Keep General Peter Pace's Bigotry Off Our Campus

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To:  The University of Chicago, the Graduate School of Business, and Harris Bank

We, the undersigned, call upon the University of Chicago and its Graduate School of Business to cancel the scheduled keynote address by General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the GSB's 55th annual Management Conference on May 18th, 2007, sponsored by Harris Bank, to be held downtown at the Gleacher Center and Hyatt Regency Chicago.

In March, 2007, General Pace called homosexuality "immoral" and defended the U.S. military's policy banning openly gay servicemembers, stating, "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way." The Washington Post denounced Pace's "public expressions of intolerance." The New York Times called his words "bigoted," "offensive," and "wrong in every way." Pace's comments were also condemned by the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John W. Warner (R-VA), and by a group of seven retired, highly-decorated military officers, each with more than 20 years of experience serving their country.

General Pace has become America's most visible advocate of anti-gay public policy. At a time when gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has used his leadership position to endorse discrimination and intolerance. For General Pace to be offered a podium as keynote speaker under the University of Chicago's auspices sends a message that is incompatible with the University's core values, longstanding nondiscrimination policies, and ongoing efforts to create a climate welcoming of diversity.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Keep General Peter Pace's Bigotry Off Our Campus Petition to The University of Chicago, the Graduate School of Business, and Harris Bank was created by and written by Timothy Stewart-Winter (timsw@uchicago.edu).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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