Liberty, Democrats club in negotiations

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Liberty University administrators are negotiating terms for reinstating school recognition of the campus College Democrats club after receiving a proposal and apology, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said Tuesday.

On Sunday, the club submitted proposed changes to its constitution, club sponsor Maria Childress said.

“The main change in how the club would operate is that the club would not endorse any candidate at any point,” she said Tuesday. “…We ourselves would be free to endorse whomever we choose to endorse as individuals, but the club itself would not.”

Last month, LU withdrew its recognition of the club because it supported the Democratic Party’s pro-choice and pro-gay marriage rights platform and candidates.

A storm of media coverage ensued, and in the backlash Falwell said he expected Childress to retract and apologize publicly for accusing LU Vice President of Student Affairs Mark Hine of saying that Democrats couldn’t be Christians. Falwell also disagreed with the club’s statement that the school told members they couldn’t hold meetings on campus.

Childress said Tuesday that the club’s recent proposal to the college included “a form of an apology,” though she declined to elaborate on what that entailed.

Tuesday, The News & Advance received a copy of the club’s proposal and Childress’ apology, which Club President Brian Diaz had sent by e-mail to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

“First of all, I apologize for the misunderstanding of the media that our club was banned from campus,” the e-mail states.

“… There was also concern over the media’s characterization that Liberty University officials believe you cannot be both a Christian and a Democrat. We are fully aware that this is not the position of the administration, and none of our members or I have ever quoted such information to the press.

“However, Mr. Hine’s initial email stated that ‘the Democratic Party Platform is contrary to the mission of LU and to Christian doctrine.’ This sweeping statement followed by references to issues such as ‘socialism’ and ‘hate crimes’ is largely what we believe caused the media to make certain assumptions about the position of the administration.”

In a story published in The News & Advance on May 21, Childress was quoted as saying, “His (Hine’s) bottom line was, ‘You can’t be a Democrat and be a Christian and be a university representative.’”

Hine has denied making that statement.

In reference to the apology, Falwell said, “It wasn’t an unequivocal apology like we had hoped; but it was sort of an olive leaf … the apology did not go far enough, but I think we may find another way to go around that issue.”

Childress said the club had met via conference call last Thursday before issuing the proposed changes.

She was not involved in the call, she said, but was informed that “one of the suggestions was that I step down as adviser.”

But the majority voted to keep her as adviser and continue working toward a resolution, she said.

Falwell said administrators “have not reached an agreement” on whether Childress will retain her position as adviser.

Hine has been suggested as a possible replacement, Falwell said.

“We threw his name out because he has been involved in all this controversy but we never settled on a person,” he said. “We told them (club members) we would help them find a sponsor.”

Childress said the club felt that choosing Hine as a possibility “was very interesting since he was the genesis of us being disbanded.”

Falwell said the club and school still are working out details for the club’s constitution, such as the wording of disclaimers that would be included with any brochures or campaign information club members distribute on Democratic candidates.

“If the candidate happened to be in favor of abortion and same-sex marriage, then we would like to see some kind of disclaimer,” Falwell said. “There’s some debate back and forth on how that disclaimer would be worded.”

The school also has decided that it will exclude certain clubs from college funding that will be provided starting in the fall.

“We have decided not to provide funding for any club, Republican or Democrat, that endorses any candidates, because we are a 501(c)(3),” Falwell said, referencing the tax-exempt status Liberty holds under IRS code.

He said he would look further into the tax code to decide whether the school can fund political groups that do not endorse candidates.

Falwell said he hopes to hear back from the club soon.

“The ball is in their court,” he said Tuesday. “They’re going to do a conference call and discuss all the differences that we have, and report back to us.”