[Editor's Note: The following letter to the editor was submitted by a group of Belmont faculty members, whose names and university affiliations appear at the end. The document, as presented to the Vision, begins with the university's mission statement and is followed by the faculty statement.]

To the editor:

Belmont University Mission Statement
Belmont University is a student-centered Christian community providing an academically
challenging education that empowers men and women of diverse backgrounds to
engage and transform the world with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage and
faith.
…
The University faculty, administration and staff uphold Jesus as the Christ and as the
measure of all things. Students encounter Christian values relevant to personal growth
and spiritual maturity and are expected to commit themselves to high moral standards.
…
Belmont University empowers men and women to engage and transform the world. The
university prepares students to use their intellectual skills, creativity, and faith to meet
the challenges and opportunities that face the human community.

Where We Stand
We write today to state firmly our position on crucial issues that are a part of the
community’s conversation and reflection. Belmont University welcomes diverse
opinions and perspectives as part of our goal to provide an academically challenging
education and to create a community of intellectual exchange. We honor the tradition
of academic freedom and the freedom of all of our community’s members to use
discernment to determine their perspectives and actions.

That said, our community also seeks to be a place of courage, particularly courage to
stand for the “least of these.” To that end, the signatories of this document affirm the
following:

1. We stand against the use of torture. As stated by the National Religious Campaign
Against Torture: “Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all
religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear. It degrades everyone involved—policy-
makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation’s most cherished values. Any
policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally
intolerable.” The lack of efficacy in the use of torture to achieve any stated goals has
been well documented, most frequently by those who are experts in interrogation
techniques, however no possible result can justify our nation’s use of torture. The
United States has a long history of standing against torture, and the United States
Congress has repeatedly expressed that position by passing laws and ratifying treaties
that prohibit torture and the mistreatment of detainees. No American, not even the
president, can violate these laws. Echoing the words of the National Association of
Evangelicals, we “call for the extension of procedural protections and human rights to
all detainees, seek clear government-wide embrace of the Geneva Conventions,
including those articles banning torture and cruel treatment of prisoners, and urge the
reversal of any U.S. government law, policy or practice that violates the moral standards
outlined in [the Evangelical Declaration Against Torture: Protecting Human Rights in an

Age of Terror].” We also stand against the narrowing of the definition of torture so as
to make its prohibition meaningless.

2. We stand against the indiscriminate and hasty use of the death penalty. The taking of
a human life is the most serious power a government might exercise. Any death penalty
case demands full review and an examination of all extenuating circumstances and
facts. Those in positions of power over human life should be held to the highest
standard in exercising that power.

3. We stand for the importance of upholding the United States Constitution, the laws of
the United States, and the provisions of all treaties to which we are a party. The
appropriate response to an unjust or unwise law is the legislative or judicial process.
Failing those measures, we look to the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others
who guide us in ways to oppose unjust laws. Writing from the Birmingham Jail, Dr. King
stated: “There are just laws and there are unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine
that an unjust law is no law at all… One who breaks an unjust law must do it openly,
lovingly…I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust,
and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the
community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law.”

In order to foster discussion and education on these issues, the signatories of this
document intend to support opportunities to discuss the issues presented in this
document. As an educational community committed to open exchange and
exploration, we will encourage the sponsorship of speakers, discussions, and other
events to further our understanding and inform our actions.

Respectfully yours,

The Rev. Marty Bell, Professor of Religion
Daniel Biles, Professor of Mathematics
Joyce Blair Crowell, Professor of Computer Science
Gail Bursch, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
Robert O. Byrd, Professor of School of Religion
David E. Curtis, Professor of English and Associate Dean for the School of Humanities
Jeremy Scott Ecke, Assistant Professor of English
Kris Elsberry, Professor of Music
Deen E. Entsminger, Professor of Music
Bill Feehely, Associate Professor of Theater
Paul Gatrell, Associate Professor of Theatre, Chair of the Department of Theatre and
Dance
Tim Gmeiner, Associate Professor for Library Services
Jose D. Gonzalez, Instructor of Management and Entrepreneurship
Nathan Griffith, Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of
Political Science
Charmion Gustke, Full-time Instructor of English
Cathy Hinton, Professor of Physical Therapy
Sandra Hutchins, Professor of English
Caresse John, Assistant Professor of English
Linda Jones, Associate Professor of Psychology
David C. Julseth, Professor of Spanish and Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages
Terry Klefstad, Associate Professor of Music and Associate Director of Graduate Studies
in Music
Kristine LaLonde, Associate Professor of Honors
Lauren Lunsford, Associate Professor of Education
Mark McEntire, Professor of Religion
Andy Miller, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Douglas Murray, Professor of English
Jeff Overby, Associate Professor of Marketing
John H. E. Paine, Professor of Literature
A. Darlene Panvini, Associate Professor of Biology
Natalia Pelaz-Escribano, Assistant Professor of Spanish
Robbie Pinter, Professor of English
Teresa Plummer, Assistant Professor in Occupational Therapy
Daniel Schafer, Professor of History
Regine Schwarzmeier, Associate Professor of German
Annette M. Sisson, Professor of English and Director, Master of Arts in English Program
Judy Skeen, Professor of Religion
Andi Stepnick, Professor of Sociology
Steven P. Stodghill, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical, Social & Administrative
Sciences
Andrea Stover, Associate Professor of English
Jennifer T. Thomas, Associate Professor of Biology
Jonathan Thorndike, Professor of Honors
Teresa VanHatten-Granath, Associate Professor of Art
Jane Warren, Associate Professor of Music
Andy Watts, Associate Professor of Religion
Bonnie Smith Whitehouse, Associate Professor of English and Chair of the Department
of English
Judith P. Williams, Reference Librarian