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Current and former students at Anderson University met on Sunday morning to help a professor who said he lost his job last week due to his sexual orientation.
About 20 people stood outside the metal arch of the university in Anderson’s Boulevard, waving a flag with a sign to support the LGBTQ + community and former theater professor Miranda Burnett.
In a video posted on Instagram Wednesday, Burnett said her contract as a part-time professor at Anderson University wasn’t renewed for the fall semester because she was weird.
A spokesman for Anderson University did not discuss Barnett’s employment with the university. A spokeswoman said the employment issue was private and that supplementary faculty contracts were offered every semester.
However, the spokesperson also made an independent statement stating, “Anderson University is a private Christian university that supports the traditional sexuality and marriage views of South Carolina Baptists as set out in the Bible.” I sent it to an email.
Anderson University Protests Call for Transparency and LGBTQ + Resources
By Thursday morning, within a day of Burnett’s video on social media, Anderson University student Carey Doyle had organized his first protest.
The alumni group has a close relationship, and support for Barnett was already in place when the Facebook event, Anderson University LGBTQ + Rights Protest, was created.
Protesters planned to stay on campus for eight hours, waving to the driver who had to slow down at the main pedestrian crossing.
Some on Sunday morning were driving slower than necessary to read the protesters’ signs, sometimes ringing their corners.
Burnett, Green Building Native, Received Anderson University’s 2019-20 Award for “Excellence in Teaching” for part-time faculty. Recommendations were submitted by students and faculty, and winners were selected by a committee of students and faculty. According to the university website..
In addition to helping scholars, according to Doyle, Burnett provides all students with a secure space on campus, and they want to know why her contract wasn’t renewed.
In a letter to university officials, the protesters demanded transparency regarding the dismissal of Burnett, the “cultural ability” of the department head, the LGBTQ + employee resource group, and the establishment of the LGBTQ + Anderson Alumni Association.
They also demanded that the university “promise not to dismiss or discipline faculty, staff, or students based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Miranda Burnett states that Anderson University students are “better worth”
Burnett, who began teaching at AU in the fall of 2018, said he was overwhelmed by the attendance of friends, ex-students and strangers who came out to support Sunday.
She said it wasn’t her main concern whether the protest would change her employment status at Anderson University.
“Anderson University students are more suitable,” Burnett said. “There are a lot of queer students on this campus and many can’t choose to be here. At least they should be relieved, but on the Christian campus they should feel loved. Many feel they are now betrayed, hurt, and scared, and that must change. “
University officials brought light meals and bottled water to protesters, and campus safety personnel were constantly patroling the area.
As a private university, Anderson University is exempt from Title IX protection against gender discrimination.
“The drama department has been built for years, especially behind LGBTQ + students, and dismissing a professor for their queerness is a slap to all queer students and graduates,” said 2020. Drama graduate Savvy Thompson said. “These students deserve to have a safe place where members of the community are not actively oppressed.”
Private Christian Universities support the traditional view of SC Baptist sexuality
Andrew Beckner, a spokesman for Anderson University, did not specifically mention Burnett’s employment, but sent the following statement to an independent email:
“Anderson University is a private Christian university that supports the Baptist traditional sexuality and marriage views described in the Bible. As a condition of employment and as outlined in the Employee Handbook. “Employees need to be proactive and respectful. The way their sectarian relationships and their behavior can affect this relationship. In doing so, faculty members of the university We will respect the statement of faith and will not undermine it.
“Therefore, faculty members who are unable or unwilling to comply with this policy and our statement of faith will not be taught. The ability of Anderson University to be an institution based on its own faith is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Private faith-based universities will be indistinguishable from public universities in support of deeply held religious beliefs in setting expectations for action if the Christian University is not authorized. We exist to give faculty, staff and students choice. “
– Sarah Sheridan is Anderson’s community reporter. She thank you for helping you tell an important story. Contact her at [email protected] or [email protected].
This article was originally published in Anderson Independent Email: Professor Queer’Dismissal’; Anderson University Advocates Traditional View
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