The Seton Hall University administration did the right thing by nixing a proposal to give New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman an award; her enthusiasm for abortion-rights, including partial birth, makes her unsuitable for recognition on any Catholic campus. But no sooner had school officials acted responsibly when the chorus of busy-body critics began.
The New Jersey Lawyer editorialized that university organizations ought to be able “to invite to the school, to debate with, and to recognize the achievements of any person of good will.” But as we pointed out, “the latter is not parallel to the former.”
The publication printed our reasoning: “It is one thing to invite persons who sharply disagree with a university’s mission to speak on campus, quite another to give them a trophy. That is why Seton Hall University acted soundly by objecting to a proposed award to Gov. Christie Whitman: She should be given the chance to debate the legal and moral right that allows doctors to suck the brains out of children who are 80 percent born, but the university is under no moral obligation to honor her for her position.”
We added that “There are well over 3000 colleges and universities in the nation. In this light, it is important that attempts to pressure homogenization of philosophies should be resisted, no matter what the source.” After all, isn’t this what diversity means?
Congratulations to Seton Hall for sticking to principle.
