...K P F T news

LEAD-IN BY HOST ROBERT CARDENAS: The issue of employment non-discrimination based on sexual orientation is causing a storm of controversy on the campus of Rice University. Chris Arasin reports:

STORY: For the first time in its six-year history, Rice University's Non-Discrimination policy is getting a work out based on comments attributed to their Head Football Coach Ken Hatfield. An article about homosexual athletes published in the November 1 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education includes several quotes from Coach Hatfield detailing how his personal religious beliefs conflict with the acceptance of homosexuality. No athlete has ever revealed his homosexuality to Coach Hatfield in his 36 years of coaching experience and he said he would have to think hard about keeping a player who would. He has since stated that this final point was taken out of context.

Both the president, and the Faculty Senate of Rice University have issued statements reaffirming their non-discrimination policy. Wednesday night, the Rice Student Association convened a Special Session to discuss the response of the student population. After two and half hours of engaged debate they decided to take up the issue again Monday after the article has been published so the student body can become more familiar with it.

One point frequently brought up during the meeting was the issue of discrimination in general. Student Association President Matt Hainey:

I think that there are general things that everyone can agree on. One thatwe agree that Coach Hatfield is a very good man but the question is whether or not should we request some sort of action against him or if we should instead try and get something started that generally investigates discrimination on campus. I think in either case that everyone agreed that eliminating discrimination on campus is a positive goal and I think that we have begun the dialogue on that and I think that is a great thing but it is just going to depend on how we go about that.

External Vice President of Rice Pride, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered advocacy group, on campus spoke about the need to balance the right to free speech with protection from offensive speech. Steven Neebel:

We are trying here to proactively distribute a message of tolerance one of Ken Hatfield's personal religious beliefs but also our quest for tolerance and acceptance of all of the status that are protected by Rice Non-Discrimination policy."

Article 2.6 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Constitution, of which Rice is a member, includes sexual orientation protections in its Principle of Nondiscrimination. But even with such protections in place individual acceptance might be difficult to achieve. Rice football player and Senior, Brandon Green explains.:

I would very interested to see any Division One college football team in America where a homosexual would feel right at home in a football locker-room. I would venture to say this would be one of the places they would feel more at home then anywhere else in the nation by the Rice policy.

Rice University's Freedom from harassment policy states that: All members of the Rice community have the right to pursue their educational opportunities free from harassment, including physical abuse, threats or intimidation.

President Malcolm Gillis stated in a letter to the editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education that quote "No student at Rice will be denied equal participation on a team based on sexual orientation," period unquote. And Coach Ken Hatfield has issued an apology to the university and the entire community for any distress this story caused them.

One student athlete summed up how to further the discussion and move on to the next level:

Y'all need to talk to some athletes to see what really goes on behind the scenes. Y'all are not athletes to get real it is a whole nother world. So if it is about that let us see what it is really about. I have a problem with hate so I am coming in love, and I love y'all.

Chris Arasin, KPFT News, Houston

E-mail Chris Arasin at News@kpft.org .