Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 22:41:21 -0500 From: jrs2@cornell.edu (Jim Smith) You might remember that I posted to this newsgroup [queercampus] a couple of weeks ago, requesting some input about a problem that we're having at Cornell with a professor Aist who has been posting literature offering information about "cures for homosexuality." I received many responses to my posting, and I would like to thank everybody who wrote to me; the arguments and suggestions proved invaluable in the resulting actions. I want to bring you all up to date with what has happened, and what is likely to happen from here on. In short, we marched, the University responded, and we're sparring with letters to the editor in anticipation of formal charges being laid. The first thing that we realized was that Aist was posting on electronic medium as well as on paper flyers in the dorms, eight or nine of our biggest buildings, and the doors of the LBG student coalition and campus resource offices. We found out that he had been doing this for almost ten years, and people had complained before; this latest campaign was a factor of ten worse than anything that anybody had seen before. [the text of the electronic posting is attached. The paper postings did not differ substantially.] Several people filed complaints with various university sources, including Human Resources, the Office of the President, and the Ombudsman. [The Ombudsman suggested that we try to outposter him.] I spoke to the chair of Dr. Aist's department, Dr. Fry, on Tuesday, February 8, as a professional student to a professional administrator/scientist. At that time, I suggested that what Aist had done had _really_ irritated the Gay community, and it wasn't likely to blow over this time. He shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and said "what can I do? Everytime somebody complains about him, I end up in a room with a bunch of lawyers, and Aist walks away smiling." He suggested that further discussion, perhaps a forum, might be appropriate. I left him with the impression that I would look into arranging such a discussion. We believed that a sitin would be appropriate because 1) there was a long history of sit-ins at Cornell, and the administration appeared sympathetic to such action 2) the Campus Code of Conduct required the "campus community" to be offended by Aist's actions 3) we had had no success in our use of existing channels 4) we needed publicity to counteract Aist's propaganda. At noon on Wednesday, February 8, about thirty-five students marched over to James Aist's office in the Plant Pathology Building. When Aist wasn't in his office, we went down to the Plant Pathology office and sat down on the floor. We learned that the Cornell Civil Liberties Union had sent a letter to Aist telling him about the surprise march, and Aist passed this on to his department and to campus police. At 1:00, a member of the campus police informed us that we would be allowed to stay as long as we were peaceful, and a representitive of the University was on the way. At 1:30, we pleaded our case to Dr. Fry, the chair of the department, who was sympathetic, but powerless. At 2:00, the Assistant Dean of the Ag School appeared, and said hi. He listened to our concerns, then pointed out that there was a clause "somewhere in the back" of the Campus Code of Conduct that says that it doesn't apply to faculty members, and while he sympathizes with us, his experience with a slightly different case demonstrates that the code would be useless. Then he read a legal opinion from University Council that stated that there was really nothing to do to Aist except make him reimbourse the University for materials that he might have used in his campaign. At 3:00, David Yeh, the Assistant Vice President for Student and Academic Services dropped by to say that we should go through proper channels, and that the University would do anything that it could. We explained to him that we've been doing this for ten years, and nothing was happening. Everybody who had formally compained stood up and said so. Then Mr. Yeh said that he would have to read more about it, and retired to the office to do so. [Mr. Yeh had just last year spent three days as a hostage in Day Hall when the Latino students had occupied it to demand a living center (which they got)] At 4:00, representitives from our group met with these people.to discuss a resolution, while we talked to reporters. By 6:00, we had a tentative agreement, with four points: 1) the University would investigate sexual harassment charges against Prof. Aist. 2) the University would publish an article in the campus newspaper denouncing activities such as the posting of hate literature and homophobia in general. 3) the University would establish a committee to investigate the ommision of faculty from the Campus Code of Conduct, and to suggest means to bring them to compliance, and a member of the LBG community would be included in these discussions. 4) the University would establish a committee to investigate the lack of a remedy for individuals convicted of sexual harassment in the Ag school, and to suggest appropriate policy in this matter; again, a member of the LBG community would be included in these discussions. At 6:30, we all went home smiling. The next day, stories appeared on the front page of the Cornell Daily Sun and the Ithaca Journal, with large photos and lots of quotes. Aist's response was a predictable attempt to reduce the discussion to first amendment rights: "All I'm doing is supplying infromation; it's compeletely harmless. Get a packet, look at it, check out the sources, and if you don't agree, throw it out, and there's no harm done." [We maintain that there is great harm done; those that have the ability to see through his bombast are embarassed, and those who rely on his credentials as a Cornell prof, are permantly damaged. Moreover, his mere offer of a "cure" that is specifically considered "dangerous" by the American Medical Association (and others) is a directed attack on a specific group of students, and constitutes mental and threatened physical harassment. This is not a first amendment issue.] Subsequent prayer vigils and letters to the editor have served only to further divide the two sides. I will keep you all posted as more information becomes available. Please write for your own info packet and feel free to engage Aist in whatever appropriate, intelligent discourse you like. The man is not stupid, or intentionally mean -- he just really believes in this crap, and he doesn't realize how many people he's hurting by perpetuating it. I'm also looking for original sources of information about these "repair" programs, research policies on behavior modificaion, or legal precedents. Again, thanks for all of your support. Jim. >Return-path: >Date: Mon, 23 Jan 1995 15:46:54 -0500 >From: "James R. Aist" >Subject: Homosexuality InfoPackets >Sender: owner-CHRISTIAN-L@CORNELL.EDU >To: Cornell s Christian mailing list >Reply-to: jra2@CORNELL.EDU >X-To: christ-forum-l@cornell.edu, christian-l@cornell.edu >X-NUPop-Charset: English >X-Listprocessor-Version: 7.1 -- ListProcessor by CREN > > Some of you may already know that I have compiled and documented many >useful facts about homosexuality over the past 2-3 years. This includes >various theories about the nature and causes of homosexuality, therapy >programs (both secular and church-based) with a 65-75% success rate in >overcoming homosexual behavior, personal testimonies of people who have >changed their orientation to heterosexual, how to contact people who provide >such reparative therapy services, and a rather comprehensive yet concise >biblical perspective on homosexuality. The purposes of these materials are >to provide access to this largely suppressed information, to counteract many >of the myths and lies that are being propagated by some supporters of the >homosexual agenda, to demonstrate that homosexuals do (now) have a choice, >to encourage and enable them to seek effective help, and to demonstrate from >the Scriptures what God's opinion of homosexual behavior really is. > If you would like to have this information--to share with a friend or >relative or to help you present a more well-grounded and loving christian >response to pro-homosexual rhetoric you hear from time to time--I will be >happy to send it to you. Just let me know how many copies you would like >(limit TWO!), and the name and address for mailing. All communications will >be kept strictly confidential! > >Yours in Christ, > > > >James R. Aist, Professor Phone: (607)255-7874 >Department of Plant Pathology FAX: (607)255-4471 >334 Plant Science Building E-mail: jra2@postoffice.mail. >Cornell University cornell.edu >Ithaca, NY 14853 USA Office: 420 Plant Science Bldg. > // jim smith // jrs2@cornell.edu // (607)256-2654 //