Many Liberty University graduates are so disgusted with the president of the University, Rev. Jerry Falwell, Jr., who is a strong supporter of Donald Trump and all that Trump says and does, that they are returning their diplomas in shame. Following is what one alumnus wrote in yesterday’s Roanoke Times newspaper.
Dear Mr. Falwell,
When I began my college education at Liberty in the fall of 2001, I believed that I was attending a school that would make a difference in the world (for the better). It was in Lynchburg that I met some of the most loving and devoted friends I’ve yet to find, so I will never regret my time there.
Though Liberty has maintained a generally political position for the last few decades, its political stance appears to have changed to a more monetary one. I believe the Moral Majority has aligned with the Republican platform since its inception, but there seems to be little recognition on your part that the Republican platform can no longer be recognized as anything close to “moral.”
Though Liberty has been recognized in our part of the state as being a “Christian” school in the past, it is now recognized as being more of a conservative school aligned with the current president. Liberty University now carries the connotation of being exclusionary, judgmental, and money hungry at whatever cost.
I am a mental health therapist working with clients of varied races, ethnicities, religious backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations. Most therapists choose to display their degrees in their offices because they are proud of their educations. Though I am proud to be educated, I can never be proud to show where I earned my bachelor’s degree. My fear is that in seeing my degree from Liberty hanging on my wall, my clients would expect me to be closed-minded, judgmental, and lacking in empathy for those who are hurting. So on that note, here is my diploma. I hope that one day it won’t connote such immoral ideology. If that day does come, I will gladly request and pay for another.
— Whitney Hodges Artutis