– Feeling discriminated against – VG

– I started at NLA with the belief that core values ​​like inclusion, charity, and human dignity were something we fully agreed on. Here I was wrong, writes Hedda Brita Beata Widahl (23) in a post on Instagram.

Our country mentioned the matter for the first time.

Widahl is a teacher student at the school, and on Sunday she posted a post in which she writes that she herself is a queer and an unbeliever. Before starting school, she called to see if there would be a problem. It wouldn’t be like that, was the school’s message, according to Widahl.

However, the appointment of Jens Fredrik Brenne as temporary student pastor makes her react.

– I feel discriminated against, she says.

Brenne made herself known to the Norwegian public through the VGTV series “Homotherapy” and a subsequent discussion on NRK. There he was asked what should be the problem of homosexual coexistence.

“God doesn’t like it, so to speak,” Brenne said.

See the function of “The debate” here:

Must be one person for everyone

– A student pastor should be a person that all students, regardless of their background or orientation, should be able to trust and be able to come speak, and I think Brenne has no experience as such, says Widahl.

Brenne does not want to comment on the case to VG and refers to NLA management. Read NLA Høgskolen’s answer below in the case.

“We have fought this battle, but we hope that more people can open their eyes to the fact that discrimination is not okay,” says Widahl.

Brenne tells Vårt Land that he believes the media and other actors have created a caricature of him and his views on the ethics of living together, that he has a master’s degree in pastoral care, and has learned from Jesus to treat every to be human as a valuable human being.

When asked if he understands that someone might be skeptical of looking to him for soul care, Brenne says that he can understand it because of the caricatured story about him, but that one can go up to him and attempt a conversation or listen to someone who does. I’ve done. hat one.

Conflicts between the school and students

Widahl also reacts to the school’s values ​​document, which includes the wording: “Marriage between men and women is in the tradition that NLA University College is understood as a guiding standard in the ethics of coexistence.”

She believes that it is not compatible with the university education of teachers.

– I do not see what place this has in an educational institution, at least not in one that forms teachers. We will be taught to address diversity in school and challenge the NLA to do the same, says Widahl, who believes that Brenne’s employment and the school’s values ​​document is a contradiction to this.

The school’s value document has been discussed and was revised earlier this year. The Student Parliament and the Student Council wanted to remove the wording, but it has been allowed to remain.

Also last year, there was a conflict between the students and the school when the NLA rented its facilities in Bergen for an event on ‘how to help those who want abandon gay practices and feelings. ‘ Frimodig Kirke og Til Helhet, where Brenne is the chair of the board, was responsible for the event that led to the resignation of two NLA employees.

Considering changing schools

Widahl says she has almost three years left of her education at the school, but is now unsure whether she will complete her education there.

– I still have it because I think it’s important for the NLA to question its attitudes, but if the school doesn’t listen to the students, I don’t see any other way than to change schools.

– Yes, it is a Christian school based on values, but discrimination should never be accepted.

Must comply with management

Marte Haugen, head of the NLA Student Parliament, says they have received “several” inquiries about the appointment. On Wednesday, they will meet with the NLA leadership.

– In the first instance, the most important thing for us is that the administration understands why the students react and listens to us. We wonder what the idea behind this was, and if they knew there would be reactions.

Haugen won’t say what demands he will make of management until they have spoken with several students. NLA Chancellor Sigbjørn Sødal says the meeting will focus primarily on media reports that have been made in recent days.

– We try to listen to what the students have to say. We want to signal an open and listening attitude to this, but the value paper itself has been debated and finalized, he says.

– Different, but not discriminatory

The principal says that NLA is open to all students.

– All those who want to study with us are welcome and must be respected for who they are. We are a values-based school based on a foundation of Christian values. That’s why we are a little different, but this should not be about discriminating, he says.

Sødal says he understands that some students will approach Brenne with skepticism, but that he is a respected and experienced priest.

– Then this can change. To the extent that it is necessary to seek alternatives, we will support it.

Sødal adds that these are deeply personal issues.

– I hope it can be treated with caution and respect. We try to take it very seriously and maneuver the best we can.

– What do you think of the students who do not feel heard by you?

– We listen to students, but they choose to come to a university that is based on a certain base of values. They come as students, not as owners or administrators.

Sødal is a new hire and therefore was not the director when there was a dispute about the NLA leasing at the Bergen facility to, among others, Til Helhet, but he says he acknowledges that this was included in the assessment when the school decided to hire the president of Til Helhet. Burns as a student pastor for a while.

Check out the first episode of the VGTV series “Homotherapy” here: