http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2013/12/23/students-on-duck-dynasty/4178779/
College students weigh in on A&E's decision to suspend Robertson after anti-gay comments.
Support of the LGBT community at college campuses has increased substantially, according to a recent study in the Journal of Community Practice.
But that doesn't mean college students agree with the suspension of Phil Robertson from reality A&E TV show Duck Dynasty.
Robertson has been the center of attention after an interview with GQ magazine where the Duck Dynasty patriarch voiced his opinion on homosexuality.
Related: 'Duck Dynasty' star on hiatus for anti-gay comments
"Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men," he said.
Matt O'Brien, a junior criminal justice major at Boston University, says that although many students in the area accept homosexuality and support gay marriage, some students aren't in agreement with A&E's decision.
O'Brien thinks the Robertsons have just as much of a right to voice their opinions as those from the LGBT community.
"Someone could hate my beliefs, that I support gay marriage," he says. "But it's no different than what (Robertson) was doing. It's just an opinion."
Christina Polowicz, a graduate student at Syracuse University, says while freedom of speech has always been a high priority in the U.S., some issues may be favored more than those rights. Polowicz considers gay marriage to be one of those issues.
She thinks it's important to be accepting of people speaking with a different opinion.
"Phil obviously didn't interview in the most — shall we say — polite manner, but he has every right to his own opinion," she says. "In fact, 45% of the population still agrees with Phil."
Earlier this year, Gallup released a poll saying 52% of Americans would support a law to legalize gay marriage nationwide.
Support varies greatly among different constituencies, including political ideologies and religious beliefs.
Only 27% of Americans 18- to 34-year-old believe gay marriage shouldn't be legalized nationally.
Jody Cofer Randall, LGBT coordinator at Murray State University in Murray, Ky., doesn't agree with Polowicz and O'Brien.
"While the individual certainly has the freedom to express how he feels about the LGBT community and people of color, that does not waive the consequences that can — and should — follow," he says.
Cofer Randall says A&E made a decision that isn't uncommon. He says many TV stations expect their personalities to uphold certain images. He thinks Robertson pushed A&E too far.
O'Brien, on the other hand, thinks A&E should have been aware of the possibility that Robertson would voice his opinion on a political topic.
"For (A&E) to not realize that any good reporter would ask about a subject like this is kind of on them," O'Brien says. "(A&E) knows his personal views already, it's in the show. I think A&E just kind of dropped the ball in not realizing this would eventually happen."
O'Brien believes the consequences wouldn't have been the same if Robertson had says he supports gay marriage, because it's starting to become a cultural norm. Even though O'Brien is okay with that culture, he knows it isn't the same culture the Robertson family is used to.
"(Robertson) was simply stating what his personal and family values are," O'Brien says. "Not hate or discrimination toward anyone."
Cofer Randall says on a personal level, bringing religion in as a weapon against the LGBT community is what has saddened him the most.
Says Cofer Randall: " There are many LGBT people of faith, and to use religion to frame derogatory statements against us must stop."
Lexy Gross is a junior at Murray State University.
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