Hostility is increasingly replacing collaboration as the trademark of interaction between Catholics and non-Catholics on campus. The recent campaign for reproductive justice has highlighted the increasing polarization in the Georgetown community when it comes to Georgetown’s Jesuit identity. There are very visible divisions between students who embrace the university’s Catholic tradition and those who feel no connection to it. Those divisions tend to coalesce around a few hot-button issues. Unfortunately, many of the broader Catholic teachings that the university promotes – cura personalis and contemplation in action, for example – are lost in translation.
Georgetown students constitute a vocal and outspoken body that does not hesitate to express its opinion. Free expression is certainly a necessary and integral part of any college campus. But it ought not to obscure the many valuable insights and lessons that Jesuit teachings offer to the Georgetown community. All too often, those insights are overshadowed by the continual debate over issues like abortion and birth control.
Students who support Catholic-based viewpoints and those who take a more liberal stance ought to talk with each other, not just at each other. Interaction that is limited to confrontational letters sent to a third party – as occurred with the Plan A: Hoyas for Reproductive Justice and their detractors – is not effective. It only serves to isolate the two parties further from one another.
Instead, students ought to follow the example set by the planners of this year’s Sex Positive Week. Last year, a group of Catholic students voiced criticism about the event. Rather than ignoring their opinions – or, alternatively, allowing their protest to prevent a second Sex Positive Week from occurring – the organizers of the event included their critics in the planning process and built on their differences. As a result, last week’s Sex Positive Week featured events that appealed to a broader student audience.
Students, faculty and administrators can and should work together to strengthen the Jesuit tradition that makes Georgetown unique. Critics of the university’s policies ought to avoid rejecting the university’s Catholic identity outright because they object to a few teachings. Similarly, students who endorse the Catholic approach to those controversial issues ought to engage more frequently with their liberal counterparts. Doing so will help promote greater unity in the Georgetown community and make its Jesuit principles an everyday reality.
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