Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Inside Higher ED: When Equity Official Takes Anti-Gay Stance

At many colleges, human resources officials are leaders in promoting equity and diversity among those who study and work together. And while colleges periodically debate views of various officials that are seen as biased against various groups, it is highly unusual for the head HR official at a university to be the source of such a controversy.

But at the University of Toledo, a column in a local paper by Crystal Dixon, the associate vice president of human resources, has set off such a debate and resulted in her being placed on a paid leave, pending possible further action.

In the column in The Toledo Free Press, Dixon asserted that gay people can change their sexual orientation and questioned how gay people could ever be considered “civil rights victims.”
Wrote Dixon: “As a Black woman who happens to be an alumnus of the University of Toledo’s Graduate School, an employee and business owner, I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are ‘civil rights victims.’ Here’s why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a Black woman. I am genetically and biologically a Black woman and very pleased to be so as my Creator intended. Daily, thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle....”


Dixon also cited as evidence for her position “irrefutable” data showing higher than average salaries of gay people, and she cited religious teachings. “There is a divine order. God created human kind male and female (Genesis 1:27). God created humans with an inalienable right to choose. There are consequences for each of our choices, including those who violate God’s divine order. It is base human nature to revolt and become indignant when the world or even God Himself, disagrees with our choice that violates His divine order,” she wrote. “Jesus Christ loves the sinner but hates the sin (John 8:1-11.) Daily, Jesus Christ is radically transforming the lives of both straight and gay folks and bringing them into a life of wholeness: spiritually, psychologically, physically and even economically. That is the ultimate right.”

While Dixon did not identify herself as the university’s chief HR official, she referenced university policies and her job is well known among those who work at the university.
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