A note from Siana Emery, executive editor: Following completion of this article, the Indiana Senate amended Senate Bill 12, removing all of the protected classes, such as race and sexual orientation, from the bill. The amendment, authored by Sen. Aaron Freeman, passed 33-16. Gov. Holcomb said Tuesday night that, “The version of the bill approved today by the Senate does not get Indiana off the list of states without a bias crime law.” He said he will continue to fight for an alternate outcome. The bill will have a third reading later this week. It is unclear whether it will...

By Megan Bower • February 21, 2019 • News

Kicking off the 2018-2019 Performing Arts Series, the Grammy award-winning choir Conspirare returns to Sauder Concert Hall with “Considering Matthew Shepard” on Friday, Sept. 14. “Considering Matthew Shepard” is a 100-minute oratorio composed by Conspirare Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson to preserve the story of Matthew Shepard. In October of 1998, Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming was abducted, severely beaten, and left for dead in a rural Wyoming field. Shepard passed away five days later because of his injuries. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Shepard’s passing, which resulted in the creation of the Hate...

By Kory Stoneburner-Betts • September 10, 2018 • Arts

A group of around 20 students gathered for a Safe Zone training sponsored by Advocates, a campus club that works to increase education around and awareness of LGBT+ concerns. The event took place on Saturday, Jan. 20 and was led by Eli Studebaker, Christi Sessa, Annie Steiner, Emma Henderson, Brenner Burkholder, and Emily Bennett, all student leaders of Advocates. Participants in the Safe Zone training, a discussion based training on LGBT+ allyship and inclusion were given a packet put together by the Brethren and Mennonite Council for LGBT+ interests addressing privilege, coming out and creating safe spaces. After everyone in...

By Emily Kauffman • January 24, 2018 • Features

For the first time in a long while, Goshen College is hosting a whole week to celebrate LGBTQ pride. A number of activities were planned for this week by three students: Kate Brooks, a senior, and Brenner Burkholder and Eli Studebaker, both juniors. The week was put together by Advocates and Prism. Monday students were invited to a bonus convocation at which Hayley Brooks spoke about the history of the LGBTQ community and the different expressions of pride throughout history as well as in the Mennonite context. “[The convocation] was a history of pride, so a little background on Stonewall,”...

By Elsa Lantz • March 30, 2017 • News

Christi Sessa, a sophomore peace, justice and conflict studies major, represented Goshen College in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 2nd as part of “A White House Convening on Advancing LGBT Progress in Rural America.” This conference was organized by the White House Rural Council, a committee created in 2011 to strengthen rural communities and promote economic growth. The Council has focused on providing events and opportunities to hear from minority rural communities, specifically women in agriculture, low-income families and LGBTQ+ communities in rural settings. Sessa was invited to the conference by Faith Cheltenham, who is in charge of BiNet USA, a...

By Hayley Mann • December 8, 2016 • Features

This Sunday, November 13, Goshen College will be presenting a concert to raise money for the LGBTQIA Student Leader Scholarship. Stephanie Hollenberg, a soprano and GC graduate, will be performing with accompaniment from Christine Seitz on piano. The LGBTQIA Student Leader Scholarship was established in October 2015 by GC graduate Pax Ressler. The scholarship was established to empower the leadership of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual students at GC. “This scholarship was created as a means of providing material resources to LGBTQIA students, recognizing that the July 2015 change to Goshen’s hiring policy would not be enough...

By Elsa Lantz • November 10, 2016 • Arts

This past July, Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University, both members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), voted to update their hiring policies, officially allowing employees in same-sex marriages to be included in the hiring practices and benefits of the colleges. The CCCU will be deciding on the membership of GC and EMU on September 21. Since the decision, both Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OWU) and Union University have dropped their memberships in the CCCU. “We believe in missional clarity and view the defense of the Biblical definition of marriage as an issue of critical importance to Christian...

By Maddie Birky • September 10, 2015 • News

This past summer, the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people were discussed on both a local and national level. The Goshen College Board of Directors met on July 17 and 18, and voted to update the institutional Non-Discrimination policy.The updated policy states, “Goshen College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or any legal protected status.” It also states that Goshen College “reserves the legal right to hire and employ individuals who support the values of the college.” Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) voted to...

By Maddie Birky • September 3, 2015 • News

  Hate crimes do not happen at Goshen College… right?   Wrong.   About a decade ago, an outline of a human, drawn with chalk next to the train tracks, appeared with a homophobic slur written below it. An opinion board in the Student Union was set on fire because of homophobic comments and challenging statements.   For years, members of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum have faced discrimination on Goshen College’s campus and responded with the creation of PRISM, a safe place for those who are questioning or identify as Queer.   I’ve been on Goshen College’s campus for a year...

By Maggie Weaver • March 19, 2015 • Features

“The voice to change the hiring policy is far older than GC Open Letter’s three years on campus. It’s a voice spoken by many. It’s a voice that was once silenced, which grew into a whisper, which has turned into a call,” said Stefan Baumgartner, senior and Open Letter co-leader. “It’s a voice that has spoken of love and of pain. It’s a voice that has cheered and has wept. It’s a voice that is strong. It is a voice that is hopeful. It is a voice that is brave. It is a voice we represent today.” On February 20at...

By Frances Fonseca • March 5, 2015 • News

  The Goshen College hiring policy has been a topic of discussion in The Record over the last ten years. This timeline contains excerpts from past Record articles discussing the hiring policy and how students have advocated for its alteration on campus. This timelines provides an interesting reflection over how GC students have responded to the hiring policy in the past, along with how the movement for change has developed from earlier responses.    Article, “Safe Zone training next week” By: Whitney Phillips in September 25 issue, 2008 Advocates Club is hosting Safe Zone Training Tuesday to help inform people...

By Record • March 5, 2015 • Features

On Saturday, Nov. 1, the Gulf States Mennonite Conference (GSMC) will vote on whether or not to leave Mennonite Church USA. The recent licensure by Mountain States Mennonite Conference of the lesbian pastor Theda Good and the debate surrounding the action is what led GSMC to the decision to vote on continuing their membership. Tensions in MCUSA surrounding homosexuality have been building over the last couple of years. Duane Maust, GSMC minister, stated in an interview in “Mennonite World Review” with Tim Huber, “We had several congregations that were really on the edge of their support for the Mennonite church,...

By Briana Schrock • October 30, 2014 • News

My dear friends, colleagues and Goshen College community, I listened with eagerness then disappointment to President Brenneman’s update of the GC Board’s meeting. The Board has deferred its decision on hiring LGBTQ faculty. We can lead or follow on hiring LGBTQ faculty; that’s our choice. I suggest we lead. I recognize that the Board wants to care for all the members of our community, and I respect that. But this change will happen; it’s just a matter of when. A hiring change feels like a big move, but in fact it is a baby step in our society’s progress to...

By David Ostergren • October 22, 2014 • Features

Ryan Smith, a first-year physical education major, returned to his dorm room recently with a package full of 10 daisy-yellow t-shirts. On each shirt, purple lettering reads, "Peacefully, I support the Goshen College hiring policy." "I know a lot of people who are against the open letter," said Smith. "It's an obvious minority. The main goal of this is to get the other voice out, and this is an environment where it will be respected." Upon arriving on campus last Fall, Smith was asked if he would like to buy a purple, "Where's my LGBTQ prof" shirt. When he learned...

By Logan Miller • March 5, 2014 • News

The executive board of Mennonite Church USA met last weekend in a regularly scheduled meeting. The Church's approach to LGBTQ issues and immigration were both on the agenda. The LGBTQ discussion occurred partly in response to pressure from various concerns of pastors and church members. These concerns stemmed from the licensing of Theda Good, pastor at First Mennonite Church in Denver, Colo., by the Mountain States Mennonite Conference. The EB’s discussion also resulted from Eastern Mennonite University’s decision to enter a listening process regarding its hiring policy, which bars people in committed same-sex relationships from being hired. “The purpose of...

By Maddie Gerig • February 19, 2014 • News