Villanova University Threatens to Revoke Scholarship of Student who Criticized its Pro-LGBTQ Tweet

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A student at Villanova University is accusing her academic advisor of trying to intimidate her over tweets critical of the university’s promotion of Pride Month.

Melanie Didioti, a graduate student at the Catholic university outside of Philadelphia, recently tweeted criticism of the school’s athletic department for its Pride Month tweet on June 22. The tweet said: “Love is Love. Happy #PrideMonth – We are proud to be an ally of the LGBTQ+ Community.”

In response, Didioti tweeted: “Villanova is proud to be an ally of the LGBTQ community and ashamed to be Catholic so I’m ashamed to attend here and that’s that.”

She said that this led to a contentious meeting with her academic advisor in the theology department, Professor Jennifer Jackson, on June 26.

Jackson had originally claimed the meeting was just about the upcoming fall schedule, according to e-mails obtained by The College Fix.

Didioti claims that Jackson instead used the meeting to criticize her tweets. Jackson did not respond to emails from The College Fix seeking comment over the last four days.

Jackson made several statements to her, Didioti claims, that implied she could lose her academic scholarship if she continued tweeting her beliefs on LGBT issues, specifically asking her if she still needed her scholarship to attend the university. Whether Jackson has the power to revoke scholarships is unclear.

Continue reading at The College Fix

TAKE ACTION: Contact Villanova University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue at 610.519.8881 and ask him to issue a public apology to Melanie Didioti and uphold Catholic teaching on human sexuality.

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