This article is co-written by Laney Butt and Mandy Lorch.
The Student Government Association announced during Thursday night’s regular SGA meeting that it will host round table discussions, focusing on the topic of the LGBTQ+ community. The discussions will be called “Milligan’s Crucial Conversations” and will take place next semester.
The motion to host the events was voted on and adopted with an 88 percent majority by the SGA. Unlike most SGA votes, all SGA members, voting and non-voting were permitted to vote. Chase McGlamary, SGA treasurer, said that the administration supports the event.
The creation of the round table events was prompted by a failed proposition at the SGA meeting on Nov. 12. A group of six students brought a motion for the SGA to express support for the LGBTQ community at Milligan on its Instagram account. Attendees of the meeting were given a copy of the graphic and caption, as seen below. The student life and student relations committees decided not to post the caption and graphic. The proposed caption and graphic are below.
President Greer announced in an email on Nov. 23 that discussion groups would take place “students, faculty, and staff beginning in February.”
He said, “I can’t promise that the position of the University will change, but I’m willing to facilitate the conversation and willing to make sure the Trustees and University leadership continue to give this the consideration needed.”
No specific dates have been announced for the discussions.
“Milligan University is founded on the principle of loving your neighbors. It has become evident that all of our neighbors, specifically the LGBTQ+ community, have not felt this love we are all called to share. SGA believes that members of this community deserve to feel accepted and loved on this campus and should be treated as nothing less than the beautiful humans in which God created. We believe this campus should be a welcoming home to students of all beliefs, cultures, sexualities, and races. We would like to say that we believe in equality and most of all love! 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”