Liberty University kicks Democratic Club out

[dbackjon]

Liberty University in Lynchbyrg, Va., has revoked its recognition of the campus Democratic Party club because, according to a university official, the club's "parent organization stands against the moral principles held by Liberty."

In a May 15 e-mail to the student group, Liberty Vice President for Student Affairs Mark Hine said the club must end its affiliation with University. The group can no longer use Liberty's name, logo, or seal for its publications, Web sites, Facebook page, Twitter account or anything else.

"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)," Hine wrote in the e-mail to the LU College Democrats.

Liberty, which was founded by the late Christian evangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell, has had a College Republicans club for years. The College Democrats formed late last year and supported Barack Obama in the presidential election.
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/05/22 ... 4409.shtml

[dbackjon]

Liberty's TAX-EXEMPT status should be immediately revoked.

They can do what they want, but not as a tax-exempt organization.

[Wedgebuster]

Staying true to their name I see, not to mention the demonstration of tolerance and understanding.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

was gonna post this last week... LU shows itself for what it is...

[wildkyle]

You know that gop clubs have been booted from colleges too but i guess that's different

[dbackjon]

You know that gop clubs have been booted from colleges too but i guess that's different

Can you source this?

[Appaholic]

You know that gop clubs have been booted from colleges too but i guess that's different

Can you source this?

I've looked as well...cannot find....

[TwinTownBisonFan]

Can you source this?

I've looked as well...cannot find....

b/c it hasn't happened... it's one of those "truthy" things.

[wkuhillhound]

You know that gop clubs have been booted from colleges too but i guess that's different

Can you source this?

That's the million dollar question. Unfortunately he won't receive any of it.

[Appaholic]

I've looked as well...cannot find....

b/c it hasn't happened... it's one of those "truthy" things.

Agree....big difference from students protesting College Republicans wanting their removal (believed something like this happened at UNC-CH) from campus and the campus administration decreeing their removal.....but truth has never been a pre-requisite to knee-jerk responses from the lunatic fringe on left or right....

[CID1990]

I don't understand the outrage (not to mention what seems like surprise). Liberty is a private school. If this happened at App State or Delaware, then it would be an issue.

I don't agree with booting the club, but then I don't send my money to Liberty, either. Like it or not, fundamentalists are as entitled to their belief system as much as anyone else, and quite frankly as much as I disagree with their beliefs I am not threatened by them and neither are any of you.

I thought we were supposed to celebrate diversity.

[TwinTownBisonFan]

I don't understand the outrage (not to mention what seems like surprise). Liberty is a private school. If this happened at App State or Delaware, then it would be an issue.

I don't agree with booting the club, but then I don't send my money to Liberty, either. Like it or not, fundamentalists are as entitled to their belief system as much as anyone else, and quite frankly as much as I disagree with their beliefs I am not threatened by them and neither are any of you.

I thought we were supposed to celebrate diversity.

liberty is basically an arm of the GOP - and if they want be receiving federal student aid money they need either allow political expression or they don't. but their tax exempt status needs to go away if they are going to work as an arm of a political party.

your own statement is contradictory - i've never found a "liberal" campus to have banned the GOP. THAT is tolerance... not supporting a schools decision to make itself an arm of a political party.

[Ibanez]

I don't understand the outrage (not to mention what seems like surprise). Liberty is a private school. If this happened at App State or Delaware, then it would be an issue.

I don't agree with booting the club, but then I don't send my money to Liberty, either. Like it or not, fundamentalists are as entitled to their belief system as much as anyone else, and quite frankly as much as I disagree with their beliefs I am not threatened by them and neither are any of you.

I thought we were supposed to celebrate diversity.

We'll celebrate diversity as long as it conforms to our ideas and values!

[Col Hogan]

How is this different than , say, Harvard or Berkley kicking ROTC off campus...

[danefan]

How is this different than , say, Harvard or Berkley kicking ROTC off campus...

I don't think that people consider ROTC a politically-related organization, do they?

[dbackjon]

How is this different than , say, Harvard or Berkley kicking ROTC off campus...

Harvard and Berkeley were threatened with being cut off from federal funding?

[catamount man]

Liberty is a PRIVATE school. Nothing more to add to this story.

[dbackjon]

Liberty is a PRIVATE school. Nothing more to add to this story.

A private TAX-EXEMPT school. That is the issue. If they wish to keep this exemption, they need to stay out of politics.

[catamount man]

Liberty is a PRIVATE school. Nothing more to add to this story.

A private TAX-EXEMPT school. That is the issue. If they wish to keep this exemption, they need to stay out of politics.

Like everything else that surrounds me, and more and more on a daily basis, I could care less. I am now something I vowed to never become, apathetic.

[dbackjon]

A private TAX-EXEMPT school. That is the issue. If they wish to keep this exemption, they need to stay out of politics.

Like everything else that surrounds me, and more and more on a daily basis, I could care less. I am now something I vowed to never become, apathetic.

As long as you are not APPathetic...



Why do you think you have become this way?

[Col Hogan]

How is this different than , say, Harvard or Berkley kicking ROTC off campus...

Harvard and Berkeley were threatened with being cut off from federal funding?

ROTC was kicked off of the Harvard campus for 40 years...

http://harvardcitizen.com/2009/04/29/re ... t-harvard/

It was kicked off the Columbia campus in 1969...

The law that cuts off of federal fund involves a college prohibiting military recruiters...different situation that Liberty banning the Democratic Club...

But banning the Democratic Club is no different than a school banning ROTC...So, let's take the tax-exempt status away from Harvard and Columbia too

[TwinTownBisonFan]

Harvard and Berkeley were threatened with being cut off from federal funding?

ROTC was kicked off of the Harvard campus for 40 years...

http://harvardcitizen.com/2009/04/29/re ... t-harvard/

It was kicked off the Columbia campus in 1969...

The law that cuts off of federal fund involves a college prohibiting military recruiters...different situation that Liberty banning the Democratic Club...

But banning the Democratic Club is no different than a school banning ROTC...So, let's take the tax-exempt status away from Harvard and Columbia too

I agree, both are wrong. Liberty gets tax dollars by way of federal grants, plus tax-exempt status... put em in with Bob Jones U.

I think it's wrong for ROTC to be banned from campus, it's just as wrong. however, recruiters methods, esp. this decade have been questionable... and deserve scrutiny, but ROTC has a place on college campuses.

[CID1990]

I don't understand the outrage (not to mention what seems like surprise). Liberty is a private school. If this happened at App State or Delaware, then it would be an issue.

I don't agree with booting the club, but then I don't send my money to Liberty, either. Like it or not, fundamentalists are as entitled to their belief system as much as anyone else, and quite frankly as much as I disagree with their beliefs I am not threatened by them and neither are any of you.

I thought we were supposed to celebrate diversity.

liberty is basically an arm of the GOP - and if they want be receiving federal student aid money they need either allow political expression or they don't. but their tax exempt status needs to go away if they are going to work as an arm of a political party.

your own statement is contradictory - i've never found a "liberal" campus to have banned the GOP. THAT is tolerance... not supporting a schools decision to make itself an arm of a political party.

?? Not sure I follow you on being contradictory. I did not claim to know of any liberal schools banning the GOP clubs.

Colleges are tax exempt, and this status has nothing to do with whether the schools advocate political positions, theology or discriminate. This is not to be confused with churches being political (like every AME I have ever been to). The central argument in the VMI-The Citadel gender cases was that those schools were public and accepted public funds. The argument that private schools also accept public funds did not hold water with the courts. In fact, the central decision behind the VMI/Cit cases revolved around their status as state-supported institutions. What those cases inadvertently did was give tacit approval to private schools doing whatever the hell they want to. All female schools still discriminate based on gender, yet they were deemed untouchable by Judge C. Weston Houck and the Federal Court in Charleston. I believe the 4th District also supported this.

No way Liberty gets penalized for this, and they shouldn't be. Again, if a public school did this, then you'd have a beef.

[BlueHen86]

If they are not allowed to use the Liberty logo, I suggest that they use Tinky-Winky as their new logo.

[ATrain]

The biggest surprise is that it got approved in the first place. For years, people have tried and recognition has been denied.

Liberty is a private school and, unfortunately, they can do what they want, no matter how intolerant or close-minded their actions may be. The most annoying thing is, they never seem to even question as to whether or not they could be wrong.