Expelled Gay Student is No Hero

Posted on | April 18, 2006

While looking through news stories over the weekend, one in particular caught my eye. I heard the rumblings about a student who was expelled out of the University of the Cumberlands which is a university in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and is affiliated with the Baptist church. Like many private, "Christian" universities, the University of the Cumberlands requires its students to adhere to certain codes of conduct including sexual practices. Jason Johnson posted on MySpace openly discussing his dating life and his homosexuality thus breaking those rules. When the university administration found out about it, they expelled Johnson for breaking the rules.

One thing that irked me about the article is how Johnson kind of shrugs off his responsibility in getting expelled. He is mentioned as saying that while students know about the policy they generally ignore it. To him that made his MySpace postings ok. To me this like telling a police officer who pulls you over for doing ten over that someone else was doing at least fifteen. Does not matter because you are the one they caught and you were still doing something wrong. Just because everyone else is breaking a rule does not mean you have carte blanche to break it yourself.

A second controversy has also erupted in the wake of Johnson’s expulsion. There has been a call for the state legislature to revoke the millions of dollars of funding that University of the Cumberlands was to have received. While the bill did pass, the governor has been urged to veto it. I happen to agree with this because as public funds, the money should go to schools in which all residents of Kentucky can benefit. Obviously University of the Cumberlands does not fit that and should not receive public funds. Let the Baptist Church cough it up instead.

The story on 365Gay carried the headline "Expelled Gay Student Reluctant Hero". I am sorry, but I fail to see how this guy is a hero. He broke the rules he willingly agreed to obey and now has had to face the consequences of that disobedience. What makes him any different than all the others that have been expelled before him? This debate about schools and codes of conduct is nothing new. It took national stage back in 2000 after MTV aired the ninth season of The Real World which was filmed in New Orleans. One of the roommates, then twenty-one year-old Julie Stoffer, was suspended from Brigham Young University because her appearance on the show publicly displayed her violating the school’s rules about cohabitation with members of the opposite sex. We saw this also back in January when Michael Guinn was suspended from John Brown University after posting pictures of himself in drag. Guinn was open with John Brown University administration about his sexuality and was put under stricter conduct code than other students. The photos violated those extra conditions.

Do I feel bad that he got screwed over? Yes. Do I feel that the administration of the University of Cumberlands were unchristian in expelling Jason? Yes. Do I think that such codes of conduct are wrong? Yes. But is Jason a hero? No. He just simply was made to sleep in the bed he made for himself. I do wish him well in the persuit of completing his education.

Previous Entries :

Another Student Kicked Out of School

External Links:

365Gay - Expelled Gay Student Reluctant Hero

Filed Under Gay Rights |

Comments

2 Responses to “Expelled Gay Student is No Hero”

Paul Murphy
April 27th, 2006 @ 5:44 pm

“Just because everyone else is breaking a rule does not mean you have carte blanche to break it yourself.”

The rules about homosexuality were put in place AFTER Jason’s freshman year. The agreement he signed did not specifically mention homosexuality. Futhermore, it not unusual for a college student to experience significant personal growth (i.e. coming out) during these years. What you once “agreed” to might suddenly become incompatible with your belief system. To his credit, Jason has mentioned that he was considering leaving Cumberland before he was expelled.

Certainly many other students have had to suffer unfair expulsions because of their sexuality. These are the unsung heroes. There are two things I can think of that set Jason apart.

One is his outstanding conduct. He has weathered this great personal injustice by rising above fray and acting in a much more mature manner than the administration at his former school. I’m sure that there are other outstanding students who have been equally mature, however, Jason does not deserve anything but praise for his conduct. (MTV reality stars are probably not the best role models in my opinion and therefore not the best “heroes”)

There is yet another difference that helps Jason stand out, and that is simple the state of gay rights in our country today as opposed to even just a year ago. I think that more people than every before are willing to symphathize with the plight of GLBT individuals - especially the specific circumstances in this case. Not only was he kicked out, but his honor role grades would have been dropped to failing. (He has since reached an agreement with Cumberland to save his academic reputation)

Jason is a hero and deserves nothing but our support.
The Angry Fag
April 28th, 2006 @ 12:21 pm

It does not matter when the rule was put into place. They still were in place. As for the change in terms of the agreement, I am sure the lawyers that drew it up inserted a clause about the rules subject to change and must still be followed.

Jason’s conduct has never been question with the only possible exception being the quote where I made the catre blanche commonet. As for your comment about MTV reality stars, Julie Stoffer broke the rules before she became a reality star. It was just because she became one that the public got to witness her suspension from Brigham Young University.

What I question is what makes this specfic case different?