JBU dismisses openly homosexual student
Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006
John Brown University dismissed student Michael Guinn, 22, from school on Jan. 13 for violating campus lifestyle guidelines related to his sexual orientation and material found in his online journals.
Guinn, who said he became a Christian two years ago, said he chose to attend JBU last fall because it’s in the town he grew up in. He said he always admired the unique bond the administration had with the student body. He observed the faculty interact with the students while working at the school’s cafeteria last year.
Another reason he chose JBU, a private Christian liberal arts university, was for the free tuition he received, because his father is an English professor and his mother is the campus nurse, he said.
But from the beginning of his time at JBU, Guinn was asked to adhere to behavioral codes not required of other students by the administration, he said. Guinn was ultimately dismissed from the university on the grounds that he violated the unique agreement.
JBU media relations and student development officials declined to comment on any specifics of the school’s agreement with Guinn or its interactions with him.
JBU, in a statement released Tuesday by Steve Beers, vice president of student development, said," In all cases, students who have been disciplined have violated agreed-upon behavioral expectations. These behavioral expectations are based upon JBU’s biblical and cultural core values."
Guinn said that he is the first openly gay student to be admitted to JBU. He said there are secretly gay students at JBU who have approached him and thanked him for being so honest about himself. He said it encouraged them to deal more honestly with their own sexual identity issues.
Guinn also said that since his dismissal those same students have expressed they are now scared to admit their struggles with homosexuality and fear they will never be accepted by the Christian community. "Those gay students who told me they almost had the courage and self-confidence, because I was open, to come out and admit their struggle with their sexuality, have said they may never do so now,"Guinn said.
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