Right-wingers spend so much time complaining about perceived campus craziness that you’d expect the few colleges they control to be beacons of free speech and campus freedom. But when you look at the most prominent Christian conservative college, Liberty University, it’s clear that this isn’t the case. <...> On no issue is Liberty’s hypocrisy more obvious than freedom of speech. Time and time again, university administrators betray their stated values and embrace authoritarianism. In 2016, Falwell himself censored an anti-Trump column in Liberty’s student newspaper, preventing publication of criticism of the Access Hollywood tape where Trump made grotesque comments about grabbing women. This censorship came only a week after Falwell released a statement celebrating Liberty’s commitment to free expression. Administrators evidently find no shame in espousing rhetoric about free speech while simultaneously silencing their critics on campus. In 2009, Liberty “derecognized” the school’s chapter of College Democrats because the national Democratic Party is pro-choice, and dares to “promote the LGBT agenda.” “Even as a private institution, Liberty students receive more than $772 million in federal funds.” When an anti-Trump Christian activist came to Liberty to pray with students, he was forcibly removed by police. The administration cited “safety” concerns, asserted their private property rights, and banned him from campus. Administrators might legally have the right to do this, and it also happens, to a lesser extent, at other private religious schools—but that doesn’t make Liberty’s hypocrisy any less heinous. As it turns out, administrators at Liberty won’t even tolerate libertarians. A booth set up by Liberty students from Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) to discuss marijuana legalization was shut down by campus police, who didn’t want any drug-related content on display. For all their talk about political correctness and free speech, Liberty administrators have essentially turned their campus into a safe space for the far right. In 2006, members of a gay rights advocacy groups were arrested when they stepped foot on Liberty’s campus. Falwell was unabashed in his explanation, saying that Liberty will not “permit them to espouse opinions or otherwise suggest beliefs... that are in opposition to the morals and values that this institution promotes.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/liberty-university-when-it-comes-to-free-speech-its-anything-but
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2019-03-26 02:23 pm (UTC)Right-wingers spend so much time complaining about perceived campus craziness that you’d expect the few colleges they control to be beacons of free speech and campus freedom. But when you look at the most prominent Christian conservative college, Liberty University, it’s clear that this isn’t the case. <...>
On no issue is Liberty’s hypocrisy more obvious than freedom of speech. Time and time again, university administrators betray their stated values and embrace authoritarianism. In 2016, Falwell himself censored an anti-Trump column in Liberty’s student newspaper, preventing publication of criticism of the Access Hollywood tape where Trump made grotesque comments about grabbing women. This censorship came only a week after Falwell released a statement celebrating Liberty’s commitment to free expression.
Administrators evidently find no shame in espousing rhetoric about free speech while simultaneously silencing their critics on campus. In 2009, Liberty “derecognized” the school’s chapter of College Democrats because the national Democratic Party is pro-choice, and dares to “promote the LGBT agenda.”
“Even as a private institution, Liberty students receive more than $772 million in federal funds.”
When an anti-Trump Christian activist came to Liberty to pray with students, he was forcibly removed by police. The administration cited “safety” concerns, asserted their private property rights, and banned him from campus. Administrators might legally have the right to do this, and it also happens, to a lesser extent, at other private religious schools—but that doesn’t make Liberty’s hypocrisy any less heinous.
As it turns out, administrators at Liberty won’t even tolerate libertarians. A booth set up by Liberty students from Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) to discuss marijuana legalization was shut down by campus police, who didn’t want any drug-related content on display.
For all their talk about political correctness and free speech, Liberty administrators have essentially turned their campus into a safe space for the far right. In 2006, members of a gay rights advocacy groups were arrested when they stepped foot on Liberty’s campus. Falwell was unabashed in his explanation, saying that Liberty will not “permit them to espouse opinions or otherwise suggest beliefs... that are in opposition to the morals and values that this institution promotes.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/liberty-university-when-it-comes-to-free-speech-its-anything-but