Word: virginias
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...college campuses across the state. Administrators, professors and students organized panel discussions and rallies - both in person and online - complaining that Cuccinelli's edit would lead to a rise in hate crimes and a drop in diversity in admitting students and hiring faculty. "His radical actions are putting Virginia at risk of losing both top students and faculty, and discouraging prospective ones," says Jon Blair, CEO of the gay-rights group Equality Virginia...
...attorney general's response was noncommittal: "I applaud Governor McDonnell for the tone he is setting for the Commonwealth of Virginia. I will remain in contact with the Governor and continue to work with him on issues important to Virginians." Cuccinelli, in his earlier directive, had acted on his own accord, building on the governor's previous executive order, but went too far, says a state political analyst who preferred to remain anonymous. The governor's clarification amounted to "a public spanking of Cuccinelli," says the analyst. (Watch a gay-marriage wedding video...
...back and forth came after more than 1,500 students and supporters rallied Wednesday at Virginia Commonwealth University to protest Cuccinelli's letter. Waving rainbow flags, chanting "Down With Hate" and wielding signs that read "Jesus Had 2 Dads, Too" and "Homophobia Is A Sin," the animated band assembled near the student union, before 200 later broke away and marched down a main road within blocks of the Virginia State Capitol...
...mails and write on his Facebook wall. "It's just a huge slap in the face to treat schools that poorly, and lesbians and gays in general," says Seth Kaye, a sophomore computer science major and president of the Queer and Allied Activism group at the University of Virginia. "We are being singled out. People are upset. It's really frustrating." Specific wording protecting gays, he contends, is important to help remind the UVA community to exercise better judgment. "Virginia is supposed to be for lovers!" he exclaimed, referencing an ad campaign by the Virginia Tourism Corporation...
...interview with TIME, Cuccinelli says his letter was meant to "issue blanket advice" to high-level college administrators, something he felt was needed after he received several inquiries from schools. The letter reaffirmed that "Virginia's public universities are, at all times, subject to the control of the General Assembly," and because wording adopted by General Assembly policies do not specifically name "sexual orientation" as a class protected in non-discrimination, "any college or university that has done so has acted without proper authority...