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Stan Staton is a senior at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Originally from the Houston area, Stan is now a member of the Texas Youth Leadership Council – a project of Advocates for Youth and the Texas Freedom Network.
Until recently, Waco's SHAC has been defunct. The school district had one that was running, but for unknown reasons, it just petered out and stopped functioning. I was lucky enough to want to join a SHAC at the right time, because when I started looking into joining, a new SHAC was being created.
The first meeting was nothing special. It mostly had to deal with the questions of "What is a SHAC?" and "What should our SHAC work on?" I have been lucky enough to receive training on both questions, but for many in the room, it was their first opportunity to get involved with something like this. The room was filled with parents, teachers, health specialists, and concerned citizens, all of whom believed that the health of Waco children was important.
In the first meeting, we decided to puruse health education and that has been what we have been working on ever since. Many people are worried about the lack of a health class requirement in schools now, and we have been trying to tackle that problem in each meeting.
Next week is out fourth and last meeting, so I am excited to share with you our recommendations for the school board.
Stan Staton is a senior at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Originally from the Houston area, Stan is now a member of the Texas Youth Leadership Council – a project of Advocates for Youth and the Texas Freedom Network.
Last semester, I held an event for TFN advocating for sex education through Hip Hop. The turnout was amazing! Below is the video of the event!
The event mainly consisted of local talent performing their own work or covers of others' work. There was spoken word poetry, rapping, and singing. In the middle of it all there was a rap cypher and even a battle. Interspersed in the entertainment, we had guest speakers from Americorp and Planned Parenthood talking about what services were available at the university and at PP.
A couple things to note:
-The university did not sanction the event and had nothing to do with the planning or eecution of it. That is for the best because they would have toned down the quality of the event (their official stance is to never talk about sexuality, ever!)
-We were not allowed to pass out condoms at the venue, which was unfortunate.
-There was an awesome DJ duo (myself and my DJ partner Peril)
Stan Staton is a senior at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Originally from the Houston area, Stan is now a member of the Texas Youth Leadership Council – a project of Advocates for Youth and the Texas Freedom Network.
In high school I started listeninhg to explicitly political hip hop. By political hip hop, I don't mean the usual list of rappers that "underground" cats list off: Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli, The Roots, etc (though these are all great rappers) but rappers whose music often called for revolution, usually violent revolution. These rappers, Immortal Technique, The Coup, and Dead Prez were for a while my professors, teaching me the problems of our country and my community and who was to blame. When I got to college, thanks to a faulty iPod, I lost that music and did not return to listening to these groups until this year, my senior year in college.
When I took another listen to these groups, a lot of things changed. "I had become a lot more active in my community, I had become a bit more politically savvy, I had come out as bisexual, and I had a better understanding of privilege, homophobia, anti-racism and feminism. When I relistened to this music that had been so important to me in high school, i was shocked.
This is an awesome video about a great activist in Thailand, Mechai Viravaidya, who helped to bring family planning information (including condoms!) to his country. He got everyone involved, from mid-wives to the army to priests! If only Texas could get this excited about saving lives!
Over Spring Break, I decided to go down to my hometown of Houston to hang out with a buddy of mine. He's the president of the University of Houston QSA (don't get me started on how jealous I am that he gets to HAVE a QSA at his school, let alone be the president of it). This QSA has an official office space that all the members go to put in "hours" and hang out between classes. In the office you can find out all you need to know about having safe sex in the form of pamphlets.
I picked up a pamphlet that was about reducing the risk of HIV transmission in female-female sexual intercourse. At first I was shocked. It had never occured to me that there would be the risk of HIV transmission between women. In the next second, I just felt dumb. Of course there would be a risk! There's still fluid transmissions!
Those of us who have had less than comprehensive sex education know why I didn't realize that. And those of us who are queer know why too. Queer issues are silenced and ignored in our sex ed. curriculum (if we even have it at all!). Without comprehensive sex education, we fill in the blanks with our own thoughts and the jokes we hear. If there is never any true discussion on sexual health for all people regardless of gender identity or sexual education, we put students at risk. If they're not given all the facts, they can't make informed decisions. Imagine the problems someone would face if they had my thought processes and not my genitalia. They could have exposed themselves to the risk of HIV because someone on their school board didn't think they needed access to that type of information.
The time to stop shaming and silencing queer issues in school is over. We need comprehensive sex education for everyone, so everyone is safe.
Texas Freedom Network did a survey of all the school districts in Texas to find out what they taught, and their findings are consistent with what I've described. Queer issues are swept under the rug or they're shamed.
http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?pagename=JustSayDontKnow
As you have no doubt gathered from my previous posts, Baylor is a fairly conservative campus. We have rules on the books against "homosexual behavior" and the campus climate on gay rights ranges from apathy to down right hostility. I have, on more than one occasion, been asked to be prayed for by someone who "dabbled in homosexuality" and found a cure through the redemptive powers of Jesus Christ. Who am I to say they haven't, but being a pushy jerk needs curing much more than being gay does.
Needless to say, Baylor sucks when it comes to gender identity and sexual orientation issues. It's almost a stirct no-discussion zone. Imagine how excited (read: SUPER FREAKING EXCITED) I was to find out the Baylor was once again a stop on the Equalty Ride! I talked on the phone briefly with Jaxon, who along with Mia was planning the Baylor stop, and Jaxon assured me that they would not be arrested this time (for a brief history, google "equality ride baylor"). Talking with Jaxon made me really think hard about the issues Baylor has with sexual orientation and gender identity.
So, if you don't follow Baylor news like I do (which I understand if you don't. I wouldn't if I didn't go here.), Ken Starr is the new president of Baylor University. Ken Starr is best known for the Starr Report which is blamed as the reason for Bill Clinton's impeachment. What many in the LGBTQ community know him for is being the lead counsel defending Prop 8 in California.
When I fisrt heard on the grapevine that Ken Starr was going to our next president, I called and texted everyone who I thought would care. The usual response that I got was first, "Ken 'Starr Report' Starr?" followed by "WTF?!"
The next morning it was official and the entire campus was talking about it. On of my professors said the mood of most of the professors was one of shock and dismay while another very politically vocal professor asked not to asked about Starr. When Starr was announced as our new president, the campus was invited to "Dr. Pepper Hour" (essentially Baylor makes bucketloads of cash from having an exclusive deal with Dr. Pepper) and welcome him to the Baylor family. That night, there were facebook groups made, the most important of which was the protest.
When "Dr. Pepper Hour" started, 15 students stood outside our student union building to protest his appointment, mainly on the grounds of his defending Prop 8. Many of the observers thought it was political, especially the hecklers sponsored by the Young Conservatives of Texas. The protesters stood outside until the speech was over. We got heckled a bit by those inside who said that Starr stressed in his speech that he was pro-academic freedom, that he wanted all sides at the table. They just didn't understand.
Baylor University currently has rules agaisnt joining a group that advocates a view on sexuality contrary to Baylor's own interpretation of the Bible. Ken Starr is the lead counsel of the defense of Prop 8! Allowing a QSA on campus would be the definition of academic freedom, but all those whose gender identity or sexual orientation does not meet the Baylor "norm" know that they won't get that freedom. They won't be brought to the table. SO while everyone else lives in a fantasy that Baylor is academically free, the ignored will continue to be repressed.
Recently, I had an event to get postcards supporting comprehensive sex education signed at Baylor. All in all, it went pretty well and we got quite a few postcards signed. Here is a video detailing the highlights of the event. I am sorry in advance for all the "umms" you will hear issuing from my mouth. My excuse is that I was tired and overworked. Not buying it? Ok...
Interestingly, Baylor Democrats tried to host the event again and get more postcards signed, but Student Activities vetoed that. Apparently, they caught wind that it was associated with Texas Freedom Network and decided that TFN was antithetical to the views of Baylor. So much for Ken Starr opening Baylor up to academic freedom...
Oh yeah! Ken Starr is the new president of Baylor, taking office in September. More on that later. Also, more on Baylor's stance against TFN.
And most importantly, I will post a bit about Soulforce and all their awesomeness coming to Baylor! But for now, I must get back to my 10 page paper on Kant.
Ugh...Kant...
It should be no surprise that as time passes certain policies and procedures must be updated to reflect certain changes in both the student body and the world in general. Baylor’s policies are not immune to such changes. It was only a few years ago that the school’s HIV/AIDS policy read:
The Baylor community will seek in all prudent ways to witness to God's love by ministering to persons with AIDS, their families, and their friends, as they face the hardships and certain death associated with this disease. We will seek to incarnate God's comforting, supporting, and forgiving presence.
Not surprisingly, that was changed to its current form following a student and faculty outcry at the archaic and doomsayer nature of the policy.
Following that same nature of change, the Sexual Misconduct Policy has gone through a bunch of makeovers over the years. The latest states:
In all disciplinary procedures, Baylor University will seek to be redemptive in the lives of the individuals involved and to witness to the high moral standards of the Christian faith. Baylor will be guided by the understanding that human sexuality is a gift from the creator God and that the purposes of this gift includes (1) the procreation of human life and (2) the uniting and strengthening of the marital bond in self-giving love. These purposes are to be achieved through heterosexual relationships within marriage. Misuses of God's gift will be understood to include, but not be limited to, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault, incest, adultery, fornication and homosexual acts.
While the policy does sum up Baylor's Sex Policies fairly well, it could use some work. Putting homosexuality in the same breath as sexual abuse and incest is simply ignorant and offensive. This should be changed.
Answer: ‘Baylor is a Christian school for Christians, not a Gay school for Gays’ as one of our more brazen commenters (read troll) has so eloquently pointed out. This logic would be flawless if it were the case that the qualities of Gayness and Christian-ness were actual opposites. This is not the case, however.
Some Christians view homosexuality as a sin, and some do not. This is one of the most prevalent debates heard around Baylor regarding LGBT rights. Is homosexuality a sin?
The thing that most Baylor students seem to miss while forming their judgments about this issue is the frame in which the debate is being held. The gay students and their allies are arguing that homosexuality is not a sin, meaning that based upon their Christian beliefs, homosexuality is not a sin. That’s right. These students are Christian, and many of them chose to come to Baylor because it is a Christian University.
