Letters cry out against Purdue librarian’s blog

Publication Date: 11/10/2009

Let this be made clear for our controversy-averse university administrators: Dr. Bert Chapman surrendered his position at Purdue the moment he decided to publish such intellectual diarrhea on his blog. There are those who would defend this atrocious man by claiming that political correctness has conspired to snatch away his free speech, but this is not so. Dr. Chapman has the right to believe that homosexuals are immoral, just as it would be within his rights to believe the same about any other group of people. The issue is not Dr. Chapman’s views of homosexuality, bigoted and wrong-headed though they may be, but that he has abused his authority as a scholar and an expert to disseminate hate-filled propaganda. Professors are expected to use their studies to search for the truth, but Dr. Chapman appears to feel more at home making up his own facts about AIDS, prison sex and other such matters he falsely connects to what he calls sodomy. He is using these lies to extinguish the essential rights of a group that accounts for an estimated 5-10 percent of our nation’s total population. It should not be merely Purdue’s LGBT students and faculty that are offended by this, but every single decent soul on this campus. Dr. Bert Chapman is not just a homophobe, I think he’s a liar, and it’s about time he start looking for a job elsewhere.

Max Vande Vaarst

Junior in the College of Liberal Arts

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Mr. Bert Chapman,

I don’t really want to argue with you and your failed attempts to attack, belittle and spread hate against the homosexual community with your bigotry. But, I do want to tell you these few things.

1) Shame on you! I found it hard to believe that such hatred, unfounded and uneducated thoughts and Hitler-like propaganda could come from a member of academia.

2) Please leave your hatred at home. Homosexuals are being discriminated against enough as it is and fear for their well being enough as it is without an educated person, that is supposed to be a leader, bringing their personal vendettas into their life.

3) Though I don’t view it as a battle like you, I do hope and know that we will win one day.
Thank you for your opinion. You have revived my activism once again! For those of you that don’t know what I am referring to, please type “An economic case against homosexuality” into Google and read a recent blog by one of our professors.

Benjamin Owen

Graduate student

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I commend Bert Chapman for his recent blog post, “An Economic Case Against Homosexuality.” He makes a compelling point: we need to reduce wasteful government spending and righteously tax those dissidents who do not shoulder their tax burden. I am certain Mr. Chapman will agree that the Constitution, written by honest, God-fearing men, supports our absolute right to freedom of speech and religious expression.

It does not, however, grant tax exemptions to any religious institution; that was done in tax code 501(c)(3). Built into this nifty piece of tax legislation are strict prohibitions on engaging in political activities. Not surprising to anyone, the Mormon and Catholic Church almost single-handedly funded the truthful, love-mongering ads against Prop 8 in California and Question 1 in Maine. And didn’t Mitt Romney run for the Republican Presidential nomination? I am sure he was never endorsed by the Mormon Church, but he certainly had a healthy dislike for gay marriage.

The LDS (Latter-Day Saints) grosses over $6 billion annually. We could use that tax money to federally fund ex-gay programs or reinstate shock therapy. Now that’s progress we can all get behind!

But seriously, Mr. Chapman, are you really that misinformed about AIDS?

Alan Swearingen

Alumnus

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That’s right. I’ll call for his job. As a student, as a lesbian, as a human being, I believe with every fiber of my being that Purdue University in no way should affiliate itself with the hateful, bigoted opinions of Professor Chapman.

It would serve Professor Chapman well to know that there are quite a few “sexually deviant” students on this campus and they just happen to pay his salary. Yes, I will concede that Professor Chapman has a constitutional right to voice his opinion on whatever platform he wishes but that does not mean that Purdue University should give him a platform for those views.

Imagine that Professor Chapman’s blog had been titled, “An Economic Case Against Interracial Marriage” or “An Economic Case Against the Disabled.” How would the Purdue Administration react if they knew a professor was convinced racial segregation should still be in place or that the disabled should just stay home because building a ramp to a library would cost too much money? What Professor Chapman needs to recognize is that we as a society are moving forward with or without him and that his hateful attitude and speech is not welcome at Purdue University. Every single point the professor made in his blog can be refuted with a simple Google search. One would not even need assistance from a librarian to find that a young African American woman has a higher chance of contracting HIV/AIDs than that of a gay man or to find out that it is now a federal offense to commit crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

It is viewpoints like Professor Chapman’s that facilitate an atmosphere of hatred and intolerance in our society that cause unspeakable actions to be committed against LGBT persons. Here at Purdue there is a place for free speech, but not hate speech.

Laura Blackburn

Sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts

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I want to voice my opinion regarding the three letters to the editor about Bert Chapman in last Friday’s Exponent. This is a big story and not something that should merely be relegated to the opinions page; the views espoused by Chapman are nauseating and his employment at Purdue would be akin to Purdue employing someone who was openly racist or anti-Semitic. It is astounding that someone who is both a professor and a librarian, someone who is charged with teaching and assisting ALL students regardless of their sexual orientation, is saying these despicable things publicly. There are now a lot of students, both gay and straight, who are going to be uncomfortable and unwilling to take this man’s classes (if he, in fact, teaches) or seek assistance doing research in the HSSE library; his public hate speech is interfering with his ability to effectively do his job. While free speech is certainly a cherished right, free speech does not entail a lack of consequences to that speech. When such speech makes those whom you are supposed to help as part of your job so uncomfortable as to make them avoid you regardless of the assistance they need from you, then it is time for you to leave that job. This man has no business being employed at Purdue in the positions that he holds. Let him spew whatever immoral bile he wants, but let him do it as someone who isn’t employed by a public university. His continued employment will, fairly or unfairly, make it appear as if Purdue is tacitly supporting his views. I believe that this man should be fired immediately. He should not even be afforded the dignity of resigning.

Corey Bechtel

Graduate student