Washington D.C., Oct 31, 2007 / 08:05 am
The president of Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic university in the United States, has promised funding by next fall for a campus center for homosexual activists.
President John DeGioia explained his decision to the press: “How do we respond to legitimate requests for a more supportive environment? We can continue to do this in a somewhat informal manner … or we can move forward in a more organized way, through more formal and institutional structures and processes. In this case, it is time for the latter.”
The campus activist group GU Pride began pressing for concessions from the administration after an alleged hate crime in September when a Georgetown sophomore was arrested for assaulting another student. They have demanded a full-time staff member for their concerns and the elimination of what they consider the college's "intolerance" of homosexuality.
The group was supported by four faculty professors and the Georgetown Voice. In an editorial the Georgetown Voice asked its readers to e-mail the president in protest. The editorial made a vague recommendation, saying that if the university did not act to meet activists' demands, “GU Pride should look to more direct means of enacting change.”