Jason Pierce, CNSNews.com
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2001

Added to the private fund will be tax dollars from the state, though the amount of taxpayer support earmarked for homosexual college students is uncertain.

The Frank-Trameblay Safe Colleges Scholarship is named after lesbian folk singer Lucie Blue Trameblay and homosexual Rep. Barney Frank, (D-Mass.), who represents the Bridgewater area.

Eva Gaffney, a spokesperson for Bridgewater State College, where the scholarship is being offered, compared it to any other scholarship available to students, such as a chemistry scholarship or those offered to minority students.

"The thing about this scholarship is that it could benefit a student in any program, as long as the student identifies himself or herself as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered," said Gaffney, who added that recipients must also be "a student in good standing at the college, has the academic rigor, and extracurricular stuff."

She said the Safe Colleges Task Force, a homosexual advocacy organization on campus, started raising money for the endowed scholarship more than a year ago.

So far, $8,300 of the $10,000 goal has been raised. Should the goal be met, the endowment would yield at least $500 each year.

In addition, some state money will be added to the scholarship fund when it matches private funds raised for the Bridgewater State College Foundation, of which the Frank-Trameblay Safe Colleges Scholarship is part.

Numerous telephone calls to the Massachusetts state Board of Higher Education seeking information on how much tax money is involved went unanswered.

Brian Cameneker, president of the Parents Rights Coalition, opposes the use of tax money to fund scholarships for homosexuals and argued that Bridgewater State's action is infringing on the rights of parents to care for their children.

"They are urging students to rebel against their parents, but they are encouraging them to engage in a behavior that their parents may recognize as being self-destructive and dangerous," Cameneker said.

He said the use of state tax money shows that Massachusetts is condoning homosexual activity.

"At a time when Massachusetts is facing a serious budget crisis, they've decided to essentially allocate their scholarship money from students who deserve it to students who claim to be homosexual and claim their parents are rejecting them," Cameneker said.

"The whole idea of a public institution telling taxpayers their views on moral issues are wrong and they are going to intercede is very offensive," he said.

Copyright 2001 CNSNews.com. All rights reserved.

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