This past weekend, students at Fresno Pacific University on Friday met with the Board of Trustees at the university, demanding that FPU allow and support the formation of a student organization for LGBTQ+ and allied students.
Fresno Pacific University is one of 200+ religious colleges that claim a religious exemption to Title IX in order to discriminate against their LGBTQ students.
FPU is using that religious exemption to block the formation of an LGBTQ+ Pride Club on campus – and even prohibiting the student newspaper from reporting on the university's anti-LGBTQ actions.
This week 17 Christian clergy leaders in the Central Valley of California submitted a letter to the FPU Board of Trustees urging them to recognize the LGBTQ+ student organization. Click here to read the full letter.
The letter reads, in part:
"As Christian leaders, we are called to welcome and love everyone no matter how they identify themselves. A core tenet of our faith is the love of neighbor. As Jesus explains in Matthew 12, our neighbor is not limited to those who are like us and believe what we believe, but instead Jesus describes a neighbor as someone who might live a life counter to our faith. Too often, the church has been like the religious leaders in this passage who ignore the needs of others. It is our hope that the board emulates the Good Samaritan by providing a space and resources for the LGBTQ+ Pride club."
REAP is proud to support students who standing up against discrimination and demanding that their religious college treat LGBTQ students with dignity and respect. We join the chorus of voices urging FPU to recognize and allow the LGBTQ+ Pride club at their university. Join us by clicking here and signing a petition urging FPU to recognize the student organization.
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