Arabic-L:GEN:ALS at BYU?

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Mon 07 Aug 2006
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:ALS at BYU?
2) Subject:Arabic-L at BYU?
3) Subject:Seriously

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1)
Date: 07 Aug 2006
From:Uri Horesh <urih at babel.ling.upenn.edu>
Subject:ALS at BYU?

To follow up on my "query" on lesbians and gays at ALS at Brigham  
Young University:

The real question is not whether people as individuals feel welcome  
or not. The fundamental problem is that our professional organization  
is scheduled to hold its annual meeting at an institution that  
blatantly excludes certain members of society from membership.

I am certain beyond doubt that ALS would never hold a conference in  
an institution that does not admit (let alone one that expels once  
admitted) African-Americans, Jews, Muslims, women, Catholics, people  
who are physically challenged, to name but a few groups  
discrimination against whom is intolerable in our society.

Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders are no different.  
Discrimination against us is as contradictory to our core notions of  
academic freedom, civil liberties and basic human rights as are anti- 
Semitism, misogyny and xenophobia.

I call upon the officers and membership of ALS to immediately declare  
that institutions with an anti-LGBT policy and practice are unfit for  
hosting any of our membership-wide functions, and to actively seek an  
alternative venue for the 2007 Symposium.

Sincerely,
Uri Horesh
University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University

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2)
Date: 07 Aug 2006
From:Dilworth Parkinson <dil at byu.edu>
Subject:Arabic-L at BYU?

I also think that ALS should immediately expel all officers and  
members who teach at BYU or belong to its supporting church.   
Furthermore, to express our outrage I believe we should all  
immediately withdraw our subscriptions to Arabic-L, which is  
supported both financially and physically by BYU.
Dil

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3)
Date: 07 Aug 2006
From:Dilworth Parkinson <dil at byu.edu>
Subject:Seriously

I wish it were a privilege to host the ALS annual symposium,  
something that were being competed for, so the board (the board?)  
would actually have a choice.  That is not the case.  I am grateful  
to BYU for allowing us to have the symposium here next year and would  
hope that our valuing of diversity would extend to the valuing of  
diversity in types of institution that we 'allow' to flourish in our  
multi-cultural and multi-religious society.

You are welcome to send me your comments about this issue, but I will  
not post them for, say, another 2 weeks, at which point I will post a  
summary.

Dil

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End of Arabic-L:  07 Aug 2006