Southern Virginia University - a liberal arts college – is a
trustee of the First Freedom Center, whose mission is to protect freedom of
religion and conscience. The school isn’t directly affiliated with the LDS
Church, but students who choose to attend there promise to uphold the same honor
code as Brigham Young University students. They agree to dress modestly and to
avoid alcohol, tobacco and other forms of drug abuse; and they shun
extramarital sex. Recently Nic Jensen, an openly gay student at SVU, filed a
complaint against the school because he felt Provost Madison Sowell “disapproved
of his lifestyle.” Last December the Office for Civil Rights ruled that the
Provost’s behavior didn’t constitute sexual harassment under Title IX. It all
comes down to the difference between thoughts and actions. As Sowell had
explained to Jensen, sexual orientation isn’t a violation of the honor code;
acting on it would be. Disapproval is
not the same thing as harassment.
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