Stop me if you've heard this one before. It's December of a census year, and an unmarried woman is pregnant. Her common-law spouse, a devout, hard-working type, chooses to stand by the woman despite a raft of denunciations from high priests and judgmental hypocrites. The couple is persecuted, and ... OK, so maybe that's a stretch, but the news of Belmont's very own immaculate conception continues its spread across the globe. This weekend, the closeted college adds a couple of national publicity notches to its Bible Belt with appearances on ESPN and in tomorrow's New York Times.
Thankfully, most Nashvillians don't come across as hateful hicks in the story, and Belmont officials seem to have realized that it will be lonely running a school without students, faculty, community goodwill or Mike Curb's checkbook. Even Belmont Board Chairman Marty Dickens, whose headshot is apparently covered by the school's "don't ask don't tell" policy, has managed to tone down the rhetoric a bit (though he insists on using the word "dialogue" as a verb). It's amazing what a little citywide condemnation, disastrous national publicity and a direct call-out by your wealthiest donor can do to change somebody's tune. Surely it's a holiday — I mean, Christmas — miracle.
