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from Social Issues
Bringing Accurate Information
to College Campuses
By John J. McCartney, Jr.
A NARTH member describes his bold attempt to reach university students.
Much is said these days about the gay activism at our colleges and universities. Recognizing this,
a group called Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment, (HOME) was started by
Wayne Lela of Downers Grove, Illinois. Wayne recruited friends interested in public-opinion formation
to help him do something to counter the promotion of gay activism on college campuses.
All of us (and I'm one such friend) have taken to heart Ayn Rand's dictum about the necessity
of intellectually challenging the absurd--lest it, by default, become accepted as the norm.
Our team sets up an information table on campus, identifying ourselves with a banner reading
"The Uncensored Truth About Homosexuality." We proceed to offer material on gay issues, as well as
an opportunity for passersby to question us--parrying whatever unfriendly comments which come
our way. Surprisingly, our experience has been that faculty members actually outdo students
in unfriendliness.
HOME goes about getting a campus information table through following a simple procedure.
First, we contact the student activities office and request an application for an information table; we
submit it, together with specimens of the material we will be offering. Second, we negotiate
distribution dates--usually two a year. Third, we appear on the agreed-upon dates and begin answering
student questions.
Although we have had only a few incidents which I will describe later, we've learned that it's wise
to ascertain the location of the security director's office just in case we're assaulted by extreme
verbal abuse.
If I'm giving the impression that all overtures to the student activities office will result in
quick access to the students and faculty, this would be misleading--they won't. At one
community college, we were led to believe that we had gained permission, so we set up a table. But upon
the complaint of an "offended" student, a male, we were speedily escorted off campus by a
security officer.
Attempts to clarify our future status on campus were fruitless, so we sought legal counsel from
the Rutherford Institute, which advised us to directly challenge that particular college's stonewalling.
So we went on campus at the next opportunity, distributed material, were questioned by
security officers, and then in ten minutes, were provided with a table. The school's attorney (their
resident legal officer) was heard saying, "I know a test when I see one!" This confirmed our belief
that unless we forced the issue, we would never be permitted to take part in that college's limited
public forum, even though the Constitution guarantees such access.
Should any NARTH members want to set up a similar information booth to correct the false
notions about homosexuality abounding on college campuses, they should ask for a legal briefing
from wither of two institutions: The Rutherford Institute, Box 7482, Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482,
or The American Center for Law and Justice, Box 64429, Virginia Beach, VA 23467.
Once public institutions allow an information/advocacy speaker access to students, they
cannot arbitrarily refuse similar groups. The institutions know this, but they bank on organizations
not knowing it. However, when they get a letter from an attorney, they then realize an applicant
knows his rights and intends to exercise them. For a most helpful manual offering step-by-step guidance
in gaining access to educational institutions, contact Family First, Inc. Box 260131, Littleton, CO
80163, and ask for "A Parent's Manual to the Homosexual Agenda in Public Education." A call
to (303) 471-8067 will get the current price and shipping cost.
We are often asked, "What type of material do you distribute to stimulate discussion?" As a rule,
we have available three pieces: one sheet is devoted to the health risks associated with
homosexual behavior. A second deals with causes of homosexuality, life expectancy, domestic violence,
and relationship stability. It also addresses income, education, and occupational status of
homosexuals, specifically because those three categories form the legal grounds for the addition of new
anti-discrimination laws--and we point out that because all of these categories are above the
national average, there is no legal basis for singling out homosexuals as a special protected class. We
also point out the impact on our culture due to the tragic loss of talented Americans because of the
AIDS epidemic. The third piece is NARTH's "Myths" brochure.
Most important, we strive to be informative, but not provocative.
Have we had many tense moments? Generally, our reception has been far less hostile than
one might expect, although we have had some problems. University faculty and students are
usually more hostile than those at community colleges. At one university, a male student showing off for
his lesbian friends yanked our cloth, materials, and coffee off our table and then ran off into the crowd.
At another state university, Wayne, working alone, was surrounded by not-so-gay activists
who destroyed his materials, and verbally harassed him to the point where five campus police
officers were required to protect him as he exercised his First Amendment right to free speech
in--ironically--the university's Free Speech Zone!
At a private (church-sponsored) college outside Chicago, an angry woman who identified herself
as a lesbian dumped toilet tissue on our table to symbolize what she thought of our message.
At the same church-sponsored school, an elegantly dressed female instructor shouted
repeatedly, "You should not be here!" and began circling the ring of potted palms next to our table. While
doing so she shouted over and over, "I'm offended, I'm so offended!" Quite an example of
professorial gravitas.
At one community college we were interviewed by the newspaper's reporters--two
young journalism students--who seemed absolutely astonished that political incorrectness should
have actually gained admittance to the campus. They followed up their interview with a sharply
slanted article which was published in the student newspaper--complete with the obligatory cartoon
which likened us to Hitler. This prompted Linda Nicolosi to contact the paper's faculty sponsor;
she reminded this professor that he was paid to teach objective reporting, not sophomoric defamation.
The unfair and inaccurate references to the NARTH brochures we were distributing, and
to reparative therapy in general, fired her righteous anger.
Our next visit to the same college showed that the journalism department must have gotten
her message: this time, no reporters, no articles, no cartoons.
If Wayne and I were to record the crude remarks from students and faculty (many, especially,
from faculty) we'd have an interesting collection. Among the uncivil remarks: "Why the hell don't
you guys go get laid and quit obsessing about what we're doing?" "Why don't you both get a job
instead of hanging around this campus?"
We've also had the full range of obscenities directed at our table at times, but everything
considered, we have met much less hostility than we expected at the start. Our quixotic spirit hasn't waned
in the least!
Some further advice: we find community (two-year) colleges more receptive to our message
than universities. It seems that intolerance and incivility generally increase in direct proportion to
higher education.
We always discourage any comments by the rare student who--taking our position to the
ugly extreme--voices a "Rev. Fred Phelps attitude," by condemning and insulting homosexually
oriented individuals. We make it very clear that we are presenting factual information about
behavior and not encouraging hostility toward
persons. We mean our critique to be taken in the same spirit of
a critique on smoking--we focus on the behavior, not the individual, by pointing out the toll it takes
in health and lives. They are not smoker-bashing, and we are not gay-bashing.
Those who would like to set up a college information table will experience some trepidation
and, inevitably, frustration--but they should keep in mind that their very presence, as well as the
truth they offer, can actually break the spell cast over our nation's younger generation by the
incessant gay-activist propaganda of misrepresentation and half-truths. Breaking the one-sided
stranglehold on information is a great service to both students and faculty--particularly to those young men
and women struggling with same-sex attraction--and for those who are open to listening,
the information we offer benefits body, mind, and spirit.
Those desiring more information should contact HOME, P. O. Box 711, Downers Grove, IL 60515.
Updated: 2 September 2008
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