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By Charles Diringer Dunst
@cddunst
Carson-Newman University is a four year, liberal arts Southern Baptist college in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
It is now also a college that has legally won the right to discriminate, based on sexual orientation and unfair, old-fashioned gendered expectations of women.
The university, at the behest of their attorney, applied for and received a Title IX exemption waiver, allowing them to bypass federal non-discrimination laws.
Title IX is a federal law which directly prohibits discrimination based on sex in higher education.
The law allows for any school “controlled by a religious organization” to seek an exemption if complying “would not be consistent with the religious tenants of such organization.”
Carson-Newman’s exemption allows the college to reject those who live in conflict with its interpretation of Christianity. This includes LGBT peoples, unwed mothers, women who have had abortions, and non-married women who may be pregnant.
The college has clarified that their usage of the waiver is not discriminatory, as it intends to “further establish our identity as a religious school.”
University president Dr. Randall O’Brien requested the exemption in a letter addressed to the federal government in May 2015.
“This is who we are as a Christian university,” he told CBS affiliate WVLT on Monday. “These are our religious principles, and in a changing world, we would like to reaffirm that this is who we are and who we intend to be.”
The university has stated that their reception of the waiver will not affect its admissions policies, at least not in the upcoming year.
When pressed by a local news tv station, President O’Brien paradoxically stated that the exemption would not lead the university to “discriminate against or students or any student applying to Carson-Newman.”
WATCH: Local TV story about Carson-Newman University Title IX waiver
The college has so far been unable to clarify exactly how they intend to utilize the waiver. It is not even clear why the university wanted to waiver in the first place, unless they intended to use it.
“You’re the president,” WVLT’s Lauren Davis noted. “You’re not going to file something unless you understand it.”
President O’Brien said in response to Davis’ assertion that the exemption would allow the school to “strengthen our position in relation to First Amendment rights. I don’t really know why something would be necessary beyond that.”
Despite their reception of the waiver, its usage is something which the university has clearly defined.
Jared Champion, Carson-Newman Class of 2003, told The Knoxville News-Sentinel that he was “absolutely humiliated by the news.”
Champion said that he believes that the exemption will impact the value of his degree as he continues his career as a college professor.
“As I move forward and put in job applications, and the like, I’m going to have to put in an addendum . . . to let them know that the values that Carson-Newman now represents are not mine,” Champion said.
The university’s attorney, Jim Guenther, has recommended the same exemption as a prudent course of action for several other Christian colleges.
Cover Photo Credit: Carson-Newman University/ Facebook
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Alabama Starman Catches Alien Migraine (Or Something Like That)
By Chance Willie
An anonymous Tuscaloosa, AL stargazer reported an almost poetic UFO sighting early Tuesday morning.
The account appeared on a message board hosted by the UFO Stalker website, which catalogs UFO sightings from around the country.
The sighting allegedly occurred when the observer stepped outside to smoke a cigarette and was greeted by an object resembling a shooting star darting across the sky, abruptly changing directions and leaving trails of green and orange light in its wake.
The observer reports being stricken by a mysterious headache as the object shot away into the dusk. Whether the account was fact or fiction, it makes for an interesting read.
RISE NEWS has reached out to the website to try to get in touch with the person who made the post. We’ll update with any additional information.
Here’s the full account posted to the website:
“At exactly 4:01 A.M. I went outside on my balcony to smoke a cigarette. I spend a lot of time looking up at the sky at night, and I have seen many shooting stars. Shootings stars move extremely fast and appear to zoom across your range of vision in an instant. The “light” I saw tonight did no such thing. While it did vanish in an instant, it did not zoom across my range of vision. Directly in the center of the sky, what appeared to be a large aircraft, lit up in the darkness–without making a sound. It instantly propelled itself into the distance leaving behind a momentary trail of green and orange light. What was most unusual about this sighting was that the object changed direction. The object also moved much more quickly than any shooting star that I have ever seen. I could not determine its exact location or distance. However, initially after lighting up, the size of the object appeared three to four times larger than the stars in the sky. This means that the object was either much larger and/or much closer than our closest stars. After the incident, I felt slightly uncomfortable–as if I had a headache, but only in the front half of my brain.”
Ever see anything strange? Either in the sky or on a city council balance sheet? Send us a news tip to [email protected]
H/T to Tuscaloosa News reporter Stephen Dethrage
Cover Photo Credit: maxime raynal/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Hey Bros, Here’s 6 Tips To Avoid Mansplaining
The term “mansplain” was one of many words added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015. Mansplain is defined as an informal verb meaning “(Of a man) explain (something) to someone, typically a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.”
While a condescending explanation isn’t something that is limited to men, it is something that many women have experienced over and over. Being silenced is something that many have experienced in one way or another, and mansplaining is one of the ways that that happens.
A good example of mansplaining is something you might have already seen from recent news – Matt Damon explaining how diversity in the film industry works to Effie Brown, producer of Dear White People during a discussion on Project Greenlight, which can be viewed in the TMZ video below.
He later released an apology, saying that, “My comments were part of a much broader conversation about diversity in Hollywood and the fundamental nature of Project Greenlight which did not make the show. I am sorry that they offended some people, but, at the very least, I am happy that they started a conversation about diversity in Hollywood.”
Damon’s apology has its own issues, starting with the fact that the discussion about diversity in Hollywood has been going on for years, but it certainly did add to the discussion about diversity in a way.
Now, I know that you would never want to be accused of mansplaining, so here are some ways to avoid it in all of your conversations.
Tips:
1) Before jumping in with your thoughts, ask yourself these questions:
A) Did your conversation partner ask for your opinion about the topic?
B) Are you an expert on the topic?
C) Does your sentence start with “I don’t think you understand…” or “No, you’re misunderstanding….”?2) How much does your conversation partner know about the topic? If you’re not sure, ask!
3) Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know something. You aren’t always going to know everything about every topic. If you don’t know about it, open your ears and give it a solid listen – You’ll probably learn something!
4) Is your conversation partner plastering a fake smile on their face or responding with nods or “mmhmms”? If so, they probably aren’t listening to you anymore. Watch your social cues.
5) Limit your assertions to your own experiences or research that you have fully read and understand. If you don’t fully understand it, say so.
6) Last but definitely not least, respect your conversation partner’s experiences and viewpoint. It may be different from yours, perhaps even wrong by your beliefs, but you still need to respect them.
Cover Photo Credit: ☻☺/Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Kodak Is Planning To Sell Its First Film Camera Since 1982
LAS VEGAS — Few American tech brands are as iconic—or seemingly as doomed to history—as Kodak. And yet the venerable Rochester, N.Y., company managed to create some of the biggest buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show with a retro product with some really famous fans: a new Super 8 motion picture camera that will shoot old-school… Read More
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4 comments on Tennessee College Wins Right to Ban LGBT Students, Unwed Mothers
Comments are closed.
Mr, Jared Champion is rightly frightened. Today’s academia allows no deviation from its orthodoxies, This includes most of the so-called religious colleges.
Why the “so-called” qualifier? What is a religious college/group/society UNLESS they have standards that must be met to remain orthodox?
You don’t “win” a right that is already unalienably yours.
They don’t have to ask anyone.
Let’s see if I have this straight. Title IX, a law enacted supposedly to provide women protection on college campuses (but in reality has been used to destroy men’s wrestling programs), is now being used to protect the supposed rights of mentally ill men who dress up like women and believe they are in the wrong bodies. Our federal government is doing all this. Sad, sad, sad. Liberals truly are perpetual children, always near a tantrum. I would not be surprised to hear one of the GiBLeTs scream (with tears running down its eyes), “Love me and give me everything I demand, or I will hold my breath until I turn blue.”