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Rejection of LGBT students by Andalas University sparks controversy
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A man walks past an anti-LGBT banner erected by a conservative Islamic group in Jakarta, March 17. (AP/Tatan Syuflana)
A
decision by Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, not to let lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) students enrol has triggered controversy online.
According to the state university’s website, candidates who have passed the admission test are required to fill out and sign a form declaring that they are not openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Although the campus removed that requirement from its website yesterday, screenshots of it have circulated widely on the internet, prompting a pro and contra debate among netizens.
“If the requirement is true, then Andalas University has [banned] LGBT people from education,” a netizen commented through the @daprast twitter timeline.
(Read also: Indonesian psychiatrists label LGBT as mental disorders)
On the contrary, hashtag #DukungUnandTolakLGBT that supports the LGBT ban from the campus has gone viral in twitter-land and was re-tweeted more than 750 times on Saturday afternoon.
The hashtag was started by an account using the handle @ParemanBagak, with one tweet from the account reading: “LGBT is abnormal. Don’t let your future generation live in such an abnormal environment. Eliminate LGBT and cure them!”
Another account, @donvitodominic, condemned the hashtag and Andalas’ policy, saying: “How can someone’s sexual orientation be the benchmark of whether they deserve an education or not?” and “Instead of #DukungUnandTolakLGBT it’s better to try and help to stop poverty, corruption and small-minded people.”
Andalas University has not yet responded when asked to comment by The Jakarta Post via phone and WhatsApp.(hol/dan)
