Considering Liberty University was founded by the late Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority and one of the pillars of Christian conservatism, it’s perhaps not that surprising that students ran into a problem when they formed a College Democrats club there. As Amy Sullivan over at Time suggested, the real shocker is that such a group formed in the first place.
Indeed, when Brian Diaz first proposed the club last fall, he was flabbergasted the college, located in Lynchburg, Va., approved it. The group was able to campaign for Barack Obama last fall and celebrate his inauguration this January.
But on May 15, Diaz received word, via e-mail, that Liberty was removing any mention of the club from its Web site, and that the College Democrats would be, er, de-officialized.
Even though this club may not support the more radical planks of the democratic party, the democratic party is still the parent organization of the club on campus. The Democratic Party Platform is contrary to the mission of LU and to Christian doctrine (supports abortion, federal funding of abortion, advocates repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, promotes the “LGBT” agenda, Hate Crimes, which include sexual orientation and gender identity, socialism, etc). … By using LU or Liberty University and Democrat in the name, the two are associated and the goals of both run in opposite directions.
The controversy led many media folks to believe that Liberty’s College Democrats club had been, essentially, outlawed. Most media reports I read indicated the group was being forced to off-campus–a conclusion I might’ve jumped to, too, considering the e-mail sent to Diaz included the following quote from Liberty’s “Students Clubs and Organizations Policies:”
No student club or organization shall be approved, recognized or permitted to meet on campus, (my bold) advertise, distribute or post materials, or use University facilities if the statements, positions, doctrines, policies, constitutions, bylaws, platforms, activities or events of such club or organization, its parent, affiliate, chapter or similarly named group (even if the similarly named group is not the actual parent, affiliate or chapter) are inconsistent or in conflict with the distinctly Christian mission of the University, the Liberty Way, the Honor Code, or the policies and procedures promulgated by the University.
But hold yer horses, there, buckeroos. In an op-ed piece to the Christian Newswire, Liberty President and Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr., said that the club wasn’t being kicked out–just being distanced from Liberty’s official seal. After all, the parents who pay for their kids to go to Liberty aren’t coughing up good tuition money to see their kids go all liberal on them.
“While students are free to meet on campus, debate and discuss politics of every stripe,” Falwell writes, “the University will remain true to its’ core principles and not lend its’ name or fund groups that work to undermine the principles that make Liberty attractive to so many people.”
Hmmm. Lots of interesting issues surrounding this story. Love to hear from you as to what the biggest might be.
