Free Speech

The recent decision of Liberty University to not recognize the college’s democratic club is frightening. Here is a clear example of religious belief trumping free speech and free inquiry. For this to happen at a flagship school makes this all the more frightening. Liberty University’s policy, which was included in the e-mail to students of the club informing them of this decision, reads, in part, as follows: “All such clubs or organizations and their activities or events must be consistent with the University’s mission, and must be and remain in compliance with the Liberty Way, the Honor Code, and any policies or procedures promulgated by the University.” And the Democratic Club, according to the e-mail, is an arm of the Democratic Party Platform which “is contrary to the mission of LU and to Christian doctrine (supports abortion, federal funding of abortion, advocates repeat of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, promotes the ‘LGBT’ agenda, Hate Crimes, which include sexual orientation and gender identity, socialism, etc.).” Sounds an awful lot like “free speech is not allowed here” but “bigotry is welcomed” to me. Colleges and universities that fail to support free speech and promote discrimination should lose their accreditation. It’s as simple as that.