Kaine urges Liberty to reverse 'attack on the liberty of its students'

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Liberty University officials insisted Friday that they revoked recognition of the College Democrats club for religious reasons and not political ones, and they weren’t trying to stifle free speech.

Politicians, including Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, urged the private school to reconsider. Using the letterhead of the Democratic National Committee, of which Kaine is chairman, he asked the school “to reverse this attack on the liberty of its students.”

LU chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said the political club’s standing wouldn’t be restored, however, because the club supports Democratic candidates who are pro-choice on abortion.

Meanwhile, newspaper readers raised questions about the school’s nonprofit status because it continues to allow a College Republican club on campus.

Two legal experts, one of them dean of the Liberty University School of Law, said perceptions of political bias don’t matter when a private school is defining its mission.

Religious freedom trumps questions about political balance, according to Mathew Staver, the LU dean, and also according to John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville. Both Staver and Whitehead have successfully defended several religious-liberty cases in court.

Falwell said that although the university revoked the College Democrats’ right to use the LU name, “That club still has a right to exist, and they can still meet on campus. We have not disbanded the club.”

Falwell and Staver said the Democratic club members individually support pro-life and pro-family views, even though those beliefs are contrary to the national Democratic Party’s platform.

“There is absolutely no animosity toward any of these kids,” Falwell said.

“They are good Christian kids who sit with me at ball games. I just hope they find a pro-life, pro-family organization within the Democratic Party that they can affiliate with so they can be endorsed by Liberty University again,” Falwell said.

Staver said the key issue was the Democratic club’s use of the university’s name and potentially its use of university funds starting next fall, when LU plans to begin giving financial support to student clubs.

“We are not looking at clubs because of their political affiliation. We are looking to make sure they are consistent with the mission of the university, which includes core values such as being pro-life and pro-marriage,” Staver said.

The LU law school recently approved regulations governing student clubs that would operate with school funding, he said.

“The university clearly has a responsibility to withhold its name and funding from groups that don’t support its purpose,” Staver said. By supporting Democratic Party candidates who uphold the party platform, the campus club was working against the university’s purpose, he said.

While the university’s decision attracted notice from around the country, the most vocal reaction came from Virginia politicians.

Kaine asked LU to “allow the College Democrats to have the same rights on campus as their counterparts, the College Republicans.”

Bob McDonnell, the all-but-official Republican nominee for governor, called Liberty “a great Virginia school” that, as a private institution, can make its own decisions.

But his spokesman, Tucker Martin, said, “Bob McDonnell personally disagrees with this specific decision by the school because our political process is strengthened by the free and robust exchange of ideas.”

All three Democratic candidates for governor also called on Liberty on Friday to reverse its decision and reinstate the club.

Terry McAuliffe’s campaign organized a conference call that featured the club’s president, Brian Diaz, 18, and its adviser, Maria Childress, a 2004 Liberty graduate.

“We want young people involved,” McAuliffe said. “We want civic engagement.”

McAuliffe said he was “a huge advocate of freedom of speech, and I hate to see anyone stifled.”

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, said, “Virginia is the home of free speech.

“Restricting free speech and discouraging students from participating in the political process are not what our colleges and universities should be about.”

Jesse Ferguson, communications director for former Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria, said the candidate “is deeply concerned that Liberty University is stifling choice and freedom of speech.

“Colleges are supposed to be a marketplace of ideas — even ones you might not agree with. We urge them to reconsider.”

Staver said the university’s decision did not constitute censorship of the students.

“Liberty University strongly stands for free speech, and we believe in free speech,” Staver said.

“This is not about censorship. What it is about is not using the name of the university and receiving funds from the university to advance a mission that is contrary to the university’s purpose and doctrine,” Staver said.

Falwell said that during the Democratic club’s 1½ semesters of existence on campus, he had heard from “donors, parents and trustees, all complaining that the club had been endorsed.”

“Last fall this group was approved by an administrator who really didn’t check with anybody else, and he misread the policy. Now, we have a more specific policy,” Falwell said.

Falwell said he was surprised when he learned the approval had been granted. The administrator still works at LU, Falwell said, and, “In his defense, he said they promised when the club was formed that they would be pro-life and pro-family, and since then they have supported candidates who were not.”