Quest Magazine Vol. 17 Issue 7 Extra
May 17, 2010

SOME OF THE LINKS TO OLDER STORIES AND FEATURES
Please check out Vol 17- 1 Cover Feature on Quest Journalist Mike Fitzpatrick
Interview with Bruce Vilanch by Michael Johnston in Vol. 17-2
Paul Masterson Takes Us on a Tour of LGBT Sports in Wisconsin in Vol. 17-3
Our PrideFest Feature: PrideFest Milwaukee Goes for the Funny Bone in Vol 17-3
United We Stand: An Intimate Interview Between Partners on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in Vol. 17-4
PrideFest Set For Major Summer Dance Experience in Vol. 17-5
Pride Alive's Spring Fling: Just the Start of Something Big! in Vol. 17-5

MARQUETTE ALUM AND BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL
JOINS FAIR WISCONSIN IN SPEAKING OUT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

Today former Bush Administration Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy and Marquette Alum, Scott Evertz, joined Fair Wisconsin in calling for Marquette University to reinstate their offer to Dr. Jodi O’Brien to serve as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dean. Last week, Marquette University announced their decision to rescind the official offer to Dr. Jodi O’Brien. An out lesbian, Dr. O’Brien has spent a significant portion of her career publishing works that delve into the sociological aspects of being a lesbian, which has led Marquette University to their unfortunate decision.

“This is a fundamental issue of fairness,” noted Executive Director Katie Belanger, “and when Scott reached out to us, we were thrilled that a former Bush appointee is joining us in expressing disappointment and frustration with the recent turn of events.”

In April 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Evertz, an out gay man, to serve in his administration with full knowledge of his sexual orientation, his writings and statements of support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. “I went to Washington a proud Marquette alum who would tell anyone who would listen that it was, in large part, my Jesuit education that had me attending weekly meetings of the President’s Domestic Policy Council in the West Wing and convening meetings of the President’s Task Force on HIV/AIDS, chaired by Secretary Colin Powell and my friend Secretary Tommy Thompson,” Evertz said.

“By the time I arrived in the White House, I had already received a gracious and kind congratulatory note from Father Wild, President of Marquette University. It filled me with pride that the man who was running my beloved alma mater had taken notice of my appointment and had sent me a personal note.

“Though still proud of my Marquette education and the institution, I find myself embarrassed at the recent events surrounding the offer to Dr. Jodi O’Brien to serve as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, my college, and the subsequent withdrawal of that offer,” Evertz continued. “I also feel a certain sense of irony and have found myself thinking in the past several days that if I were academically qualified, as Dr. O’Brien is, to serve as Dean of the College at Marquette, I too would likely be deemed unfit to do so by Father Wild.”

Evertz’s statement comes just days after Fair Wisconsin Education Fund Board President and Marquette Alum, Robert J. Starshak, M.D., sent a letter asking Father Wild to reconsider his decision to rescind Marquette University’s offer to Dr. O’Brien and offering to assist the administration in addressing concerns about their diversity and inclusive hiring practices.

The Fair Wisconsin Education Fund (FWEF) has a proud history of educating about the harms of discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and building more inclusive communities and workplaces for LGBT Wisconsinites. With a statewide board of directors and a full-time staff, Fair Wisconsin and its related entities are the only organizations to represent the Badger state in the Equality Federation, the national alliance of state-based LGBT advocacy organizations. Fair Wisconsin, along with our national and regional allies, recently helped enact important domestic partnership protections for same-sex couples, making us the first state with an existing constitutional amendment banning both marriage equality and civil unions to enact domestic partnerships.