Plenty of students think Sullivan stepped over the opinion line with the comments he made blaming women for abortions, and with the offensive T-shirt. After school, Sullivan's speech was posted online by an upset student.
"'The way to have peace in our world is to end abortion,'" the student wrote, paraphrasing Sullivan in an online Seattle forum. "Then [he] says 'close [your] eyes and imagine you are a child in your mother's womb. And imagine how you would feel if your life was aborted because someone didn't want you.'" The student, who said she was livid, gave her own opinion: "It was just offensive the way he worded everything. He attacked women who had abortions... didn't even mention men... it just made me extremely upset."
The student's account of Sullivan's speech was posted with the dean's e-mail address. Several people wrote to Sullivan and posted their letters. In turn, a few of the dean's responses were also posted on the forum. "I offer no apologies for creating a context--the words of Mother Teresa, Jesus, and some factual information--and offering a prayer for the sanctity and dignity of the unborn," read one response attributed to Sullivan. Reportedly, the dean also printed the entire student blog that sparked the online flurry and shared it with Seattle Prep faculty (including the student's stories about drinking and smoking), and sent out an e-mail to staff decrying the cyber-statements against him. Sullivan did not return a call for comment.
Back at Seattle Prep, sophomore Kevin Davidson summed up the student reaction. Though a lot of students disagreed with the broadcast, "Seattle Prep is a Catholic school," he said, "and the dean's opinion is also the church's opinion." Other reactions were more telling: A number of students kept their lips sealed about the whole incident, saying they didn't want to get in trouble with the dean--who handles school discipline. Even a few students involved in the original online speech protest have backed off, for fear of detention or suspension.
However, two Seattle Prep students, apparently not content to let the dean speak for the church, started a petition. Two freshmen girls have been circulating their petition all week, to let the dean know that some students disagreed with and were offended by his remarks. No word yet on how many students have signed it.
