QUEENS COLLEGE–Several faculty members are against the school’s decision to invite a pro-life figure to an upcoming campus event.
Around two weeks ago, Jennifer Jarvis, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management announced a celebration of the ‘Mass of the Holy Spirit’ in the Student Union building in conjunction with the Catholic Newman Center for Mass. Their guest, Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, will be a prominent figure at the service.
As Jarvis stated in her email, Bishop Brennan is currently on the Pro-Life Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). This announcement caused a stir among faculty, with Professor Steven Kruger from the English Department responding to Ms. Jarvis.
“Isn’t the College still a public, secular institution? I understand students’ desire for religious clubs on campus, and the appointment of chaplains makes sense to support those clubs and student needs. But when the College itself seems to sponsor such events, there’s a real problem,” Professor Kruger wrote in a letter that now has over 70 endorsements from faculty in departments such as the Graduate School of Library Sciences, European Languages and Literatures, Urban Studies, Earth & Environmental Studies, and many more.
