A group that supports greater acceptance of homosexuals lost its bid for recognition as an official campus organization at Mars Hill College April 14, the Biblical Recorder has reported.
The Student Government Association of the school, which is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, voted against a proposal from a group called Open Doors. The measure failed by a vote of 21 to 17 with four abstentions, according to school officials.
The SGA vote effectively kills the group's effort to be recognized as an official campus organization this year. The members of Open Doors can reapply for recognition next year, reported the Recorder, which is the newsjournal of the North Carolina convention.
If the SGA had recommended approval, the measure would have gone to the Student Affairs Council, which makes policy for the student life at the school. The council includes students, faculty and administrators. College presidents generally have final say in all administrative matters including student life.
Mars Hill College president Dan Lunsford had said before the vote he would do what he believed was best for the college.
“I recognize that this is a sensitive issue with the potential to become divisive, but the discussion Open Doors has initiated has been a model for civilized debate in a Christian community,” he said. “I am proud of our students for the respectful and thoughtful manner in which they have processed the request by the Open Doors group.”
Lunsford said he believes the SGA decision reflects the faith position held by most people in the Mars Hill College family.
“It is consistent with the prevailing interpretation of the scriptural references to these issues as articulated in the Baptist denomination, which is the foundation of our 148-year history as an academic community rooted in the Christian faith,” he said. “We now look forward to our students coming together to refocus their energies on their studies as we prepare for the end of the semester and celebrate the graduates of 2005.”
Open Doors has 11 goals, according to a statement from the group published by The Hilltop, the Mars Hill College newspaper. The goals include educating people about issues facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and providing social and spiritual support to homosexuals.
The statement says the group is not trying to push a homosexual agenda or turn anyone gay.
The leader of the group told The Hilltop that its members will continue to meet as an unofficial organization.
Biblical Recorder