College Is Pitting Me Against The Church

[LifeIsAbsurd]

This is the kind of professor I have for my Race and Racism in America class; we were told the first week repeatedly that any opinion other than the one that would be taught was flat out wrong without exception, that and a huge helping of White Privledge being the majority blame for the problems in colored races.

Just remember, if you support your arguments well on your essays and tests, and he doesn’t give you reasonable grades, take the matter up with the department chair or dean.

Most universities appreciate students who think for themselves.

 

[cfrancis]

Hi Mary,…You are experiencing first hand what has been destroying the moral fabric of our nation for the past two generations. This is why we see that sex has become a recreational activity and abortion has reach epidemic proportions. Quite the opposite of liberating women, abortion (i.e. RVW) and artificial contraception have served to objectifiy women and degrade them to an object of sexual pleasure.

Great post all around, but this resonated with me. Here is Pope Paul VI from 1968’s Humanae Vitae:

1. Upright men can even better convince themselves of the solid grounds on which the teaching of the Church in this field is based, if they care to reflect upon the consequences of methods of artificial birth control. Let them consider, first of all, how wide and easy a road would thus be opened up towards conjugal infidelity and the general lowering of morality. Not much experience is needed in order to know human weakness, and to understand that men – especially the young, who are so vulnerable on this point – have need of encouragement to be faithful to the moral law, so that they must not be offered some easy means of eluding its observance. It is also to be feared that the man, growing used to the employment of anti-conceptive practices, may finally lose respect for the woman and, no longer caring for her physical and psychological equilibrium, may come to the point of considering her as a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, and no longer as his respected and beloved companion.

Rap, you nailed it: Pope Paul VI was so right as to the consequences of contraception and abortion.

 

[mkinson]

Although I must agree that the professor should have been more guarded in her own opinion on the subject, allowing her students to form their own opinions and conclusions, I would advise that researching an opposing point of view can often times give you a greater understanding of the people around you even if you don’t agree with them.

In the instance of the “History of Women”, please keep in mind that not all women are Catholic and therefore not all women hold the same convictions. I am not saying that abortion is right, or wrong, only that Christianity accounts for only one third of the worlds population. Therefore a study of women’s history, in general, must take into account the views of not only the Christian women, but also the Muslim, Jewish, and other-affiliated sectarian or non-sectarian faiths.

I encourage you to keep your beliefs, but to also listen to the views of others while doing so.

 

[Cliff_Jumper]

Hello All (this is long-grab a cup of coffee!)

 I just wanted to throw this out there and get some opinions and maybe help others who are facing similar circumstances

 I just started the Spring semester at my Community College and I am slogging through my Gen Ed requirements so that I can at some point get my AA and finally transfer to university. Well Gen Ed does not allow for much choice and with the budget so strained here in California there are not many offerings so you kinda gotta take what you can get if you want to fulfill the requirements in a reasonable amount of time. I have been fine with what I have been offered until this semester when I enrolled in a Womens History Course. 

 I was actually excited to learn about what women have done for the country. There are loads of women that I admire so this really seemed like a good fit to me. Well what I inadvertently ended up signing up for was NOT a class on women in history. It was instead a course on The Feminist Movement veiled behind the label of Womens History. I ended up having to make the decision to drop the course today which will put me even farther back in my studies. I'm not a youngster by any stretch. I'm 41 years old but still want to accomplish my goal of getting a college education. Anyway...Here is what happened today.

 We were given a list of famous women and it was like a pop quiz. We were asked to chime in about what we knew about women on the list. I knew about quite a few and was happy to contribute. But then I looked down the list and saw the category Roe V. Wade. My heart sank! OH NO! Sure enough the prof. (a woman who labeled herself a hard-core feminist) called on the class to discuss RVW. All the girls started talking about how it gave "us" the right to have abortions etc. and the prof. said "ya, and you know the Republican congress is going to try their damnedest to repeal it and take away "our" freedom!" She went on to say how sickening it is that we are going to lose our rights and on and on. Me and my sister (who was also in the class) gave each other "the look"-here we go, time to bash the Catholics! On the way home we were both fuming. We felt that we had been the victims of bait and switch. We just wanted to learn about things such as women's suffrage etc. not hear some feminist spiel about a subject that we know is just wrong and a law that should have never been put on the books to begin with. 

 Why do people get feminism confused with the right to have an abortion? To me being a woman is not summed up in terms of whether you can legally do something that is immoral. I am all for equality but I am also a person that tries to live a life of morality. I think it is possible to be a strong woman, educated, successful and pro-life. But NO! I guess you can't be any of those things and call yourself a "real" woman. It broke my heart. Because all these 18 year old girls were siding with her and I was seeing how impressionable young women are and how they just hung on this profs. words. What right does this person have defining sexual morality to these young women? That is not her job! That's a job for the girls parents and hopefully their churches. This has made me so disgusted. I have a 10 year old daughter who is seeing me in school. Who I hope will be proud of me and follow in my footsteps but now I will be scared to death to let her near a community college or public university!

 What do you think? Was I wrong? I did write to the prof and explain why we left. I laid it all out and was honest and explained my faith. Was that wrong? What have you done in this situation? What should I do in the future?

All opinions desperately needed and welcomed!

Take Care Mary

You did the right thing! I had a similar experience at the University of South Carolina. Awful college. Anyways we had to take a class called University 101 which was billed as a how to live on campus class, but it turned out to be as follows: all sex is good, homosexuals are great, and I hate to say this, but Margart Sanger is the messiah for women. Not to mention the many safe sex classes. Needless to say as a Catholic whenever it was up for discussion I would be the only one to speak up. Being a science major I argued mostly from a biological, chemical, and psychological front. As a result I was graded down. This was carried over into other classes as well.

This seems to be the current status quo in colleges now. I’m angered by the fact other kids will be taught in these environments as well.

 

[CollegeStinks]

Hey, if abortion is a right, then as a male I am being discriminated against right now, because I can’t have an abortion… TO WASHINGTON!

 

[Cliff_Jumper]

Hey, if abortion is a right, then as a male I am being discriminated against right now, because I can’t have an abortion… TO WASHINGTON!

My brother and I joke about the same thing.

 

[thequeen]

get out of that class as soon as possible and thumbs up to you for holding on to the faith and for being faithful to the magisterium of the church

 

[WintersKnight]

That burns me up. The abortion issue is so very heated. To Liberal Extremists (please note extremists so I don’t offend a liberal), Abortion is a Women’s Right to Choose. To those of us who are Pro Life, it’s a Child’s Right to Life.

And when we express our opinion, we’re labeled and told to sit down and shut up. As if the academic elite have an agenda to push, warping the minds of our youths.

I’m sure Hildegard of Bingen or Joan of Arc were not on that syllabus of yours.

 

[Monica4316]

Hello All (this is long-grab a cup of coffee!)

 I just wanted to throw this out there and get some opinions and maybe help others who are facing similar circumstances

 I just started the Spring semester at my Community College and I am slogging through my Gen Ed requirements so that I can at some point get my AA and finally transfer to university. Well Gen Ed does not allow for much choice and with the budget so strained here in California there are not many offerings so you kinda gotta take what you can get if you want to fulfill the requirements in a reasonable amount of time. I have been fine with what I have been offered until this semester when I enrolled in a Womens History Course. 

 I was actually excited to learn about what women have done for the country. There are loads of women that I admire so this really seemed like a good fit to me. Well what I inadvertently ended up signing up for was NOT a class on women in history. It was instead a course on The Feminist Movement veiled behind the label of Womens History. I ended up having to make the decision to drop the course today which will put me even farther back in my studies. I'm not a youngster by any stretch. I'm 41 years old but still want to accomplish my goal of getting a college education. Anyway...Here is what happened today.

 We were given a list of famous women and it was like a pop quiz. We were asked to chime in about what we knew about women on the list. I knew about quite a few and was happy to contribute. But then I looked down the list and saw the category Roe V. Wade. My heart sank! OH NO! Sure enough the prof. (a woman who labeled herself a hard-core feminist) called on the class to discuss RVW. All the girls started talking about how it gave "us" the right to have abortions etc. and the prof. said "ya, and you know the Republican congress is going to try their damnedest to repeal it and take away "our" freedom!" She went on to say how sickening it is that we are going to lose our rights and on and on. Me and my sister (who was also in the class) gave each other "the look"-here we go, time to bash the Catholics! On the way home we were both fuming. We felt that we had been the victims of bait and switch. We just wanted to learn about things such as women's suffrage etc. not hear some feminist spiel about a subject that we know is just wrong and a law that should have never been put on the books to begin with. 

 Why do people get feminism confused with the right to have an abortion? To me being a woman is not summed up in terms of whether you can legally do something that is immoral. I am all for equality but I am also a person that tries to live a life of morality. I think it is possible to be a strong woman, educated, successful and pro-life. But NO! I guess you can't be any of those things and call yourself a "real" woman. It broke my heart. Because all these 18 year old girls were siding with her and I was seeing how impressionable young women are and how they just hung on this profs. words. What right does this person have defining sexual morality to these young women? That is not her job! That's a job for the girls parents and hopefully their churches. This has made me so disgusted. I have a 10 year old daughter who is seeing me in school. Who I hope will be proud of me and follow in my footsteps but now I will be scared to death to let her near a community college or public university!

 What do you think? Was I wrong? I did write to the prof and explain why we left. I laid it all out and was honest and explained my faith. Was that wrong? What have you done in this situation? What should I do in the future?

All opinions desperately needed and welcomed!

Take Care Mary

Hi,

no you are totally right on this, - and it’s very sad that your class was so liberal and pro choice. unfortunately most universities are this way (because our society is very pro choice, for the most part).

 

[Cliff_Jumper]

That burns me up. The abortion issue is so very heated. To Liberal Extremists (please note extremists so I don’t offend a liberal), Abortion is a Women’s Right to Choose. To those of us who are Pro Life, it’s a Child’s Right to Life.

And when we express our opinion, we’re labeled and told to sit down and shut up. As if the academic elite have an agenda to push, warping the minds of our youths.

I’m sure Hildegard of Bingen or Joan of Arc were not on that syllabus of yours.

I would say it is an agenda now. After I got out of University 101 it became mandatory for future students.

 

[Charlemagne_II]

We live in a world governed by pagans. Duck their bullets and pray for guidance.

 

[InSearchofGrace]

We live in a world governed by pagans. Duck their bullets and pray for guidance.

Indeed, Charlemagne. But let’s not forget that we have this weapon, which is near and dear to all of us. Us includes Christians.



Freedom to be Christian But Banned from Acting Christian

Christians, Orthodox Jews or anyone with traditional views of sex and marriage should be barred from state university counseling programs unless they agree to violate their beliefs. That’s the gist of the amicus brief the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed Feb. 11 in a case in which a Christian student is challenging her dismissal from a graduate counseling program at Eastern Michigan University in 2009.

Julea Ward had asked that another student take the case of a homosexual suffering from depression because, being a Christian, she could not affirm the person’s sexual relationships. Miss Ward was dismissed and filed a lawsuit charging unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, religious discrimination and compelled speech. On July 26, 2010, a U.S. district court denied her claim, and she appealed to the 6th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ACLU’s brief to the appeals court contends that compelling someone to act against her beliefs does not violate her freedoms of religion or speech. The ACLU quotes the university’s response to Miss Ward saying she had a “conflict between your values that motivate your behavior and those behaviors expected of your profession.” In other words, you’re a conscientious Christian, so get lost.

Read the rest here.

 

[PJM]

=Cliff Jumper;7790858]You did the right thing! I had a similar experience at the University of South Carolina. Awful college. Anyways we had to take a class called University 101 which was billed as a how to live on campus class, but it turned out to be as follows: all sex is good, homosexuals are great, and I hate to say this, but Margart Sanger is the messiah for women. Not to mention the many safe sex classes. Needless to say as a Catholic whenever it was up for discussion I would be the only one to speak up. Being a science major I argued mostly from a biological, chemical, and psychological front. As a result I was graded down. This was carried over into other classes as well.

This seems to be the current status quo in colleges now. I’m angered by the fact other kids will be taught in these environments as well.

DON’T JUMP

Take it as a REAL and CURRENT History Lesson! Learn from it and don’t make the same mistakes they did. God put you there for a reason

be quiet unless asked a specific question; then give your honest opinion as briefly as possible and take the flack. There is always a Price to pay for being RIGHT. Look what Christ did for us.

Hang in there and be more careful in your selection next time; but see the working of the Holy Spirit in your action.

Love and prayers,
Pat

 

[Charlemagne_II]

InSearchofGrace

Indeed, Charlemagne. But let’s not forget that we have this weapon, which is near and dear to all of us. Us includes Christians.

Indeed, the Founders had a good idea, as Lincoln pointed out, to put that in the Constitution so that those who would subvert religious institutions would find that job a hard nut to crack.

Presumably, with 6 Catholics on the Supreme Court, we can duck the ACLU’s bullets.

Unless, of course, the 6 Catholics have to recuse themselves for being Catholic!

 

[Cliff_Jumper]

DON’T JUMP

Take it as a REAL and CURRENT History Lesson! Learn from it and don’t make the same mistakes they did. God put you there for a reason

be quiet unless asked a specific question; then give your honest opinion as briefly as possible and take the flack. There is always a Price to pay for being RIGHT. Look what Christ did for us.

Hang in there and be more careful in your selection next time; but see the working of the Holy Spirit in your action.

Love and prayers,
Pat

Thank you for the pointers. I ended us transferring due to the atmosphere. I’m in grad school now. It’s very difficult for me to sit still when kids are lied to. I’ve been blessed with a great Catholic, and general education, and I feel it’s my responsibility to correct falsehoods. I’ve been influenced by too many Spider-Man comics I know

 

[PJM]

=Cliff Jumper;7807559]Thank you for the pointers. I ended us transferring due to the atmosphere. I’m in grad school now. It’s very difficult for me to sit still when kids are lied to. I’ve been blessed with a great Catholic, and general education, and I feel it’s my responsibility to correct falsehoods. I’ve been influenced by too many Spider-Man comics I know

May God continue to Bless and lead you!

Pat

 

[TheTrueCentrist]

I enrolled in a Womens History Course… Well what I inadvertently ended up signing up for was NOT a class on women in history. It was instead a course on The Feminist Movement veiled behind the label of Womens History.

What was the exact course title and description?

All the girls started talking about how it gave “us” the right to have abortions etc. and the prof. said “ya, and you know the Republican congress is going to try their damnedest to repeal it and take away “our” freedom!” She went on to say how sickening it is that we are going to lose our rights and on and on. Me and my sister (who was also in the class) gave each other “the look”-here we go, time to bash the Catholics! On the way home we were both fuming. We felt that we had been the victims of bait and switch. We just wanted to learn about things such as women’s suffrage etc. not hear some feminist spiel about a subject that we know is just wrong and a law that should have never been put on the books to begin with.

Why didn’t you bring up your disagreements in class? Academia is all about the free exchange of ideas. Did you think you’d be penalized? You were going to drop the class, so its not like taking a contrary position could have hurt your grade. Were you, as a 41 year old, worried that you wouldn’t be “cool” in the eyes of the young college students?

Why do people get feminism confused with the right to have an abortion?

Why didn’t you ask the people in the class? They might actually have a rational reason for their position. A forum that is openly hostile to their ideas is not going to be able to give you an accurate representation of these girl’s positions on feminism.

What right does this person have defining sexual morality to these young women? That is not her job!

Depending on the course, it very well may be her job. That you disagree with her morality doesn’t change that fact, or even mean she is doing a bad job.

 

[TheDoors]

Ah, modern femanism. Brothers and sisters, this is a term that has been stolen and corrupted over the years. My great-grandmother marched with Susan B, and she’s always quick to remind me of a few phrases. Here are some quotes that have been passed down to all people, and all from women:

“Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women” - Alice Stokes Paul, Doctor in Civil Laws and suffragette

“If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people to not kill each other? Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want.” - Mother Teresa

“If women must submit to abortion to preserve their lifestyle or career, their economic or social status they are pandering to a system devised and run by men for male convenience.” - Daphne Clair de Jong, author

“The product, abortion, is skillfully marketed and sold to the woman at the crisis time in her life. She buys the product, finds it defective and wants to return it for a refund. But, it’s too late.” - Carol Everett, CEO The Heidi Group, former Abortion Center worker

“Men tend to take abortion lightly; they regard it as one of the numerous hazards imposed on women by malignant nature, but fail to realise fully the values involved. The woman who has recourse to abortion is disowning feminine values, her values, and at the same time is in most radical fashion running counter to the ethics established by men. Her whole moral universe is being disrupted…[H]ow could they fail to feel an inner mistrust of the presumptuous principles that men publicly proclaim and secretly disregard? They learn to believe no longer in what men say when they exalt woman or when they exalt man; the one thing they are sure of is this rifled and bleeding womb, these shreds of crimson life, this child that is not there.” - Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, femanist author and philosopher

These are just a few that are out there. Be sure to cite your sources and make sure you know what you’re talking about. Femanism has long held the belief that abortion strips away the most secure right of women: the creation of life. Abortion was held to be a direct result of men not wanting to deal with their own irresponsability. Noone has the right to push you around, educator or otherwise. Remember, YOU pay THEIR salary. You have bought an education, and I personally wouldn’t pay for something that wasn’t quality.

 

[caoindealbhan]

Children mimic what their parents believe and do. Have no fear in sending your children to community colleges. If you instill in them what you believe and trust them, they will do everything in their power to live us to your respect and trust.

The women in the room are “venting.” What is more natural than to speak up on a topic. A crowd can be most influential in getting supporters. Your ability to define yourself as separate from the group says a lot about your integrity in what you think.

We never want to silent dissenting opinions. God places them there to get us to look again at what we do believe. And, if they give good rationalization for us to change what we do believe, then we owe them a vote of thanks.

 

[gethumble]

Mary,

I’m a college professor, and I teach a course on gender, which involves a lot of women’s history. It was pretty tendentious of the prof to assume that everyone in the class shared her political views, whatever they were. It’s one thing to challenge students. Students should have their ideas, and yes, even their values challenged. But they shouldn’t ever be made to feel so left out of the conversation that they have to drop the course. How sad!

I do, however, disagree with one poster who said that such topics should not even be mentioned. That is not what learning is about; it’s not even what faith is about.

Know that there are other course on women and gender out there where you will feel challenged and stimulated and stronger, both mentally and morally. It’s unfortunate that you will justifiably feel reluctant to take a chance on “women’s studies” in the future.

Higher education is a great opportunity, in many ways. I hope and pray that you have better experiences in the future.

Best,

gh