From Alexander Carpenter, executive editor:
When we published our reporting about the new president of Andrews University, the editor-in-chief of the campus paper, The Student Movement, sent over a quote for an article. It came too late for what we published then, but I’m sharing Alannah Tjhatra’s words now because she gets to the heart of the issue.
The AU president-elect, Dr Taylor, wrote:
We will seek to nurture a multicultural community that is warm and caring, fair and just, and that fosters a culture of connectedness and collaboration.
I believe that the role of the president is not just to lead but also to serve. I am committed to being accessible and approachable, and I pledge to listen to your concerns, engage in open dialogue, and work together to address the challenges that may face our community.
John Wesley Taylor V keynote speaker at an annual reunion/convention of North America based alumni of the Adventist University of the Philippines, 2019, Portland, OR.
Thanks for your report on the lecture given by Franz de Waal, Carmen. Here is an opinion piece by Rabbi Elliot Kukla published in the New York Times. Rabbi Kukla discusses a range of genders that were recognized in ancient Judaism.
…and does Dr. Taylor understand that sexual orientation is a part of diversity, although usually not as obvious as skin color?
It would be nice if Spectrum staff could speak to Dr Taylor if they have not done so yet. Let him respond to our questions regarding various issues affecting the university and its global outreach.
Diversity, shimersity…whatever!! It’s 'Sunday Laws" we must keep at the forefront and fight against.
tic
This is just too rich. The irony here can’t be missed. Are we to use the sexual practices of apes as normative for us? But I’ll go with it… As social “animals” we have several levels of interaction with each other. At the broadest level we identify with our common humanity and should give each other respect based on just that, for starters. In this conversation, we also identify as Christians (or something like it), which gives us another level of interaction that expects another degree of respect. These are still more than arm’s length communication. As the platforms narrow, our involvement with each other also gets more personal; and it’s not until it comes to this level, do we have a need to know about anyone’s sexual preferences based on their personal biology to the point that it actually matters.
Passing you on the street or in the hallway I don’t need to know your specific biology. By breaking identity down to a multitude of pronouns is too much information.
On the level of science, we are identified based on our genetics. If our physiology doesn’t match the DNA, we have an anomaly, of which there are many; and which is the reason the brand new mom counts fingers and toes of their newborn. If, on our psychological level we have problems identifying with our biology, it becomes a personal, psychological problem, and we deal with that personally. At that point you can identify how ever you want. None of this is everybody’s every day problem to the point that the entire social order gets flipped on its head - where men, who identify as women, must be able to share bathrooms and locker rooms; and sport’s events become meaningless as physical men win women’s competitions because they are physically men, and stronger.
On the most general level, I don’t care how you identify yourself, and that includes work relationships, or church memberships. It’s just nobody else’s business. At present, society is forcing us to make it our business every day.
Filipinos use only one pronoun for all genders. They understand there’s a spectrum of masculinities and femininities. They don’t seem to confuse which bathroom is for whom depending on one’s physical make-up…
Yes, in Estonian (my “mother tongue”) there is no masculine or feminine pronouns, but they do have a familiar and formal use like French.
To hoist all these variations of pronouns, especially for kids, is unreasonable. To suddenly allow physical males into female locker rooms in schools is unreasonable. What could possibly go wrong?
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