Denver, Colo., Nov 23, 2018 / 12:00 pm
Officials at a Catholic university defended a campus "drag show" and classroom measures designed to support the gender identity preferences of students, even after their local bishop said the university's plan is at odds with Catholic teaching.
"I do not intend to change my position of support for our faculty and students," Denver's Regis University provost Janet Houser wrote in a Nov. 16 email to faculty. Houser's email referenced complaints from Denver's Archbishop Samuel Aquila to university administrators, and a response from the university's president.
On Oct. 29, Houser and the university's Queer Resource Alliance sent a letter to faculty members suggesting they attend an on-campus "Drag Show featuring student performers," along with other campus events commemorating the "Transgender Day of Remembrance," on Nov. 15.
Houser's October letter also encouraged professors to "assign readings by queer, and especially transgender, authors," and "add your preferred gender pronouns to your email signature (for example, "she/her/hers")."