C378
UCiLa.
UMBDA
(Jitblina Gay*A§§ociatioi^]\^w§letter
Volume 10, Number 2
November/December 1983
UNC-CH Refuses Scholarship for
Gay Medical Students
Dr. Robert Ragland, a Florida psychia
trist who had a fellowship and was an
instructor at UNC-CH from 1959-63, has
offered $500 to Duke University or the
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill as a scholarship for a medical
student "who has already openly and pub
licly made manifest a same gender affinity
preference." Both universities have
refused his offer.
Dr. Ragland first made the offer to
Duke in December 1982, but it was declined
after "cordial" correspondence. He ini
tially wrote the President Terry Sanford
who released his letter to the Dean of the
Medical School and to others, including
the student publicatin and the Duke Gay
and Lesbian Alliance. A dialogue ensued
between Sanford and Dr. Ragland, and the
administration and the Alliance. The end
result was that the administration
accepted an alternative scholarship pro
posal worked out between the Alliance and
themselves which is funded by people in
the area in an amount several times that
which Ragland offered.
When Duke declined the scholarship,
they wrote, "It [the scholarship] has
produced substantially increased respect
and understanding on both sides [adminis
tration and the gay community]. So you
see, a gift can be a gift in many ways-
-even if the money doesn't actually change
hands. I hope the collateral outcome
pleases you as it does me. In the mean
time, please accept my thanks for your
thoughtfulness and consideration through
out our discussions."
The offer was then made to Dean
Bondurant of the UNC School of Medicine on
Feb. 28, 1983. At that time the scholar
ship stipulated that the recipient be
male. Dean Bondurant returned Ragland's
check with the objection that the scholar-
hsip was restricted to males.
Ragland in turn opened the scholarship
to women but explained in a later letter
to UNC President William Friday, "The
original offer was meant to discriminate
between men and women but not to discri
minate against women.... The condition I
was trying to correct was the enforced
secrecy imposed upon certain segments of
our society.... The requirement of
secrecy is much more severely enforced
against men as compared to women. The
benefit deriving from an abrogation of
this requirement is greater the more
(see SCHOLARSHIP on page 2)
Duke Student Government
Revokes DGLA Charter
The article began, "Item: In Durham,
Duke University Medical Center closes its
aids clinic, orders its student chapter of
the GAA disbanded, and becomes the first
institution of higher education in the
country to require sexual preference
information of all incoming male
students."
This fictitious item, written by Jerry
Douglas and published in the November
issue of Stallion magazine, was the
writer's "worst scenario" vision of social
reaction to AIDS.
In what seems a case of deja vu, part
of Douglas' scenario is near reality: the
Duke Gay and Lesbian Alliance (DGLA) has
lost its charter. On Oct. 6, the student
government president revoked the charter
after being advised that it violates North
Carolina law.
Student groups at Duke University must
have their charters approved annually by
the Associated Students of Duke University
(ASDU) in order to be eligible for funding
and use of university facilities and
equipment. The Duke Gay Alliance was first
chartered in 1971. Its charter, which has
been approved by ASDU each of the past
eleven years, provides that one purpose of
the group is "promoting a social setting
for gays and lesbians in the University
community."
The group reorganized and v^/as charteted
(see DGLA on page 7)