加州大学或要求申请学生写明性取向

2012-03-14 14:55

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It is believed the plan could take effect in time for next fall’s admissions.

A plan by the University of California to allow incoming students to declare their sexual orientation is winning praise from gay advocates, but critics charge it will create another class slated for preferential treatment.

The 10-school, 235,000-student system would make the question optional on forms known as "Statement of Intern to Register," allowing officials to more accurately track the makeup of the student body and improve programs and services, officials said. But critics claim it will simply pave the way for another group to seek preferential treatment.

Gay advocates hailed the measure, emphasizing that it is not mandatory. They compared it to other identifying characteristics routinely sought on such forms.

Writing in UCLA's Daily Bruin, columnist Kimberly Grano said the plan is not as intrusive as it might sound.

"At first glance, it might seem the university would be unnecessarily delving into a potentially sensitive subject for incoming students," Grano wrote. "However, gathering figures about how many students identify with the LGBT community could allow the university to better serve and support members of the community."

But Raja Bhattar, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center at UCLA told the station the numbers may not be all that precise.

“The sexual orientation question would likely be optional," Bhattar told the reporters. "That may mean that a sizable number of students would not respond or would do so dishonestly — skewing the results.”

While there does not appear to be a timetable for the decision, it is believed the plan could take effect in time for next fall’s admissions.

Only one other school in the country currently asks incoming students about their sexual orientation. Chicago-area Elmhurst College included the question on forms last year and 5 percent of those who answered the question identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.

Yale and Harvard have considered similar measures in recent years, but have not enacted any changes to their registration process.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)

美国加州大学将允许申请学生声明自己的性取向，该计划赢得了同性恋拥护者的赞扬。但批评人士认为，这会使同性恋群体受到优待。

加州大学拥有10所分校，共23.5万名学生。校方表示，该校的“大学志愿申请表”上将把性取向列为一个可选项，这将使校方更清楚学生的构成，改进教学计划和服务。但批评人士认为，这仅会给同性恋群体寻求优待铺平道路。

同性恋拥护者对此表示欢迎，强调指出这一选项不是必填的。他们认为这和表格上常见的身份信息没什么两样。

专栏作家金伯利•格莱诺在加州大学校报Daily Bruin上说，这一计划并没有听起来那么让人不安。

格莱诺写道：“乍一看，似乎学校没必要让申请学生填性取向，这也是个敏感话题。但统计同性恋学生群体的人数有助于学校更好地服务和支持他们。”

但加州大学同性恋、双性恋及跨性别者中心的主任拉加•巴塔尔表示统计数字可能并不会那么准确。

巴塔尔告诉记者：“性取向很可能是一个可选项，这就意味着很多学生不会填，或者不会如实回答，这会使结果不准确。”

是否添加这一选项没有准确的时间表，但据信会在今年秋季的申请表中出现。

目前美国只有另外一家学校要求申请学生填写性取向。芝加哥埃尔姆赫斯特学院去年在申请表格中添加了性取向选项，在填写的学生中有5%自认为是同性恋、双性恋或者跨性别者。

耶鲁大学和哈佛大学近年也在考虑类似举措，但申请程序还未作任何改变。

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（中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑：陈丹妮）

Vocabulary:

sexual orientation: 性取向

LGBT: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 女同性恋者、男同性恋者、双性恋者与跨性别者

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