Letter to the Editor – Feb. 9, 2018

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The following letter to the editor was received on Feb. 9, 2018 and published on Feb. 13, 2018. 
Dear President Duvall,
I am writing to apologize for your treatment and the lack of tolerance by the UCO, LGBTQ Organization. As a current Graduate student, prior alumnus, former staff, Staff Senator; in addition, to severing on the committee, which initially formed the current LGBTQ Organization, I ashamed of their behavior.
To be clear, I am not writing in support of the invited guest speaker. I am supporting your right as a student and the President of UCOSA, to express your opinions, rights and freedoms. The LGBTQ leadership is allowing intolerance to infiltrate their core, which will sensor a diversified climate on campus.
The LGBTQ Mission, Vision and Definition:
 
University of Central Oklahoma Diversity Vision:
Proactively achieving an institutional climate that encourages the presence and values the contributions of faculty, staff, and students with different identities at every level of social interactions, organizational structure, and institutional authority.
Committee on Diversity Mission:
As one of Oklahoma’s oldest institutions of higher learning, the University of Central Oklahoma acknowledges the sacrifices and struggles that groups of individuals experienced and continue to experience in achieving equality and justice. Given the University’s historical heritage, the mission of the Committee on Diversity is to articulate, challenge, advance, and collaborate in implementing University policies, plans, and programs related to the presence and contributions of faculty, staff, and students with different identities. Through developing policies, plans, and programs that shape the institutional climate and that serve diverse communities, the Committee fulfills its institutional role and assists the university in realizing its Diversity Vision.
Definition of Diversity:
The Committee on Diversity defines diversity as the self-identification processes of different identities in the areas of race, class, gender, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, ability, and other aspects of self-identification (webpage, http://sites.uco.edu/central/diversity-committee/mission-vision-definition.asp).
Bullying is never an acceptable behavior, and I support you unequivocally.
Sincerely,
Nathan Goad