Latter-day Saint apostle Jeffrey R. Holland will speak at Southern Utah University’s commencement ceremony next month, despite calls to rescind his invitation because of his controversial past comments against same-sex marriage.
, Holland told faculty and staff to take up their intellectual “muskets” to defend The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its “doctrine of the family and … marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
Those opposed said that having Holland speak was akin to the university’s endorsement of his views, and that it made members of the LGBTQ community feel unsafe and unwelcome. Others voiced support for Holland.SUU should let Holland speakBenson acknowledged the uproar in the email, writing that she’s heard perspectives from “students, faculty, staff, community members, alumni, friends, donors, and public officials” in the wake of the announcement.
She said that the “tension” on campus since then “is due to the perceived clash of two of SUU’s core values: our staunch support of freedom of expression and our strong desire for inclusion and belonging.” “We must continue to operate from the critical intersection where freedom of expression and inclusion converge,” Benson wrote. “There are few things more important on a college campus than what we have experienced over the past several days: an allowance for the expression of differing viewpoints and ideas.”
“In that spirit,” she continued, “we will honor the invitation extended to Dr. Holland to speak at commencement.”
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