Senior alumni of a private Southern Baptist college in Tennessee have hit back at its decision to seek permission to ban students whose "lifestyles" go against the university's Christian beliefs.
Carson-Newman University filed for a waiver that would remove the protection students have under Title IX, which states that: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education programme or activity receiving federal financial assistance."
"This is who we are as a Christian university," said University president Dr Randall O'Brien.
The new rights give it the power to ban not just gay students but also unwed mothers and women who have had abortions, as well as pregnant students.
However, the University's decision has drawn severe criticism from two former students, now senior academics. Travis Cooper, chair of the social science department of The New School of Northern Virginia, and Dr Jared Champion, assistant Professor of English at Young Harris College, have written an open letter condemning the move.
They say: "In a moment when division and hate abound, we were heartbroken to learn that Carson-Newman University missed an opportunity to show love and acceptance, values that are actually taught by Jesus."
The letter continues: "... in the same way that a person cannot eat a turkey sandwich and claim to be vegetarian, we contend that CNU cannot claim to be a 'Christian college' while securing the ability to discriminate. Somehow, your advising attorney, whose advice you and the board of trustees trusted, read the New Testament's story of unwavering love and acceptance by Jesus and walked away believing the Pharisees were the heroes. Heartbreaking."
Cooper and Champion urge the University to revoke the waiver, saying: "Carson-Newman has an opportunity to be a light in this world, and to reclaim a Christian narrative that has become fearful and exclusionary and weak, and to reinstate one of acceptance, love, and strength."
