The headlines have come fast and furious in recent months about kids being busted for everything from threatening teachers to plotting to burn down churches on their MySpace and Facebook pages. But at a small Christian liberal arts university in
Williamsburg, Kentucky, last week, 20-year-old Jason Johnson was expelled not for a threat, but for admitting he is gay.
University of the Cumberlands spokesperson Larry Cockrum said he wasn't allowed to discuss matters pertaining to students or faculty, but the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper confirmed that the expulsion happened recently.
Cockrum said the 117-year-old school has a policy that allows administrators to expel a student who "promotes sexual behavior not consistent with Christian principles."
Johnson isn't the first gay student to face such a fate. In January, Michael Guinn, a student at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, was asked to leave the 87-year-old university when administrators at the Christian liberal arts school became concerned about some of the things he posted on his Xanga journal.
Guinn, 22, whose parents both work at the small school, was dismissed after being told he violated campus lifestyle guidelines, according to Andrea Phillips, the school's director of communications.
Those guidelines ban smoking, drinking, gambling and having sex outside of marriage.
"He was dismissed, which is different than being expelled," Phillips said. "He was asked to leave campus, but he is eligible to return if he chooses. We were aware of his orientation when he came to JBU and didn't learn about it from a Web site, but we did find some things on the site that were of some concern." Phillips would not specify what those things are, but she said the postings were a factor in his dismissal.
— Gil Kaufman
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528281/20060410/index.jhtml?headlines=true
Williamsburg, Kentucky, last week, 20-year-old Jason Johnson was expelled not for a threat, but for admitting he is gay.
University of the Cumberlands spokesperson Larry Cockrum said he wasn't allowed to discuss matters pertaining to students or faculty, but the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper confirmed that the expulsion happened recently.
Cockrum said the 117-year-old school has a policy that allows administrators to expel a student who "promotes sexual behavior not consistent with Christian principles."
Johnson isn't the first gay student to face such a fate. In January, Michael Guinn, a student at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, was asked to leave the 87-year-old university when administrators at the Christian liberal arts school became concerned about some of the things he posted on his Xanga journal.
Guinn, 22, whose parents both work at the small school, was dismissed after being told he violated campus lifestyle guidelines, according to Andrea Phillips, the school's director of communications.
Those guidelines ban smoking, drinking, gambling and having sex outside of marriage.
"He was dismissed, which is different than being expelled," Phillips said. "He was asked to leave campus, but he is eligible to return if he chooses. We were aware of his orientation when he came to JBU and didn't learn about it from a Web site, but we did find some things on the site that were of some concern." Phillips would not specify what those things are, but she said the postings were a factor in his dismissal.
— Gil Kaufman
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1528281/20060410/index.jhtml?headlines=true
