September 18, 2008

Some fans who attended last Saturday’s football game at Bulldog Stadium question why advocates of Proposition 8 (proposed state constitutional amendment that would recognize as valid only marriage between a man and a woman) were allowed to confront them as they arrived for the game.

Reports indicate that the advocates stood on public sidewalks adjacent to the campus and the stadium. As the crowd grew, University Police Department officers asked them to move and they did so, walking to a public sidewalk in front of the Bulldog Shop.

Fresno State does not tolerate discrimination against individuals because of sexual orientation. I am deeply troubled by the slurs on signs these people carried aimed at our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. This type of expression does not meet the civility that I would expect in a political campaign.

At Fresno State, we support freedom of speech and the right of people to engage in civil political debate, but we do not support the use of language that is disrespectful and promotes hatred.