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Liberty University students Brian Diaz and Joel Krautter spent most of election night glued to a big-screen TV, watching restlessly as the returns poured in over a period of hours.
Diaz, 18, and Krautter, 20, did not keep this anxious vigil in a dorm room or student lounge. Nor did they gather at the Vines Center, where thousands of their classmates congregated to watch the results and enjoy music and food courtesy of the school.
Rather, these two young students joined a boisterous party of local Obama supporters, an event crowded with eager Democrats.
Diaz, dressed neatly in a sweater vest and slacks, and Krautter, who was wearing a dark suit, count themselves among those ranks. The two are among the few Democrats roaming the overwhelmingly conservative LU campus, and are also co-founders of a new college Democrats club.
“We thought there should be more political equality, that both sides should be represented on campus,” explained Krautter, a sophomore majoring in pre-law.
“It’s not like one party’s the Jesus party,” added Diaz, a freshman studying government and politics. “We want to show them that.”
The members of the new Liberty University College Democrats club are undoubtedly outnumbered. On Election Day, their counterparts flooded the polls and succeeded in keeping Lynchburg red, although the state itself and the nation went to Democrat Barack Obama.
Diaz and Krautter rejoiced with other partygoers when Obama’s victory was announced. Diaz dished out a high five to a friend, while Krautter took a picture of a TV screen bearing the historic words “President-elect Barack Obama.”
It’s unlikely there was much celebration happening across town on the LU campus. During convocation Wednesday, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. sought to cheer his students up, offering a pep talk that reminded them of all they had accomplished this campaign season.
“I think I was able to get them to look at the big picture,” said Falwell, noting a similar funk had fallen over the campus when Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976 — just four years before the “Reagan Revolution” would begin.
Falwell pointed out several high notes to his students, including the fact LU drew national attention this year for its wildly successful voter registration drive, which added 4,200 students to the voter rolls and proved a decisive factor in the local outcome.
“They were cheering about that, and about the fact they made the difference here in Lynchburg,” he said.
Falwell also urged Republican students to refrain from taking the loss personally — or from taking it out on their Democratic counterparts on campus.
“My father always said you can disagree without being disagreeable, and that’s the message we’re trying to teach these kids,” he said. “… We’re all part of the same LU community.”
Diaz and Krautter said they do take some good-natured ribbing about their political views, but rarely suffer malicious attacks.
Similarly, both said they felt no frustration with their conservative peers or the fact the LU influence caused a loss for their candidate locally.
“The important thing is people are getting involved in the political process, whatever their view is,” said Krautter. “It’s great they’re participating.”
Diaz added he found the challenging conditions to be a source of motivation.
“It’s inspiring me to keep working,” he said.
The LU Democrats held an inaugural meeting shortly before the election. Krautter said a group of around 90 showed up. The club plans to maintain an active presence on campus, and contribute to future elections.
“This is just the beginning,” Krautter said.
Reader Reactions
lakegal…EXCELLENT! I tend to be more passionate than religious but appreciate your logical comparison.
Thanks for posting to a new audience and please consider adding your thoughts to letters to ed.
Good for these students! Independent, critical thinking is imperative in all areas of life. If we are to examine the presidential candidates from the perspective of what God and Jesus have commanded, then there is no possible way to think voting Republican is the “Christian” vote.
Critical thinkers understood that the Republican candidate was a man who committed adultery (that’s #7), with a vice presidential candidate who lied about President-Elect Obama (#9).
These two would follow a Republican administration and a president that lied about WMD’s leading us to invade a country that posed no threat to us (#6), and allowed banks, investment companies, and multi-national corporations to steal billions of dollars from investors and taxpayers (#8). John McCain divorced his wife (In Luke 16:18 Jesus says: Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.) Evidently, the students should have voted for McCain instead of Obama, who has been faithfully married to one woman. One issue voters use abortion as their litmus test, but have a blind eye to everything else. The Jesus I have come to know and love wanted us to be peaceful, to share our wealth and food with others, to care for each other, to be honest, faithful, and holy. Does anyone honestly think this describes the previous administration, or the Republican ticket this year?
One poster commented “Coming from an unbeliever the statement ‘It’s not like one party’s the Jesus party,‘ would be understandable.“
Huh? Are we supposed to believe that if the same statement came from a “believer” it would not be understandable? I was unaware that God aligned with any political party.
I absolutely agree that every qualified and registered voter is free to voice their opinion in the ballot box. My comments are directed at the “Jesus Party” comment which would lead one to believe that there are no moral implications to choosing one candidate or another. It is true that neither party stands solidly behind the Judeo-Christian ethics that this country was founded upon and that we must work harder to find candidates who will protect life. Sadly, many of the students at LU have no idea what the values of the Christian Faith even are and many are unbelievers. Coming from an unbeliever the statement “It’s not like one party’s the Jesus party,” would be understandable.
Brian and Joel are to be commended for doing what is natural at any University - express their own opinion.
They should ask prominent local Democrats to come speak at their gatherings to help their efforts. I imagine Mayor Foster, Council members Dodson, Gillette, and Johnson would happy to come by. Delegate Valentine too. After that the next representative of the people for this area would be Governor Kaine who would probably be glad to visit too. Good Luck!
“Not near everyone is a Christian in the evangelical sense of the word.“ Lets save the judgment. The last time I checked, being a Christian was a personal thing and in this day and age with many different religious denominations their are many people who have their own beliefs. I applaud these two young men who are trying to bring diversity to Liberty University.
WOW AMY!
That is such great news to hear. You mean that since LU is growing by leaps and bounds that they are taking kids who are not willing to be brainwashed by Opie Falwell and company? My Gods, what next? A class on Plate Tectonics?
BTSM hit the nail on the head. Yes, one party isn’t “Jesus’ party” but one party has principles and values and morals that are in direct agreement w/the Bible. Suffice to say, these two kids are probably among many on campus that believe the Bible was written for a specific time and not applicable to nowadays. When LU decided to grow rapidly, they took away certain moral standards they had each potential student attest to. So, what do you expect? Not near everyone is a Christian in the evangelical sense of the word.
I have dear friends who have spent many tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have freely volunteered to serve in order to protect our freedom and our lives. I am grateful for their service and suffered the loss of one of them who made the ultimate sacrifice. These are heroes who have chosen to put their lives on the line. A very different scenario than a newborn child being left without medical attention to die because we are unwilling to risk a womans right to choose!
As a long-time critic of LU/TRBC and many of the social, religious, and political ideals they mostly stand for, I will applaud Mr. Falwell for encouraging the students at LU to accept those students with differing opinions from the campus’ majority. It shows me that some at LU do value diversity, and are mature enough to be able to agree to disagree without displaying unnecessary animosity. I was able to afford Dr. Falwell, Sr. that sentiment, that although I disagreed with him greatly on most issues, I respected his opinion and respected that not only did he voice his opinion, he always seemed to back it up with action. He wasn’t just giving lip-service. And eventhough I am a critic of conservative politics in general, it is not difficult for me to have great respect for the conservative candidates, especially the ones this year, and for their supporters, despite my disagreements with them. But my disagreements aren’t such I feel the need to be hurtful, or in the case this year, distastefully boastful either. I simply wish to see positive change facilitated by members of both parties, and it pleases me to know that some at LU believe the same thing. I do wish Brian and Joel the best in there work to bring more diversity in thinking to LU.
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