The law and the 'Liberty Way'

The inherent liability of a religious institution, it seems to me, is the presumption that God is on its side. Given that mindset, I can understand why such an institution might consider itself to be above the law of the land and why it would place a premium on protecting its image. I suspect that’s why Liberty University here in Lynchburg, Virginia, has been fined an unprecedented $14 million for failing to comply with the Clery Act.

Liberty, as I’ve reported before, is the powerhouse Christian University founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell of Moral Majority fame. Today’s Liberty boasts a combined on-campus and online enrollment of well over 100,000. Liberty students, faculty, and staff are expected to subscribe to a doctrinal statement that holds the Bible to be “inerrant and authoritative in all matters.” Liberty’s name, moreover, is somewhat of a misnomer. Freedom of thought is discouraged there. Liberty does not teach evolution, and it considers the world to be only 6,000 years old. Readers may recall that Jerry Falwell Jr. took over as president following his father’s death in 2007 and that he left under a cloud in 2020.

(Over the years, I’ve written several columns about Liberty and its politics. I recommend one in particular: “Liberty University Confidential,” Oct. 16, 2016.)

The Clery Act is a federal statute requiring colleges and universities that receive federal funding—including federal student aid--to be open and aboveboard about crimes committed on their campuses. The premise of the Act is that students and employees “are entitled to accurate and honest information” about crime and other threats to personal safety and property.

The Department of Education (DOE) began its “program review” of Liberty two years ago after receiving complaints alleging the university had established a pattern of Clery Act violations. Department investigators interviewed the people concerned and reviewed relevant records and reports. The result was an exhaustive 106-page report detailing 12 findings ranging from not having the requisite administrative capability to retaliating against whistleblowers. That last finding was not sustained. The others were--with Liberty essentially concurring in each.

The full report is available for free from the Washington Post to subscribers and non-subscribers alike. Findings 5, 6, and 7 are especially concerning. They involve LU’s failure to collect and disclose crime statistics as well as to issue timely emergency notifications and warnings. Certain administrators are even alleged to have squelched some notices — especially those implicating faculty and employees.

The most troubling theme to emerge from the report is the weaponization of the “Liberty Way” — LU’s strict code of conduct. The review team established a pattern of victim blaming. Sexual assault victims reported being punished for placing themselves in harm’s way, while perpetrators have gone unpunished. The review team concluded that the “Liberty Way” has actually deterred students from reporting sexual assaults.

Liberty police, moreover, were not adequately trained in the investigation of sexual assault allegations. One case in particular smacks of insensitivity if not misogyny. A woman reported being raped by an assailant who slapped her and pulled her hair before warning her he had a knife — so she “gave in.” The LU detective assigned to the case considered giving in to be tantamount to consent. He ruled the complaint unfounded. Did he expect a Liberty woman to die before surrendering her virtue?

The report further details numerous failures to warn the campus about criminal conduct. The incidents range from rape to groping and stalking and even bomb threats — all of which belie Liberty’s claim to be the “safest campus in Virginia.”

And the report does get “curiouser and curiouser.” The review team found a number of so-called “informational reports” that apparently were not acted upon — the most disturbing of which is LUPD Incident #20-01612. It alleges that a “former Liberty President” committed a rape.

In recent interviews with local TV anchor Mark Spain, Liberty’s current president, Dr. Dondi Costin, acknowledged that “in times past, Liberty was not doing the things it should have been doing.” But he affirmed that “those days are past.” Costin also revealed that the Liberty Way is being revised. He said it will offer “more of a gray space “and reflect a “developmental process.” In yet another break with the past, Costin suggested Liberty will be steering clear of partisan politics. (Readers may recall that Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed and brought then presidential candidate Donald Trump to campus. Falwell also invited a number of prominent conservative politicians to speak at Liberty student convocations. And he hosted a Conservative Political Action Committee meeting at Liberty in 2019.)

Spain went on to ask Costin if he believed Liberty and other Christian institutions are under attack. “There is no question about it,” he replied. Frankly, I think that response reflects the unwarranted siege mentality that permeates today’s religious right. If you are not with them, you must be against them. And anything less than unqualified approval constitutes an attack — or so evangelical Christians seem to believe.

Be that as it may, the drafters of the report made it clear that the Department of Education does not sit in judgment of the “doctrinal views, missions, visions, or values of any institution.” But they do remind Liberty of the need to reconcile “such issues with the law”--just as comparable institutions have done. Amen to that.

For my part, I do rather think the Department of Education should take exception to a university that denies established science and history. But that’s just me.

Contact Ed Palm at majorpalm@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: The law and the 'Liberty Way'