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The Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame currently lists the following menu option on its webpage: “How to Find a Summer Internship.” When students click on that option they are sent to a page titled: “Summer Internship Opportunities,” which provides live links to pro-abortion groups. (Link)
Alerted about this fact, over 10,850 students and parents joined TFP Student Action in politely asking Fr. John I. Jenkins, president of Notre Dame, to have the website entries that point students to pro-abortion organizations removed.
Notre Dame Responds
Instead of acknowledging the fact that these live links are posted on Notre Dame’s website, connecting students with pro-abortion groups that recruit college interns -- and removing them -- university spokesman Dennis Brown attempts to divert attention from the core issue: The pro-abortion links.
“It has come to my attention that your group [TFP] has posted erroneous information regarding internships at Notre Dame. You are claiming that Notre Dame is ‘offering’ internships with pro-abortion organizations and encouraging students to apply with these groups, and that simply isn’t true,” states Mr. Brown in an email.
“The material you have alluded to on the Department of Political Science website is nothing more than a list of organizations that have offered internships to students in the past. We respectfully request that you discontinue disseminating this inaccurate information,” he wrote.
What about the pro-abortion links?
Mr. Brown, however, dodges the central question: What about the pro-abortion links? Were they removed? Well, no. In fact, those live links are still listed as “opportunities.” And what are students expected to understand from the term “opportunity” other than just that – opportunity?
However, to address Mr. Brown’s charge of inaccuracy, the title of TFP Student Action’s initial post was modified to read: “Unacceptable: Notre Dame website links to pro-abortion ‘internship opportunities.’” For the record, the original post was titled: “Unacceptable: Notre Dame offers pro-abortion ‘internship opportunities’ to students.”
ND Professor to TFP: “Back Off, You Monsters”
Meanwhile, TFP Student Action received the following email message from a Notre Dame professor:
“Back off, you monsters. I teach at the University of Notre Dame and we are a finer university than you know. Of course we announce internships to organizations like Center for American Progress, Emily’s List, Feminist Majority Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Institute for Women's Policy Research, National Women’s Law Center, Think Progress, United Nations Population Fund.
“Why wouldn't we? These organizations each and all do fabulous work. And this university is a university - it participates in all dialogue. That's what a good university does.”
Clearly, not all professors at Notre Dame respect the Catholic faith or the right to life.
Office of the President Responds
More recently, one of our readers received this message from Notre Dame’s Office of the President:
“Thank you for taking the time to write. Fr. Jenkins appreciates you sharing your thoughts, but he is not able to respond to each message individually.
“The information contained in the post on the TFP Student Action website was false. Contrary to the group’s unsubstantiated report, Notre Dame does not offer internships to the organizations that were cited and does not encourage students to apply for them. TFP has changed its story and no longer is making its original false claims. The list on the political science department website was just that, a list of internships students have taken and then self-reported to the department. No academic credit was given nor were university funds used with the internships in question.”
However, new facts only give rise to more concern.
Yes, Notre Dame did help fund pro-abortion internships
After additional research, Catholic blogger Kathy Schiffer at patheos.com made another sad discovery on March 26. She found that internship grants have been given to students for work at other organizations that promote abortion and the homosexual agenda.
According to Notre Dame’s “Gender Studies” webpage:
“The Boehnen Summer Internship Grants are competitive grants that are awarded annually to Notre Dame Gender Studies undergraduate students who have secured unpaid summer internships that will help them analyze, understand, and gain valuable work experience in fields pertaining to Gender Studies...
“All currently enrolled Gender Studies Supplemental Majors and Gender Studies Minors are eligible to apply for these grants. The typical amount awarded is $2,500.” (Link)
To date, internship grants have been awarded to students for serving groups such as: (Link)
The Minnesota Women’s Consortium. Among the Consortium’s member groups, all of which claim to “empower women,” is Planned Parenthood. The Notre Dame intern has blogged about her experiences on EqualityQuilt.com
The Anti-Defamation League of Boston, where the intern’s goal is to help combat “sexism, racism and heterosexism.” This group supports the redefinition of God-ordained marriage.
The Resource Center Dallas. Its mission is to empower “the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.” This group supports same-sex “marriage.”
The National Organization for Women, one of America’s most active abortion advocacy groups.
The Illinois Safe Schools Alliance in Chicago. This pro-homosexualist non-profit encourages students to bring same-sex partners to highschool proms.
Among research internships in the Bio-medical Sciences was one program at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI). Their research is not restricted to adult stem cells; rather, they rely on embryonic stem cell lines derived from aborted fetuses, a type of research which the Church strongly opposes. (Link -- see page 9)
The Protest Continues
TFP Student Action is grateful to all its readers and members who signed the petition to Notre Dame. For the future of our culture and country, we cannot afford to compromise with evil or surrender on moral values.
We will continue our peaceful and prayerful protest until the pro-abortion links, and internships, are removed. The fact that Notre Dame students have served as interns for pro-abortion organizations in the past should cause embarrassment, not pride. Moreover, to post live links to pro-abortion groups under the title “Summer Internship Opportunities” is misleading and morally confusing to faithful Catholic students.
Therefore, we invite pro-life Americans to continue calling for their removal.
Please sign your instant protest today – right now – here
To give this peaceful effort more impact, please forward this message to all your pro-life friends (or even your entire address book). You don’t need to be a student to participate.
Contact information (please be firm yet polite):
The University of Notre Dame
Fr. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., President
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone: 574.631.3903
Email: president@nd.edu
Leave a protest message directly on Notre Dame's web site here
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