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Falwell Demands Apology from Campus Democrats
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
It appears that the College Democrat club at Liberty University has incurred the wrath of school administrators for its claims to the news media this week that they were being discriminated against.
Liberty Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. has demanded that the group retract and publicly apologize for accusing a school administration of saying Democrats couldn't be Christians. He also wants an apology for the group's claims to the news media that the school told club members they couldn't hold meetings on campus.
The story started this week when the group reported that Liberty University would no longer recognize it because the national party's platform goes against the conservative Christian school's moral principles. There doesn't appear to be much dispute about that. But they also said they were getting tossed off campus and accused Liberty administrator Mark Hine of saying Democrats couldn't be Christians.
Then the story descended into the media maelstrom out of which nothing pretty emerges. It led to headlines like "Liberty Gets Expelled from Liberty University" and "No Liberty at Liberty."
The club and Chancellor Falwell have met to try to resolve the matter, which has turned into a huge black eye for the college, which had enjoyed a growing reputation as offering a solid education beyond its Christian orientation. Falwell explained the school's position earlier this week in a guest column for On Faith.
As reported by the News & Advance in Lynchburg, Va., where the school is based, the club is drafting an apology to the school and retraction of some of its statements. It is also developing a proposal that would let the club regain its official-recognition status if it promotes an anti-abortion agenda.
By
Jacqueline L. Salmon
|
May 28, 2009; 3:45 PM ET
| Category:
God in Government
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Posted by: RhymesWithRight | June 3, 2009 1:14 PM
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This group should not apologize for anything.... Except maybe to national Student Democrat clubs for being so milk toast.
Posted by: witchofwestghent | June 1, 2009 11:53 AM
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Why would anyone looking to get a real education attend Fal-versity?
Hint: _No-one_ outside of your little community respects the school. It might as well be called "Rightwing Propaganda University" where the only classes are on how the earth is flat, 6000 years old, and we all lived with dinosaurs.
Oh, and this class added: How to get approval from the ignorant masses by murdering in Church.
Posted by: nagatuki | June 1, 2009 9:41 AM
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Actually, if you read the comments at WaPo, there were plenty of suggestions that liberty University be forced to accept the College Democrats or be punished by the government.
And Americans United for the Separation of Church 7 State is demanding that Liberty University be forced to recognize the group or lose its tax exempt status.
That's why I wrote what I wrote.
And interestingly enough, AshleyBone, you failed to address the actual substance of my comment. I will, however, address yours -- given the hypotheticals I cited, would you argue that the schools in question are opposed to liberty, function as madrasas and are not universities if they failed to recognize the organizations I proposed?
Posted by: RhymesWithRight | May 29, 2009 12:32 PM
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RhymesWithRight said:
"To those who believe that Liberty University should be forced ..."
---
As usual, one of our resident reactionaries trots out the old "forced" strawman. When did right-wingers become such fussy whiney babies?
Nobody is forcing "Liberty University" to do anything. We're merely pointing out that Falwell's madrasa is opposed to liberty and is not a university.
Posted by: ashleybone | May 29, 2009 12:22 PM
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To those who believe that Liberty University should be forced to recognize a Democrat organization or be punished for failing to do so, let me offer you some alternate scenarios.
Should Brandeis or Yeshiva University be required to recognize the College Nazi club?
Should Howard University be required to recognize a KKK chapter?
If you answer in the negative in either case, tell me how you can then legitimately object to Liberty University refusing to recognize a group that, on the national level, promotes the slaughter of the unborn.
Posted by: RhymesWithRight | May 29, 2009 11:43 AM
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the administrators at "liberty" "university" sound like imams or something, saying things like, "we promote a diversity of opinions with which we agree" and "students are free to be democrats as long has they hold republican views." not really surprising, but a little disappointing.
the shocking thing is how many in bush's government came from "universities" like liberty, regent, and patrick henry.
Posted by: walter-in-fallschurch | May 29, 2009 7:18 AM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
For anyone interested, here's the take from a group concerned with individual liberties and academic freedom.
http://thefire.org/index.php/torch/#10689