Home Christian News APU’s LGBTQ Ban Lift Was All a Big ‘Misunderstanding’

APU’s LGBTQ Ban Lift Was All a Big ‘Misunderstanding’

What Did the Newspapers Get Wrong in APU’s Story?

Bixby says when the University sent its press release announcing the change in language to its Student handbook to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune (SGVT), the University’s intentions were “misunderstood.” This is where the narrative that the University had lifted its LGBTQ ban started picking up steam.

For their story, SGVT included comments from Erin Green, the Co-Executive Director of a nonprofit organization for LGBTQ students on Christian colleges called Brave Commons. The article implied that Green’s advocacy work had prompted the changes to the Student Handbook. Indeed, a statement released by Brave Commons also attributed the change in wording to the group’s advocacy work. However, as far as Bixby is aware, no verbal conversations between Green and the University have taken place to warrant such a  statement.

The SGVT also reported that when the ban was reinstated in September, students on campus gathered to protest. However, Bixby, who was present at the “protest,” called it a gathering and said it occurred after a chapel service. The gathering was attended by LGBTQ students and supporters and that the students gathered to pray, not necessarily to protest.

Other well-known evangelical leaders made comments on the University’s changes to the Student Handbook, which Bixby found troublesome. One such comment posted to a leader’s Facebook page garnered over 3,000 comments from followers, most of them criticizing the University for its alleged slide away from biblical principles.

The bottom line is the University did change its Undergraduate Student Handbook to remove the “details” about what is not permissible in romantic relationships, whether they are homosexual or heterosexual in nature. What the motivation was for that removal may still be up for debate, depending on who you ask.

One thing is clear, however: APU continues to maintain and teach a traditional view of marriage.