Chancellor Peacock,

We, students of Appalachian, are very displeased with the decision to welcome back State Senator Dan Soucek as a speaker. His opinions do not fit in with the open-minded and accepting Appala-chian way. He has directly spoken out against the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) community by stating on the floor of the Senate, “You can’t choose the color of your skin, but you can choose your sexual behavior.” Studies have been done to show that people who identify as LGB do not usually choose their orientations and, in most cases, sexual orientation is genetic. These studies show that brain function of individuals who identify as LGB is more like that of their opposite gender. This, to us as Appalachian students, says that Senator Soucek has not done his research. We have asked someone to speak who is not informed and who makes offensive statements about students and faculty at this university. Along with making offensive statements, he is a supporter of Amendment 1 to the North Carolina constitution. While gay marriage is currently illegal, passing this bill would further hurt any future efforts to reverse it. This bill would cloak North Carolina with negativity and close-mindedness to any outsider looking in while, at the same time, hurting the North Caro-lina economy by driving out jobs. The Student Government Association is currently discussing the creation of a bill which would publicly demonstrate that the student body of Appalachian opposes Amendment 1. We feel that having him speak here again would show support to something that we do not support and give legitimacy to an illegitimate stance.

source: Appalachian State LGBT Center on Facebook