This question about gay marriage from a test in a college public speaking class is SO messed up
Today in totally baffling news, a public speaking class at the University of Utah, a public college with over 30,000 students enrolled, has pissed off a *lot* of people as a result of a bizarrely homophobic question on one of its tests. The class was Public Speaking 640, a continuing education class for international students. The assignment was pretty basic, as it’s basically asking for students to choose the answer that best responds to the question. Per usual, right? But the questions and answers were SO bizarre.
The statement students were responding to: “Gay marriage should not be prohibited.”
Which, like, OK. But the three answer options were: “Gay marriage has never been allowed,” “Societies should promote traditional marriages as the ideal environment for children,” and, shockingly, “Gay marriage is disgusting.”
You can read the test for yourself below:
According to a report in the Salt Lake City Tribune, the correct answer is supposed to be C…
Which isn’t as blatantly homophobic as B, but isn’t exactly queer-friendly, either. The newspaper contacted the school, and a university spokesperson explained
"The scenarios in each exercise, which were created years ago by an instructor no longer employed by the university, are intended to help students hone their writing skills, not engage students in a debate about laws or values."
She continued,
"Since this specific question in no way furthers the intent of the course, it will be eliminated from the curriculum in the future."
All we have to say is GOOD.
