Those all-loving Christians, noted for preaching unconditional love while pushing just the opposite, have expelled a man from college because heâs gay.
Gary Campbell had accrued 109 college credits, just six credits short of his Bachelorâs Degree. Heâd hoped to finish out his studies at Clarks Summit University in Pensylvania. The school had, at first, accepted his application before revoking it. The reason: Campbell lives as an out gay man. CSUâs student handbook states that the school âreserves the right to dismiss or deny the enrollment of those whose behavior or influence upon our community should prove to be contrary to the best interests of our students, the Clarks Summit University Community Commitment and to our Lord Jesus Christ.â The code of conduct also forbids students from drinking, watching R-rated movies, and spending time alone with members of the opposite sex.
Campbell had chosen the school in large part because it would accept all 109 of his transfer credits, whereas most other universities would accept only about half. Campbell had attended the college from 2001 to 2003 before dropping out due to rising student debt costs. He enlisted in the Navy to earn some money for school, but faced discharge after driving drunk on base. He continued to struggle with alcohol for years to come.
Now 19 months sober, Campbell had hoped to finish up his degree and create a new sobriety program to help struggling addicts. By CSU standards, he lacked only two classes to complete his degree, which he intended to take online. The school welcomed him until last month, when faculty learned that Campbell lived as a gay man and rejected his application. In an impassioned plea, Campbell asked the university to make an exception:
âOne of my top goals being in recovery was to finish my bachelorâs degree. Having a degree is much more to me than a certificate, itâs a culmination of hard work, sweat and tears, and I owe it to myself and to my recovery to accomplish this goal,â he wrote to Theodore Boykin, associate dean of students. âI ask that you not view me only as a homosexual, but as a determined, compassionate, hard-working man who is of good moral character. My goal again is to assist my community and help those who are struggling in the grip of addiction.â
Campbell has begun to explore legal options for his predicament. Legally, private religious schools do not have to accept gay students, as doing so might infringe on religious beliefs or practice. Clarks Summit University changed its name from Baptist Bible College in 2015, as the college had a terrible rate of student placement.
dean089
Sorry, this is a private Christian college, what other outcome was he expecting? This is a non-issue.
Seriously, gay people need to stop giving their money to people/companies/organizations that hate gay people!
john_green
Couldn’t agree more. Please could someone publish a list of countries / organisations / individuals that we can refer to? Rather than ask homophobic companies to bake our wedding cakes and then raise complaints, simply publicise them on the list with evidence, a kind of “Homophobe Advisor”.
djmcgamester
Bullshit. I went to a “private Christian college” as an out gay man. It was a non-issue.
James Hart
Not so fast. If the college receives any kind of public financing, federally insured student loans, municipal tax abatements, etc., it is to be held to the same equal rights standards as an public college/university.
t
Not so fast – Private college or not, if they receive Title IX funds in any form then they are held to standards of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation. If they do not adhere to these standards they are no longer eligible to continue receiving Title IX funding that can be used for college infrastructure or for student lending. This man has a very good case if the college is receiving Title IX funds.
CodyJ
duh…its off #81..and all in its own lil world….proclaiming jezus love for all (well almost) sigh…
Brian
Recovery should include leaving the cult.
Craig
I wonder why he didn’t just finish where he was originally attending?
rray63
I’m sorry, but it seems there is more to this story than what was presented to us in this article. One of my problems is why a gay person would attempt to go to a college where he knows he would face ostracism at best, out and out bigotry at worst. Or in this case they just don’t won’t accept you. I know I’ll get nasty remarks for this but as a gay person I don’t want to give my money to anyone or anyplace that can’t stand me because of what I am. If you have to go to court to force a business to take your business why would you want to? Kind of like bakeries that are told they “must” make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Why would you want to put money in their pockets? Do you want the attention? What gives? If you know of a business like this talk about on all the social platforms that seem to have become our way of settling disputes. Don’t actually give them money, even if the court compels them to take your business. As far as this college accepting all his credits, go for the next one, that maybe takes 75% of his credits. You get the idea. Now, even if it is a “Christian” college and it accepts federal money then there may be a case. If not, tell us the rest of the story and find a college that accepts as many of your credits as possible and doesn’t have a problem with members of the LGBTQ community.
JAWIWA
Because it is a shite college that took all his credits from 15 years ago. None of the good schools would do that. Also, he was taking class online, so ostracism wasn’t an issue. Also he thought he was getting over but we all know that if something seems to be too good to be true, it is and there will be a bad downside. Still, they were dicks and if they take any federal money at all, they are liable. My guess is that they introduced their online dippoma mill to make enough money to avoid needing federal dollars.
bodie425
Because sometimes, you weren’t openly gay when you started, could be a good reason. For some of us, there is a distinct and sudden moment when we come out, strictly dividing two polar opposite lives. What we did before exiting doesn’t just change over night also. I’ve read of numerous people who started out at religious universities, like Brigham Young and some of the other christian schools, only to come to the conclusion that their religion is untrue. They have to either lie or be honest, take the consequences, and lose some or all of their credits. There needs to be a law that any accredited school HAS to honor their obligation to the student, even if the student no longer cleaves to the charter of the school.
As for the bakers, I thoroughly agree, except that sometimes, they might be the only wedding cake baker in the area. However, if they were the only one, I’d still want to drive a long way to spend money with an organization that supported gay rights. In my opinion, quit wasting ridiculous amounts of money on wedding celebrations. It seems that the more money spend on weddings, the shorter they last.
DCguy
Oh look, blaming the victim instead of the bigots.
rray63
JAWIWA,
I agree on the online college and taking federal money, I believe I mentioned that. My overall point was not just about this guy though. Have a good day đ
yaletownman
Why would any gay person want to go to some faux X-tian college anyway? Only thing Iâm concerned about is they get our tax dollars to help spew their nastiness other than that find another school!
GayEGO
Right on!
GayEGO
A religious university can do this. As a gay man, I would not want to go to a religious institution.
ShowMeGuy
Fired from the Navy for drunk driving on base. His private religious college decided they don’t want to deal with him…..a second time around.
Sounds like being “gay” is the least of the issues.
He shouldn’t waste his money on lawyers since we all know how the court case will end.
DCguy
Oh look, attacking the victim.
Gigi Gee
He was going to take his courses online. What difference does his sexual orientation make?