Fresno College prof accused of anti-gay, anti-choice preachings
By Hugh Kramer, LA Examiner February 9, 2010 After receiving complaints from students in instructor Bradley Lopez's Health Science 1 class, the American Civil Liberties Union mailed one of its own to Fresno City College where Lopez teaches. In it, they point out that Lopez is using his class to promote his personal religious views as scientific facts. While that would not be illegal in a private school, in a publicly-funded college like FCC, it's a violation of both the California Constitution and the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution. They cite the following as recent examples of the overtly religious and anti-LGBT teachings that Mr. Lopez presents as"science" and "fact": · Repeatedly referenced the Bible and used it as a teaching tool, for example assigning as homework a question as to Jesus’ genetic makeup. · Shown a slide listing “homosexual facts,” including that homosexuality is a “biological misapplication of human sexuality” and said that the “recommended treatment” is “psychological counseling” or “hormone supplements.” · Presented LGBT people as a burden on and/or threat to society, claiming, for example, that anything but a heterosexual union provides a “one-sided foundation for raising children.” · Presented abortion as the killing of human beings, characterizing abortion - as "the leading cause of death in the United States" (because there are a million abortions a year). · Quoted Psalm 139:13-16 of the Bible and described it as "empirical" evidence that human life begins at conception (in support of the claim that abortion is murder). · Followed a slide on climate change in a presentation on “environmental health” with a slide containing a Biblical quote about the world ending in fire, and said “that is the real global warming we should be worried about.” "Someone should realize you can't have a class like this presenting deeply held, and I'm sure honestly held, religious views as science," said Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. "This is not a situation where people are taking a seminar on religion. Folks taking this class think they are getting Health Basics 101." Jacqueline Mahaffey, a 24-year old FCC student who took Mr. Lopez's class, had this to say, “I feel very let down by my school. I signed up for health science because I was interested in the subject, but what I got was hateful lecturing based on Professor Lopez’s personal beliefs. I am in school to learn, not to be indoctrinated with one professor’s religious views and anti-gay beliefs.” The ACLU asks Fresno City College to reply to the complaint by Feb. 15th.
| 
