Resolution 75, approved by President David Skorton in June and passed by the S.A. in April, will extend protections against discrimination to the voting membership and leadership of University-recognized student organizations.

After 10 months of debate and controversy surrounding discrimination and freedom of expression on campus, the University Assembly voted yesterday to include a disputed clause in the Campus Code of Conduct that will change the face of student speech.

To the Editor:

Re: “With Us Or ... It’s Discriminatory,” Opinion, Dec. 2

The author makes an assumption that I lament is far too commonly accepted in our society today. This false assumption is that religion has some special privilege that renders it free from judgment. The author readily accepts that the Chi Alpha society’s views on homosexuality are socially unacceptable, yet defends their right to hold these views based purely on the fact that they stem from religion. These Christians will openly admit that their views come purely from their theology, not from evidence or logic. The idea that homosexuals should not be granted the same rights as other members of society has no argument other than “God demands it.”

To the Editor:

Re: “A Campus Code That Permits Discrimination,” Opinion, Nov. 24

I was relieved to find subsequent articles challenging many of the highly dubious claims made in this initial editorial. However, a few omissions and mischaracterizations remain unaddressed.

First, the editorial falsely claims (as many others have) that Chi Alpha removed Chris Donohoe ’10 from his leadership position because of his sexual orientation — because of his status. This distorts the actual facts of the incident. As The Sun itself reported last spring, Donohoe’s sexual orientation was known by the group before he assumed his leadership position. The group chose him as a leader because he believed in the doctrine of the group. Donohoe was only asked to step down after he later disaffirmed his belief that homosexual acts are sinful — one of the group’s founding beliefs. Freedom of association requires groups be free to limit their leadership to those who belief in the founding tenets of their group, however unsavory those beliefs may be.

An anti-discrimination clause … who would ever oppose that? At face value, certainly no one would support discrimination. The answer is so trivial that The Sun’s editorial board chose to adopt Bush’s “with us or against us” mentality on the Campus Code of Conduct, claiming a code without an anti-discrimination clause “inherently accepts” discrimination.

After months of deliberation, the University Assembly passed a resolution this October to remove a clause from the Campus Code of Conduct designed to prevent special-interest student organizations from discriminating against certain groups in their criteria for membership.

Last week my wife Tracy — who is also a campus chaplain — and I declined to speak to The Sun about our relationship to Chris Donohoe ’09, and the circumstances regarding his removal from leadership in Chi Alpha, until we had the opportunity to speak with all the parties involved in the dispute. This was in accordance with the advice of the Cornell United Religious Work administration.

In yet another example of the tension between “intellectual diversity” and “universal inclusion,” Cornell is currently atwitter over some controversial behavior by the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship. Last week, news spread that Chi Alpha had asked one of its student leaders to step down because of his sexual orientation. The student had apparently succumbed to his homosexual urges and elected to live in sin with his boyfriend. Jesus would not approve.

Cornellians have since come out in droves against Chi Alpha. At a Student Assembly meeting last Thursday, everyone from Chris Basil ’10 to Dean of Students Kent Hubbell ’67 spoke out against the Christian group, claiming that rights had been violated and homophobia essentially endorsed by an SAFC-sponsored organization.

To the Editor:

Re: “Unfolding Nuance Concerning Jesus and Homosexuality,” Opinion, April 27.

Never did I think that the first piece I would write to The Sun would be a rebuttal on a column involving a religious issue because as the author of this column so readily points out, religion is a terribly divisive issue. So divisive that many people cringe at the idea of discussing it in public. So divisive that you would definitely stay away from it as dinner chat on a first date. Now, here on campus we are dealing with just how divisive it can be surrounding an issue like gay rights.

As a Christian, I agree that religion is generally terribly divisive. Religion tells its followers that they have “the truth” and are saved by performing the truth. It becomes natural for the religious to either passively judge the less devoted and impure — or to actively marginalize them.

Many people on campus have felt that by asking Chris Donohoe ’09 to step down from leadership, Chi Alpha has reflected these exclusive and bigoted tendencies of religion. Indeed, an examination of biblical Christianity reveals that Christianity is exclusive — but not the least bit more than other worldviews. Additionally, when one takes the core truths of Christianity into the center of his or her being, what results is not hate, but rather deep, sacrificial love.