Some students at Loyola University Chicago are mounting a new challenge to the university's ban on same-sex wedding ceremonies.
Just weeks after state lawmakers approved the equal marriage bill last fall, school administrators responded by quietly adopting an official policy on weddings, which Windy City Times first uncovered in February. Loyola changed its standard practice of hosting "legally recognized" ceremonies on campus, replacing it with a new restriction that only allows Catholic weddings in the university's Madonna della Strada Chapel. The ban not only excludes same-sex weddings, but also civil and religious weddings that aren't Catholic.
The news was met with hurt and shock from various members of the Loyola community, including sophomore Michelle Adzido, who recently launched a new Change.org petition urging a policy reversal.
"It made me feel that the university isn't following in its messages of social justice and advocating for equity of all," said Adzido, who stressed that the ban affects everyone affiliated with Loyola, not just LGBT students. "Not everyone who has a wedding in the state of Illinois is Catholic, and not everyone affiliated with this school is Catholic. [The policy] transmits a hurtful message to exclude people who invest their time, energy and money into this diverse and dynamic atmosphere."
The petition effort, which has collected more than 1,200 signatures since launching two weeks ago, has roots in a group project from one of Adzido's courses last semester.
A 300-level Loyola psychology class titled "Understanding Prejudice" sparked a group discussion that inspired Adzido to launch the petition this month, although she and many others first learned of the policy two months ago. Adzido, who identifies as bi, said the lessons learned in class empowered group members to develop strategies that would address various forms of injustice.
"We ended the class on a wider note of collective action: confronting prejudice, making sure we can identify ways to alleviate it, and make others aware," she said, adding that it inspired an open letter she wrote and eventually released on Facebook on April 14. The project group decided to use online platforms because it's how they heard about the university's new policy.
In the open letter, Adzido took the administration to task in what she described as a matter of adhering to the school's mission statement and promise.
"In what ways does this ban epitomize the 'diverse learning community that values freedom of inquiry, the pursuit of truth, and care for others?'" she wrote. "In what manner does this promote equality using 'open-handed and generous ways to appropriate a balance between justice and fairness?'"
The policy itself was adopted, according to university officials, in keeping with the university's Jesuit and Catholic tradition as a result of the equal marriage law. Even though weddings are only allowed in the Madonna della Strada Chapel, receptions of all kinds are still allowed at university venues.
Maeve Kiley, Loyola's director of communication, emailed that university administrators were not aware of the new petition. She declined further comment.
Adzido's petition is the second campaign launched in opposition to the university's exclusion on same-sex weddings.
Loyola junior Christine Irvine first challenged the university's exclusion of same-sex ceremonies early last fall in a Change.org petition that gathered thousands of signatures. At the time, Loyola's refusal wasn't university policy, but their standard provision for "legally recognized" ceremonies didn't include same-sex civil unions in Illinois. Irvine's wedding ceremony plans were denied by school officials when they learned she would marry a woman.
Irvine, like Adzido, said she believes the policy should be reversed to allow all wedding ceremonies on campus grounds that aren't designated sacred spaces. She's still troubled about how the ban came to be, and that no one was directly notified, even after her petition campaign.
"The fact that [university administrators] made the decision behind closed doors, without consultation from students, upset an even broader group of people," Irvine said, citing tentative organizing efforts from campus groups and student op-eds that chided officials over the policy.
Although Irvine expressed resignation after learning of the university's official policy last February, it was her story and reaction that Adzido said inspired her group to raise awareness and continue pressing the issue.
And, for them, the solution is simple. "Get rid of the policy," Adzido said.
To view the online petition, visit www.change.org/petitions/administration-of-loyola-university-chicago-dissolve-the-policy-excluding-same-sex-marriage-ceremonies-on-campus.
