Despite Liberty University’s contention that it had been unfairly singled out, the school has for years been the subject of criticism from numerous former students and sexual abuse survivor advocates.
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In 2022, Liberty University settled out of court with 12 women, who were former students and employees of the school, after the women filed a lawsuit alleging that Liberty had fostered an unsafe environment on campus and had mishandled allegations of sexual assault.
Numerous survivor advocates have alleged that “The Liberty Way,” which outlines the university’s code of conduct and includes restrictions on sex outside of marriage, had been weaponized against women reporting sexual assault, creating a culture of silence.
While some survivor advocates acknowledge that Liberty University has made strides in the right direction with regard to campus safety and sexual abuse reporting in recent years, they find the university’s response to the $14 million Department of Education fine troubling.
“LU is making positive changes to fix the problem now. That’s good. But let’s be honest about how this happened,” said Save71, a group of Liberty alumni, students, and faculty calling for new leadership of the university. “Those who have been harmed deserve [honesty] and [an] apology from LU leadership, not more self-righteous spin.”
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“Rather than demonstrate genuine repentance and lament, @LibertyU whines that it was treated unfairly,” posted Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, who served on the faculty of Liberty University for more than two decades. “Grievous response. This fine is pocket change for the school.”
