Panel: Discussion on sex, feminism, religion needed

By Johanna Mitchell

Sexuality, feminism and religion need to be openly discussed and debated on campus to help students and faculty understand different perspectives, a student panel and group of student presenters said at a public event symposium on Saturday.

"Sex can no longer be restricted to the bedroom," said student presenter Christina Leone.

Fifty students, faculty and community members attended the student-run "Feminism, Sexuality and the Return of Religion" symposium Saturday, engaging in a dialogue that challenged attendees to reflect on how controversial issues impact their daily lives as participants in a Catholic university.

"I see no reason why women should be excluded from the ministry," said Director of Campus Liturgy Greg Schultz, who served as one of four panelists during the event.

He added that he didn't think Santa Clara is taking advantage of those rituals that women are allowed to perform.

Women have the same training and go through the same process, but are barred from the altar, discrimination that may have no place in today's society, said James Servino, student panelist and program director for Gay and Straight People for the Education of Diversity.

Servino said being excluded is something he can identify with as a gay Catholic.

What his religion tells him about his sexual orientation, he said, is that "you can be gay and are created gay, but do not act on it."

Saturday's symposium was the brainchild of the Religious Studies Student Gender Initiative, said member Jessica Coblentz, a junior religious studies major.

Coblentz was one of eight Santa Clara student presenters who attended a conference by the same name at Syracuse University in upstate New York during April.

Members of the Gender Initiative presented their reflections on perspectives offered by the Syracuse conference speakers, which included theologians, professors, priests and other well-known leaders in the fields of feminism, sexuality and religion.

"There's a really rich source of theological and theoretical scholarship around these issues that I think can really supplement our casual discussion about these controversies," Coblentz added.

Such conversations, she said, occur daily on campus, but grow in the wake of certain campus events.

Santa Clara's recent annual Drag Show, put on by GASPED and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance promoted awareness of sexual and cultural issues on campus. This event, as well as the March performance of the Vagina Monologues, can function as a catalyst for discussion, said Schultz.

In his 12 years on campus, Schultz said he has seen signs of hope that queer awareness has evolved, especially through the efforts of GASPED and GALA, but said he believes it is essential to take the next step and integrate these issues into the classroom.

Religious studies professor Rachel Bundang agreed. As a professor, she said she has an ethical and moral obligation to teach Catholic positions on such issues. Her responsibility, she said, is to help students come to their own conclusions and investigate how controversial issues can have an impact on their daily lives.

"Making things uncomfortable for people who are making things uncomfortable for others," is a daily struggle, said panelist Catherine Murphy, an associate professor of religious studies. But speaking out against injustices is essential if we are to make changes, she added.

Murphy, who worked previously at the University of Notre Dame, remembers an incident involving a group of students who were banned from campus for meeting to discuss queer issues. At Santa Clara, she said she found the climate more open and that dialogues such as the symposium are signs of progress.

Though Schultz said he respects the effort and dedication of University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., to "commitment and inclusion," he said he does not believe the progress thus far is the "end-all."

"We need to go further," said Schultz. "We need to go there because the status quo doesn't."

Contact Johanna Mitchell at (408) 554-4546 or jjmitchell@scu.edu