No freedom at Liberty University!
A friend of mine’s lacrosse team is facing Liberty University on Saturday. He sent out some info on Liberty prior to the game, and I thought I’d pass it along to you.
It seems that along with Liberty’s mission “to produce Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills required to impact tomorrow’s world”
—absolutely nothing wrong with that!—they’re also very good at coming up with extremely detailed discipline codes. Maybe this place churns out the busybody HR staff of the world? Here’s just a sampling, and I think you’ll agree that this seems kinda out of control:
- 4 reprimands + $10 fine:
- Improper sign out
- Residence hall disturbance/noise violation
- Unauthorized borrowing (plus financial restitution)
- 12 reprimands + $50 fine
- Attendance at, possession or viewing of, an “R,” “NC-17″ or “X”-rated movie
- Entering the residence hallway of the opposite sex or allowing the same
- Entering the space above ceiling tiles
- 18 Reprimands + $250 Fine + 18 hours Disciplinary Community Service
- Failure to properly identify oneself
- Falsification of information on an official document
- 30 Reprimands + $500 Fine + 30 hours Disciplinary Community Service + possible Administrative Withdrawal. (NOTE: For each accumulation of six or more reprimands after 30, an additional $150 fine will be assessed.)
- Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages
- Spending the night with a person of the opposite sex
Scenario!
So let’s see…
Let’s pretend that I, Joe College of Liberty U, am geared up for a fun night. I borrow my roommate’s copy of White Man Can’t Jump, without asking, and sneak over to my girlfriend’s dorm with a 40 ouncer of Colt 45. (Incidentally, I saw this very risque “R” movie at age 10 in the theater. That’s why I’m using it as an example.) After deciding that 30 minutes of Woody Harrelson is 30 minutes too much, I crawl up to the space above the ceiling tiles—that’s the coooolest place at Liberty U, duh—and ritually destroy the DVD so one else will be pained by the Harrelson-Snipes combo. Hearing the noise of destruction, an RA calls out, “Who’s up there?” My girlfriend and I keep quiet as church mice and doze off in the “space above the ceiling tiles.
In the morning, we are discovered. Note that I am found with a fake Malaysian passport, compounding the problem.
If my math’s right, that looks like a handsome 144 reprimands, $4530 in fines (don’t forget the extra fines after 30 reprimands), 96 hours of community service, and a couple of withdrawal hearings. And $15 back to my roommate for the destroyed DVD.
Wonder what happens if you question creationism. Do they cut off a digit?
April 3rd, 2006 at 10:55 am
crap. fifty bucks just for entering a women’s hallway? and FIVE HUNDRED for getting caught sleeping over? are you allowed to even look at a girl?
April 3rd, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Girls are evil. Notice the word: Eve-ill. “Eve” is the root of all that is bad. Repent now sinister females!
// end sarcasm
April 3rd, 2006 at 6:18 pm
You might not have to repay the roomie for the movie since he shouldn’t have been in possession of it in the first place.
April 3rd, 2006 at 7:18 pm
Mmm, good point.
April 5th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
And it’s only taken me two days to realize the irony of a place with so many restrictions being titled with the word liberty.
May 6th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
You don’t get it. These students enroll at Liberty because of their FREEDOM to do so. They WANT to go to a school that has these standards. It’s mutual — kind of like choosing to eat at a restaurant that requires a suit and tie. If you don’t want to wear a suit and tie, GO EAT AT MCDONALD’S!
June 7th, 2006 at 7:38 am
I hated Liberty University. Actually, I hated the people who run the university. Most of the students I met were very nice. My department head and the chancellor, however, are two insufferably arrogant people. These two think their personal status is more important than the quality of education (or lack thereof) at Liberty. When one of these two isn’t running around claiming that Sept 11 was God’s punishment against gays, the other is busy selecting textbooks that are written with less sense than the Chinese assembly instructions that come with unassembled bicycles. Jerry, you and your minion Judith Austin need to get over your arrogance before you lose even more face in the public’s eye.
August 4th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
If you don’t like it don’t go there… Since Christians don’t believe in premarital sex of course guys can’t go into the girl’s dorms… otherwise what happens? Whoopie… u got it. At least this place is a peaceful place that isn’t full of drunk college kids that caught some nasty STD’s cuz they were out partying all night with their pants off.
August 9th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
Well, to be fair, it is a Christian college and I’d doubt you’d actually be going there if you were someone who wanted to sneak some Colt 40 and an R-rated movie into your girlfriend’s dorm at night.
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:18 pm
Honestly, I appreciate codes of conduct that are aimed at keeping students and young people in line. In today’s world, there is very little discipline and guidance and everything is a free-for-all. As a 23-year old who is a born-again believer in Christ, I appreciate a school that tries to keep the students in line according to Biblical principles of being sober and sexually pure. There are very few bastions of moral and holy conduct anymore, even in many “churches”! For those who don’t want these types of rules, they shouldn’t attend. Instead of trying to change these places, just go elsewhere. However, I do oppose any arrogance and self-righteousness from any of the leadership, if this is indeed true as someone pointed out, but even so, we are to respect our leaders and elders, even if they are out of line. This is Biblical too. The point is, Liberty is meant to be a school where Christians can attend to get an education that is Christian and to be in an environment with other Christians where they can grow in the Lord and in knowledge. After attending a secular college for 4 years myself and seeing the depths of debauchery that happened there, I only wish that I could have gone to a place like Liberty.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Do you even go to Liberty? No… so why are you complaining about it? I’ve been at Liberty for a year now, and I absolutely love it. First of all… IF you are a Christian.. and IF you are coming here for the purpose of ministry (which is not just being a pastor… it’s every path of life), you should heed the words of Christ… and if you don’t wanna listen to me… then listen to God himself…….. 1 Peter 2:9-11 - “But you are a CHOSEN race, a royal PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a people for GOD’S OWN POSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you OUT of DARKNESS INTO His MARVELOUS LIGHT; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of GOD; you had not received mercy, but now you HAVE received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to ABSTAIN FROM FLESHLY LUSTS WITH WAGE WAR AGAINST THE SOUL.” Like I said…. if you don’t believe me….. then read the Word of God for yourself…..
“For I am the Lord YOUR God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth.” - Leviticus 11:44
September 7th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Oh, and I go to Thomas Road while I’m here… and I don’t get a bad impression from Jerry Falwell….. He’s done more for the Kingdom of Christ than anyone else I know….. He’s very involved in the church members’ lives, and in the students’ lives…. He would do anything for this school…. as he does EVERY SINGLE DAY……
So many people say “don’t judge a book by it’s cover…..”. Few practice it.
October 21st, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Liberty is the BEST school there is!! If you want to serve Christ it provides you with every opportunity there is. It’s a good college to be equipped for the Ministry and if ministry is your purpose then you’ll abide by the rules and get educated since that’s your goal but if your goal in life is to mess up your life then you don’t need an authority over you so go somewhere else and enjoy wasting your life away!!
October 23rd, 2006 at 6:58 pm
Good grief. From some of the posts here, I’m forced to wonder how much of a fine you have to pay for refusing to drink the Kool-Ade…
October 23rd, 2006 at 7:02 pm
You folks sound like you need and want someone else to keep you in line. If you need an authority figure to discipline you, do what I did many years ago and join the military. On the other hand, IF you can manage a modicum of SELF-discipline, and IF you recognize that it ISN’T a sin to think for yourselves, then you won’t have to hide within the confines of that horrible little excuse for a university called “Liberty”.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Rob - I think I remember you; you were the guy who got kicked out for having sex with a dude in the shower, no?
January 29th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
All I have to say in reponse to your ignorance of Liberty University and the strong moral values that the students who go there have is that you spelled kool-aid wrong! I didn’t even have to use the strong education that I received at Liberty University to tell you that!
February 19th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I was royally screwed over by Liberty Universitry’s distance learning program. Falwell is making money with a huge scam. I will never return to that miserable cult known, ironically, as “Liberty” University. The school is only for the brainwashed. I bet Falwell will soon require his students to take the number “666″ in order to attend his school.
February 19th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Hey Ashley,
Intersting how you know how to spell “Kool-Aid”. Force you to drink a lot of it there, do they honey?
February 19th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Matt,
Your post says more about you than a straight man like me wants to know.
March 4th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
All Liberty students posting here: be advised that your internet addresses have been recorded and that hard holds will be placed on your accounts until all fines are paid. You are not allowed to post on this type of website.
March 19th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Right about now Liberty students are enjoying their spring break. Of course, they have to wear “modest” clothing while at the beach. I bet Brother Jerry has deceeed that they shall all wear burkas, lest their nakedness show.
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:04 pm
“strong education”
The rest of us undergrads going to real accredited scientific colleges are quivering in our boots.