Parents sending their kids off to college this fall expect them to bring back knowledge and skills that will help them become more employable. But parents of Murray State University (MSU) college students recently learned their kids received a heavy dose of homosexual propaganda that is more likely to loosen their hold on traditional morality than to tighten their grip on the job market.

On April 4-6, Come Together Kentucky, the 8th Annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Collegiate Conference, was featured on MSU’s campus. Vice President for Student Affairs Don Robertson officially supported and welcomed the conference to the campus. "This is an important conference, and we are pleased to be part of this year’s event," Robertson said. When asked if he received any criticism about the event, Robertson responded, "I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback on the conference."

Robertson apparently hasn’t heard from Gary Taylor, MSU alumnus and father of one MSU student and two other MSU graduates. "I’m opposed to that kind of orientation being promoted at Murray State... I think it is a disgrace that this is supported by tax dollars."

MSU had at first circumvented two open records requests, declining to acknowledge whether they financially supported the conference. Official supporting organizations included MSU Student Affairs, MSU Student Government Association, and the Institute for International Studies.

Once they responded, it was learned that two MSU departments spent $998 on the conference. The Office of Student Affairs spent $918 on food and public safety while the Kentucky Institute for International Studies spent $80 on advertising.

The three-day conference featured noted homosexual activists, gay and lesbian movies and more than 25 workshops. Topics included sexual fetishes, an introduction to sex toys, lesbian sex, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered paganism.

"I’ve tolerated a lot of things," Taylor said, "but where does the point come when you stand up?" Taylor, a past supporter of MSU athletics, said he would reconsider his support if the university continues to undermine traditional values by promoting the homosexual agenda.

Critics say that it is inappropriate for publicly funded universities to promote controversial sexual behavior deemed unhealthy by medical professionals. In the sexual fetishes seminar, topics consisted of sadomasochism, bondage/discipline, domination/submission and physical and psychological fetishes. "Come and learn to be open to your own and other persons’ sexuality," the seminar’s program description stated, although, "the central focus will be on safety."

And what are the qualifications to lead such a seminar? Gia Bathory, seminar instructor, worked in many "bondage" houses and made several adult films associated with heavy bondage/domination and sadomasochism. Gia has worked as an adult entertainer, stripper, and pole dancer. She has also appeared on the Jerry Springer show and has won second place for Amateur Transsexual Film of the Year.

An estimated 150 were in attendance at the Murray conference. Come Together Kentucky, which began eight years ago at the behest of the University of Kentucky’s Lambda Organization, rotates among Kentucky universities each year with a "commitment to education and activism."

Danielle Walsh, co-organizer of the Murray conference and vice president for the gay student group, Alliance, told the student newspaper "[t]he conference helped us let people know that [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students] are here, and our needs are not always being met. It also served as a way for people struggling with coming out to know that they are not alone."

Richard Nelson, a policy analyst with The Family Foundation disagrees. "Instead of educating college students about healthy sexual choices, Murray State’s education establishment has chosen to undermine the safety and health of its students by supporting this conference," Nelson said. "In essence, such conferences weaken inhibitions and remove barriers to medically dangerous and morally offensive sexual experimentation—something most parents don’t expect their tuition dollars to fund."