Liela Forbes, Quinn Haaga, Rachel Grisham and Adam Fractor
Since Election Day, we, as student leaders at higher education institutions here in Oregon, have stepped up to support our communities through uncertain political times. We have pushed our schools to declare themselves as sanctuary campuses so that we are not aiding immigration forces in destroying the lives and families of many of our fellow students. We have built places where students can come together, share their thoughts and concerns, and plan for the future.
We have done these things to prepare for the hatred we see brewing across the nation. This isn’t a new kind of hatred; we have seen it for decades, some of it even right here in the Northwest.
While funding many worthy causes, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, based in Vancouver, Washington, also funds some groups that hold extreme views fomenting hate.
Here are a few of the extreme groups that have received funding from the trust:
–Alliance Defending Freedom, the organization supporting North Carolina’s notorious “bathroom bill” and Indiana’s religious discrimination bill, has supported gay conversion therapy. Co-founder James Dobson has suggested that AIDS is one manner in which God punishes the LGBTQ community.
–The Portland Fellowship, which has practiced the discredited practice of gay conversion therapy on hundreds of people, including children.
–Several so-called “crisis pregnancy centers.” The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League argues such centers are a threat to women’s health and scare women away from choosing legal abortions.
–The Olympia-based Freedom Foundation, which fights against workers’ rights to organize, increases in the minimum wage and paid sick days.
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has given many grants over the years for research at our universities, and we certainly appreciate their support. But we are concerned that their funding of divisive groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Portland Fellowship and the Freedom Foundation may obscure the good work done by other trust recipients.
We encourage Oregonians to be attentive to those organizations pushing extreme politics that counter our values of inclusiveness and respect. If we want to take on the hate we see nationally, we have to start with what is happening right here in the Northwest. Please sign the petition asking the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to stop funding hate: http://nwaccountabilityproject.com/petition/
Liela Forbes is president of Associated Students of Portland State University in Portland. Quinn Haaga is president of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon in Eugene. Rachel Grisham is president of the Associated Students of Oregon State University in Corvallis. Adam Fractor is president of Associated Students of Lewis & Clark in Portland.
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