John Brown University Issues Response To Gay Former Student

SILOAM SPRINGS, ARKANSAS - John Brown University released a statement Friday explaining why a homosexual student was dismissed.
In the statement, JBU said, "Recent reports related to John Brown University’s dismissal of Michael Guinn included misleading statements about the case and JBU’s general disciplinary policy. It is our desire to explain the heart of JBU’s policy and to correct misconceptions."
Guinn, 22, was dismissed Jan. 13 from the private, Christian, liberal arts university for violating campus lifestyle guidelines related to his sexual orientation and material found in his online journals. JBU’s lifestyle guidelines and rules are outlined to students in a community covenant, which is signed by all students.
JBU officials said they cannot speak about the specifics of student disciplinary cases as a matter of school policy and legal obligation. "We can say in general, however, that Guinn’s repeated and knowing violation of the standards laid out in the community covenant that he signed warranted our disciplinary decision, which is consistent with other cases of student discipline in the past," according to Friday’s statement. "Our community covenant helps foster a positive Christian environment by describing the common biblical values of our Christian community. Students who desire to be a part of JBU come into our campus community knowing about our community covenant and agreeing to respect it," said Andrea Phillips, director of university communications.
JBU said that, just as a hospital would ask someone who is smoking to leave the premises, or an airport will remove someone for making threats of violence, the university has the right to dismiss a student for violating university policy. "As a Christian university we believe that scripture sets our standards for the ways in which we should live our lives. We articulate those standards for our undergraduates in our community covenant. We do not have separate covenants for different undergraduates on campus, and we discipline on the basis of behavior, not on the basis of identity," according to the statement.
Although Guinn said JBU asked him to adhere to behavioral policies separate from those given to other students, Phillips said Guinn was not given requirements that extended beyond what would normally be expected from any student desiring to live within the spirit of the community covenant. "JBU development staff works personally with individual students who struggle with any one of a number of issues," Phillips said. "The students may need help understanding the spirit of JBU’s covenant and how to properly apply its principles to their lives. That student may be given examples of inappropriate behavior, suggestions for how to avoid challenging situations and/or requirements for accountability depending on the student’s individual needs."
The JBU statement notes, "Our belief in grace is intimately linked to our belief in truth, and our standard disciplinary process seeks to embody truth. Unfortunately and regretfully, as we live out those beliefs it is sometimes necessary to ask a student to leave the university. Even in those cases, we offer ways for students to return to the university if they can live by the community standards. We never take those decisions lightly, but we do see them as part of our responsibility."
The Threefold Advocate, the JBU campus newspaper, reported Wednesday that Vice President of Enrollment Don Crandall said, to his knowledge, Guinn was the first student admitted to the university to be open about his homosexuality during the admissions process. Steve Beers, vice president of student development, was reported by The Threefold Advocate as having said, in his eight years at JBU he has worked with a student who has "struggled with homosexuality" every year. He said he asked homosexual students to agree not to "promote a homosexual lifestyle" or "create inappropriate unrest" through their actions or discussions. Describing JBU’s disciplinary process, JBU President Charles Pollard said, "We seek to develop students who are mature Christian men and women with discerning judgment about life, not simply people who follow the letter of a rule while ignoring the spirit of the standard."
from Northwest Arkansa News

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