Ball State President Paul W. Ferguson announced in a statement March 30 the university “will not tolerate discrimination" in response to the religious freedom law, signed last week by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
It also follows statements issued March 29 by Indiana, DePauw and Butler university presidents. Purdue University announced its stance against the law shortly after Ball State.
A Ball State spokesperson said Ferguson was not available for comment on the announcement because of his full schedule.
The law says governments can’t intrude on a person’s religious beliefs unless the government can give a “compelling interest” in imposing a burden and do so in the least restrictive way. In this case, person refers to both individuals and businesses or organizations.
But the new statute won’t have any impact on Ball State’s mission as an organization.
“In the context of the current state and national conversation related to Indiana’s recent legislation, it is important to reaffirm that Ball State University has long been committed to a vibrant and diverse community and will not tolerate discrimination,” Ferguson’s statement read.
Ferguson cites the university’s diversity commitment in its “Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy.” The policy states that the university will provide equal opportunity to facilities without regard to “race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, physical or mental disability, national origin, ancestry or age.“
Following the release of Ferguson’s statement, Spectrum President Christie McCauley said she was pleased with the statement.
“I am really glad to see President Ferguson make a statement reaffirming that Ball State isn’t going to discriminate against anyone,” McCauley said.
McCauley spoke on behalf of herself and not her organization because the Spectrum executive board has not met to discuss the topic and make a decision.
“I do appreciate that he clarified that our ‘Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy’ includes race and religion and also sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression because they usually are not in other policies like in the [State of Indiana’s],” she said.
In December 2014, the Ball State Board of Trustees accepted the university’s first diversity statement. It is the first declaration of inclusion at Ball State, which states the university is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff and student body. The purpose of the statement is to make the university’s stance on diversity clear.
Diversity is an integral part of the university’s identity, the statement reads.
The statements from college presidents follow a weekend of events that included an Indianapolis rally against RFRA, boycotts on the state of Indiana from businesses and politicians, the possibility of businesses, such as Gen Con LLC., withdrawing from Indiana and the cancellation of Angie’s List's Indianapolis Eastside expansion.
Pence appeared on ABC Sunday morning with George Stephanopoulos. Stephanopoulos asked Pence six times whether or not RFRA would allow discrimination the LGBT community. Pence did not answer the question and stood by the law.
In the Indiana General Assembly, Republican legislative leaders said they are working on changes to the law’s language to no allow discrimination against gays and lesbians, The Associated Press reporter. The Democrats want a full repeal of the law.
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