In an attempt to back pedal from Hine's e-mail, Jerry Falwell, Jr., the Chancellor and President of Liberty University and the son of Jerry Falwell, Sr., the school's founder, posted an op-ed piece on the school's web site on Monday. The main reason for the piece was to emphasize the fact that the media was supposedly erroneously reporting on the controversy. For example, reports that the school was banned from campus and, in turn, prohibited from meeting on campus. And that's erroneous to you? Well, Jerry, the Student Clubs and Organizations Policies currently posted on your web site states that "No student club or organization shall be approved, recognized or permitted to meet on campus, 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". And if you refer back to Hine's e-mail, he clearly states that "Even though this [College Democrats] 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 candidates this club supports uphold the platform and implement it. The candidates supported are directly contrary to the mission of LU. By using LU or Liberty University and Democrat in the name, the two are associated and the goals of both run in opposite directions." To hammer the point home, Hine declared in his e-mail that the school was "removing the club from the Liberty web site and you will need to cease using Liberty University's name, including any logo, seal or mark of Liberty University. They are not to be used in any of your publications, electronic or Internet, including but not limited to any web site, Facebook, Twitter or any other such publication." Jerry, I don't know about you but, to me, it doesn't sound too good for the College Democrats. However, we shouldn't expect too much from an institution of higher learning which has approved clubs with forward thinking names such as the Blue and Gray Society, Huntin' and Fishin' Club (yes, they actually used apostrophes) and Lord's Warriors.
At the same time, this combination of hypocrisy and extreme conservatism shouldn't be a huge surprise to everyone outside of Liberty University. This is the same school which has:
- Accepted almost $4 million in loans in the mid-1990s from two organizations owned by Sun Myung Moon, the controversial founder of the Unification Church.
- Allowed the debate team, despite the above criticism of the Democratic Party platform, to argue for abortion rights in previous competitions.
- Continually supported and worked with Young Earth creationist organizations, which believe the heavens, Earth and life on Earth were created by direct acts of God between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago.
- Implemented a code of conduct which distributes reprimands and fines for completely harmless activities, including attending dances, viewing R rated movies or sexually explicit material, smoking, entering the bedroom of a member of the opposite sex and participating in unauthorized petitions.
- Announced in the summer of 2005 that the in-class dress code was being relaxed to permit flip-flops, capri pants, jeans and other casual articles of clothing (but not shorts) as long as the clothing does not have any holes. (Rules such as collared shirts for male students still apply.)
But this can't be a shocker from a school which accepted 94.3% of all students entering in 2008, making Liberty University one of the least selective schools in the United States.
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