There’s some good news coming out of Oregon today! Following the story we posted yesterday about Oregon all-girls Catholic school, St. Mary’s, firing a counselor who’d revealed she was a lesbian, a source has informed us that they’ve just amended their equal employment policy to include sexual orientation.
Christianne Goudreau, in addition to being the artist who created the awesome TMS logos you see above, also happens to be a St. Mary’s Academy alum, and she reached out to us yesterday to let us know about a pretty big change at St. Mary’s as a follow-up to our story. She forwarded us the following email she received from SMA President, Christina Friedhoff:
Dear Alumnae,
This evening the board of St. Mary’s Academy voted unanimously to support the administration’s recommendation to amend and broaden St. Mary’s policy on equal employment, bringing our employment policies in line with our mission and beliefs. Effective immediately, St. Mary’s has added sexual orientation to its equal employment opportunity policy.
St. Mary’s is a diverse community that welcomes and includes gay and lesbian students, faculty, alumnae, parents and friends, including those that are married. We are proud of our work preparing the next generation of women leaders for service and leadership. We are still deeply committed to our Catholic identity.
Sincerely,
Christina Friedhoff
President, St. Mary’s Academy
So, I don’t know who the school official was who originally spoke with Lauren Brown, found out she was a lesbian, and used it as grounds for dismissal, but the board apparently didn’t agree! Goudreau then clarified, saying, “Many of us know that this isn’t the end of the fight, but this is very much a step in the right direction. We’re still planning on meeting with the school tomorrow.” Meaning today, as she sent this to us yesterday. There’s no word yet as to whether Lauren Brown will get her job back (or even wants it back), but we’ll fill you in as the story develops.
Best of luck to everyone at St. Mary’s fighting the good fight for equality!
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