Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
Freedom for me, but not for thee
Conservative University Founded by Jerry Falwell Bans College Democrats Club
The club is barred from using Liberty University’s name, advertising events and holding meetings on campusRICHMOND, Va. — Liberty University has ordered its fledgling College Democrats club to shut down, saying the group stands against the conservative Christian school’s moral principles.
Club president Brian Diaz said he was shocked to be notified by e-mail last week that the club was being banned by the private university in Lynchburg founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell. The university first recognized it in the fall.
“We were shocked, as well, that (the club) even got accepted. It was huge, and we were glad that Liberty did that,” Diaz said in a telephone interview from Orlando, Fla.
Well, yeah, it would be surprising that a theocratic university would tolerate dissident thought in the first place. And it’s not surprising at all that the university spokesdrone would attribute allowing the existence of an opposing viewpoint on campus to “an oversight by an administrator.” The First Amendment is an oversight to these nutbars.
According to the e-mail, the club must stop using the university’s name, holding meetings on campus, or advertising events. Violators could incur one or more reprimands under the school’s Liberty Way conduct code, and anyone who accumulates 30 reprimands is subject to expulsion.
Expelled for heretical thoughts. So all of you conservatives out there in the wingnutosphere constantly complaining that a conservative somewhere was subjected to criticism for being a boorish, head-up-the-butt prick can go pound sand.
And naturally, a right-wing fink tank is rushing to the defense of Theocracy U.:
John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, which advocates for Christian rights, including free speech, says private colleges have a right to limit such groups, but curbing the marketplace of ideas isn’t necessarily healthy.
Shorter John Whitehead: “Sure we’re for Freedom of Speech! Just not for *SHUDDER* THOSE people.”
And you wonder why I have little patience for religious conservatives…
