSEP Diversity Council affirmed its commitment to preparing students to work with diverse populations and cited professional standards the school is obligated to follow.
“Our view is that the University’s decision runs counter to the best practices and professional standards that GSEP strives to uphold,” the Diversity Council said in the statement, which was dated Jan. 25 but was sent to faculty, staff, students and alumni nearly two weeks later.
In December, Seaver administrators reached a decision not to grant official club recognition to Reach OUT, due to conflict with the University’s stance on sexual relationships. Reach OUT has since launched a Change.org petition calling for a repeal of the decision. The petition has garnered nearly 7,000 signatures and received extensive media coverage.
GSEP Associate Dean Robert deMayo, who sits on the Diversity Council, explained that the statement came out of a desire to clarify their position on the issue and affirm a commitment to an inclusive environment in response to questions that had come from the school’s community.
“Our Diversity Council was concerned about the specific impact of the decision to deny the Reach OUT group sponsorship as well as the broader implications for what that was communicating to our community and the community external to the university about Pepperdine’s perspective on diversity and our perspective on issues of relevance to the LGBT community,” deMayo said.
DeMayo was clear that the Diversity Council’s statement does not represent an administrative position. He said he does not believe the GSEP administration has taken an official stance on Reach OUT.
Furthermore, the Psy.D. Student Government Association, representing psychology graduate students, passed a resolution Feb. 9 firmly opposing the decision on Reach OUT.
“We believe that the denial of recognition of Reach OUT as an official student organization demonstrates marginalization and prejudice towards the LGBTQ Community, which could lead to negative outcomes to the students’ quality of life, mental health and well-being,” the resolution said.
“I think that everyone on SGA, when the decision came out, we all had the same feeling like this isn’t something that we can stand behind,” said first-year representative and committee steering member Via Strong.
The writers of the resolution applied American Psychological Association Ethics Code, which states that psychologists are to be aware of and respect differences based on gender identity and sexual orientation and are not allow biases based on these or other personal differences interfere with their professional work.
“Going out into the community from a school that has been getting publicity as being not gay-friendly, that has an impact on future careers,” Strong said. “We need our future clients to feel like we are being non-judgmental.”
The Ethics Code calls for psychologists to affirm their commitment to it if an organization with which they are affiliated presents a demand in conflict with the Ethics Code’s principles.
The resolution also emphasized the psychology students’ commitment to deepening their understanding of LGBT students’ situation: “As trainees in psychology, we also strive to understand the effects of stigma and marginalization on lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals.” It cited psychological studies that have found effects of social mistreatment of LGBT individuals to be detrimental to their mental health.
The resolution called for recognition of Reach OUT as an official student group, and it was distributed to Seaver and GSEP administrators as well as Inter Club Council with hopes of beginning dialogue with Seaver administrators, Strong said.
The Diversity Council said in its email that it has brought its concerns before Pepperdine administration and plans “to work with the University to create a more inclusive and affirming learning environment for all.” DeMayo said he believes dialogue will ensue among the schools of Pepperdine, but there has been no official discussion yet.
Seaver Dean of Students Mark Davis said he anticipates continuing conversation promoted by the Building Bridges committee, which has been holding meetings for a year and a half with administrators, students leaders and members from the LGBT community.
“I’m grateful that people within the Pepperdine community feel comfortable expressing their viewpoints,” Davis said. “This gives us an opportunity to put into practice the ‘convicted civility’ that Dr. Richard Mouw recently shared with us at the Veritas Forum on how to hold to your convictions while treating others with gentleness and respect.”
GSEP does not have a sexual relationships statement akin to that found in the Seaver Student Handbook.
“I think that the view is more that that’s not something that we see as relevant to our educational mission with the adult population of learners that we are working with,” deMayo said. “I think there’s a difference between the mission of Seaver college in that regard, in terms of being a place primarily geared with young adults who are often having their first experience of living away from their families.”
