When I read about U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles attacking Belmont University, all I could think about was Baylor University.
Both are historically Baptist schools, although Belmont in Nashville, Tenn., has more definitively broken with Baptist control than has Baylor in Waco, Texas.
Baylor has been in the news lately for the administration’s rejection of a $634,000 grant from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation that would have funded an academic study of loneliness among women and the LGBTQ community due to their marginalization by the church.
On the surface, the controversial Baylor decision — I mean, the administration had to know the grant was being discussed — appears to be a case of conservative pastors and regents throwing their weight around. But there is another potential reason few people are saying aloud.
To understand that possibility, consider what’s happening at Belmont right now. I’ll quote Nashville Scene:
“U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District has decided to launch an attack on Belmont University here in Nashville.”
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District has decided to launch an attack on Belmont University here in Nashville. … He wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, demanding she investigate Belmont to see if the Nashville university is secretly practicing DEI.
Why would the Congressman suspect this? Because someone posted online a secretly recorded video of Belmont employee Jozef Lukey discussing the purpose of Belmont’s Office of Hope, Unity and Belonging as well as the presence of undocumented immigrants at Belmont.
Oh, yeah, that video exploded after it was shared by none other than Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA.
In his letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Ogles wrote: “Belmont’s actions demonstrate contempt for both federal law and for the taxpayers who finance higher education.”
Christmas greeting card from Andy Ogles and family.
OK, that’s nuts, you might be saying. But you don’t know Andy Ogles and his history.
From Nashville Scene: “As we know, Andy Ogles has a history of just saying shit, regardless of whether it’s wise to say it. So did Ogles hear Charlie Kirk complaining about Belmont and decide to just sit down and write Linda McMahon?”
Consider this: What if the X factor in Baylor’s decision to reject the study grant was the dawn of the second Trump administration? What if the grant application happened before Jan. 20 when the hounds of hell were let loose through a flurry of president executive orders? What if Baylor wasn’t worried about being accused of engaging in DEI before Jan. 20 and suddenly became very worried after Jan. 20?
That might explain an otherwise inexplicable decision.
You may ask: “But isn’t Baylor a private school?”
Yes, it is. But so is Belmont. And so is Harvard. And so is Columbia.
And is there anyone in Waco crazy enough to pull an Andy Ogles move? Well, yes, yes there is. He’s my former Congressman, Pete Sessions. And in case you’re wondering, no I never lived in Waco. Sessions lost his House seat in my North Dallas district for supporting Trump the first time around, so he moved residence to Waco to run in an open and safe Republican seat.
He’s a loose cannon who has become a puppet for Trump.
I don’t know if these two tales of Baptist universities are cut from the same cloth. But there’s enough similarity to make one wonder.
Related articles:
300 faith leaders urge Baylor to ‘do better’ with LGBTQ community
Baylor rejects grant to study LGBTQ exclusion in the church
Was Baylor’s decision ‘moral courage’ or ‘lack of courage’?
Crossing that Good Ol’ Baylor Line | Opinion by Paula Garrett