- Joined
- Dec 1, 2008
- Messages
- 121
Much of this has made news all over the country, try google news if you haven't seen it, and has blown completely out of proportion so I'm going to try clearing things up before someone flips or something. First the following is a message sent to us from GEN. Sullivan, our Director of the Board of Trustees.
A Message from GEN Gordon R. Sullivan
Dear Members of the Norwich Family,
Norwich University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Allies Club (“LGBTQA”) is hosting Pride Week, during which there will be programs and activities designed to educate the community and participants about challenges and issues faced by Members of the LGBT community. As Chairman of the Board it is my hope that the Norwich community will appreciate and understand the need to explore these issues and to educate our students in accordance with the University’s mission, vision, and guiding values.
Norwich has a long and proud history of preparing young citizens for duties as commissioned officers and public servants. Furthermore, the leadership of our university has consistently stood in the vanguard of those committed to social change. Our proudest moments have been recorded as milestones in both our Norwich history as well as the history of our nation.
Subsequent to the end of the Civil War, the leadership of the Norwich Board of Trustees included MG O.O. Howard, a distinguished Army leader and staunch abolitionist. He was the founder of Howard University and his life long quest was to have racial equality.
Another example of this kind of leadership was the admittance of Cadet Harold ‘Doc’ Martin; an African American who graduated with the class of 1920. He was a star on the football field as well as an accomplished musician. He later served as a Tuskegee Airman and perished in an aircraft accident.
As is well known throughout Norwich and the nation, the leadership of Norwich decided in 1974 to admit women as cadets. This too was a groundbreaking decision which has proven time and again to have been the right and just decision.
Norwich once again stands in the front ranks as we today accept and support all, regardless of race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.
Our founder, Captain Alden Partridge, set the framework for our actions throughout our history. As one of America’s oldest and most respected institutions, it is both just and proper that Norwich fully prepare our young people to serve our nation in these challenging times as competent, courageous and caring leaders who are prepared to lead all who wish to serve in accordance with the laws of our republic. Our history gives us guideposts, wisdom, and strength.
Open discussion with the respect for individual rights has always been important at Norwich University, and with that in mind, it is my hope as Chairman that Pride Week will be looked upon as a learning opportunity for our community and our students on subjects they will face throughout their lives. We live in a diverse society and must be able to live and work with everyone. There is no better way of doing that than to educate our students about these issues.
I ask for your support and understanding as we continue to prepare our students for their days in the sun as Norwich graduates and valued citizens.
Norwich Forever,
Gordon Sullivan ‘59
Chairman, Board of Trustees
I am not a part of the club mentioned in Gen. Sullivan's letter however as part of the Norwich community, the general consensus I can gather on campus is that no one here has much of a problem with the whole pride week being put on, but there has been a feeling that the news coverage put on the school from this has been extremely misleading and incorrectly viewed. A quote not used in any paper was one from the 2nd in command at the club, this is not solely a Gay Pride event, but has been geared more towards diversity in itself and accepting facts that people are different and as General Sullivan said above "Norwich once again stands in the front ranks as we today accept and support all, regardless of race, religion, sex or sexual orientation." Many events planned for the week are also combined with other campus departments that donated to have the week be possible, like the Civic Engagement Center and (please excuse me but I don't remember the official name for it) the Dept. that deals with sexual education and prevention of abuse so they had a say in what events were planned for the week in case some news reports mention some of the events (I have yet to see one that mentions all of them). Everyone has their own opinions on the matter and in my personal opinion I really couldn't care less about what someone else was doing with someone else be it Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Alien, you get the point. As that is all I wish to say for the time being, Questions, comments, concerns, gripes, *****es, complaints can be messaged to me here, I do not have contact with anyone actually from the club but I can try my best to answer. Norwich wants to believe that its moving forward with progress with current changing times and I can agree with it for this matter, just take the news stories online with a grain of salt as with the exception of the AP doing a phone call interview no other media source has currently contacted any student at Norwich. have a good evening everyone.
A Message from GEN Gordon R. Sullivan
Dear Members of the Norwich Family,
Norwich University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Allies Club (“LGBTQA”) is hosting Pride Week, during which there will be programs and activities designed to educate the community and participants about challenges and issues faced by Members of the LGBT community. As Chairman of the Board it is my hope that the Norwich community will appreciate and understand the need to explore these issues and to educate our students in accordance with the University’s mission, vision, and guiding values.
Norwich has a long and proud history of preparing young citizens for duties as commissioned officers and public servants. Furthermore, the leadership of our university has consistently stood in the vanguard of those committed to social change. Our proudest moments have been recorded as milestones in both our Norwich history as well as the history of our nation.
Subsequent to the end of the Civil War, the leadership of the Norwich Board of Trustees included MG O.O. Howard, a distinguished Army leader and staunch abolitionist. He was the founder of Howard University and his life long quest was to have racial equality.
Another example of this kind of leadership was the admittance of Cadet Harold ‘Doc’ Martin; an African American who graduated with the class of 1920. He was a star on the football field as well as an accomplished musician. He later served as a Tuskegee Airman and perished in an aircraft accident.
As is well known throughout Norwich and the nation, the leadership of Norwich decided in 1974 to admit women as cadets. This too was a groundbreaking decision which has proven time and again to have been the right and just decision.
Norwich once again stands in the front ranks as we today accept and support all, regardless of race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.
Our founder, Captain Alden Partridge, set the framework for our actions throughout our history. As one of America’s oldest and most respected institutions, it is both just and proper that Norwich fully prepare our young people to serve our nation in these challenging times as competent, courageous and caring leaders who are prepared to lead all who wish to serve in accordance with the laws of our republic. Our history gives us guideposts, wisdom, and strength.
Open discussion with the respect for individual rights has always been important at Norwich University, and with that in mind, it is my hope as Chairman that Pride Week will be looked upon as a learning opportunity for our community and our students on subjects they will face throughout their lives. We live in a diverse society and must be able to live and work with everyone. There is no better way of doing that than to educate our students about these issues.
I ask for your support and understanding as we continue to prepare our students for their days in the sun as Norwich graduates and valued citizens.
Norwich Forever,
Gordon Sullivan ‘59
Chairman, Board of Trustees
I am not a part of the club mentioned in Gen. Sullivan's letter however as part of the Norwich community, the general consensus I can gather on campus is that no one here has much of a problem with the whole pride week being put on, but there has been a feeling that the news coverage put on the school from this has been extremely misleading and incorrectly viewed. A quote not used in any paper was one from the 2nd in command at the club, this is not solely a Gay Pride event, but has been geared more towards diversity in itself and accepting facts that people are different and as General Sullivan said above "Norwich once again stands in the front ranks as we today accept and support all, regardless of race, religion, sex or sexual orientation." Many events planned for the week are also combined with other campus departments that donated to have the week be possible, like the Civic Engagement Center and (please excuse me but I don't remember the official name for it) the Dept. that deals with sexual education and prevention of abuse so they had a say in what events were planned for the week in case some news reports mention some of the events (I have yet to see one that mentions all of them). Everyone has their own opinions on the matter and in my personal opinion I really couldn't care less about what someone else was doing with someone else be it Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Alien, you get the point. As that is all I wish to say for the time being, Questions, comments, concerns, gripes, *****es, complaints can be messaged to me here, I do not have contact with anyone actually from the club but I can try my best to answer. Norwich wants to believe that its moving forward with progress with current changing times and I can agree with it for this matter, just take the news stories online with a grain of salt as with the exception of the AP doing a phone call interview no other media source has currently contacted any student at Norwich. have a good evening everyone.