Posted on 04/01/2004 3:09:47 AM PST by Huber
Campus culture wars
A handful of Christians on UNC college campuses are winning the culture war in increments; but some aren’t fighting it at all
By Jamie Dean The Charlotte World
Wilmington--Dr. Mike Adams says it’s “horrible.” He says it’s “appalling.” He says it’s “worse than it’s ever been.” That’s how the conservative UNC-Wilmington professor, and national columnist, describes the climate for Christians on public university campuses – particularly North Carolina public universities.
Adams has made it his business to expose the liberal, anti-Christian bias that he says is prevalent on his own campus and many others. He teaches criminology at UNCW, and has become a national figure writing a column for Townhall.com, a popular, conservative online journal. His columns focus on what he calls the “chaos” of the public university system.
The plight of conservatives and Christians on the campus of UNC-Greensboro was recently thrust into the national spotlight by an Adams’ column called “UNC-Gommorah.” In it he wrote about the school’s decision in February to pay a porn star $3,000 from student fees for a 90-minute talk on “sexual responsibility.” The school had denied funding to the College Republicans for an event where Adams spoke the next day. The school had also denied the group funding for a Morals Week it had planned to coincide with a school-funded Gay Pride Week.
After the College Republicans cried foul – and complaints poured in from all over the country – UNCG backtracked and said it would allot funding for Morals Week events March 22-26.
Adams said the recent UNCG debacle is just one example of the one-sided politics most public universities practice. He documented hundreds of other examples in his new book “Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel: Confessions of a Conservative College Professor.”
The evidence Adams amassed in his book is difficult to deny. It is well-documented and largely not denied by the universities he writes about. But what is difficult to determine is how anti-Christian biases affect each particular campus in the University of North Carolina system. Adams said, as with most issues, some campuses are worse than others.
But a few things do seem clear: Pro-liberal biases and anti-Christian politics are in effect on some UNC campuses; Christians and conservatives have fought back and achieved notable victories in recent months; and Christians could be doing more.
The fight for equal footing
Travis Billingsley, president of College Republicans at UNCG, has spearheaded his group’s efforts to achieve equal footing in the public arena on campus. Billingsley, a senior, spoke to “The Charlotte World” March 26 on the last night of Morals Week at UNCG. He said that anti- conservative, anti-Christian biases run rampant on the campus.
“As a Christian myself,” Billingsley said, “I find it unbelievable to see some of the things that go on and that Christian students face on this campus.”
He pointed to the pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, pro-feminist movements widely endorsed by the school. A quick tour of the Elliot Center – where the College Republicans met for the final night of Morals Week – supported Billingsley’s point.
A huge banner hung from the lobby ceiling advertising “Pride Week” – a series of homosexual “pride” events including a “Drag Queen” party and a “Gay Prom.” A large bulletin board celebrated feminist causes, including a woman’s “right” to choose abortion. Another sign advertised a pro-abortion march scheduled for April.
Conspicuously absent were any advertisements for Morals Week. A tiny handmade sign outside the Maple Room – where Mike Adams was addressing the College Republicans – was the only advertisement for the group or its events. Billingsley said that’s because College Republicans aren’t allowed to advertise at UNCG. The school forbids “political groups” from posting signs on campus. And just how many political groups are on campus? “We’re the only one,” Billingsley said.
Billingsley said Christians also face an uphill battle in the classroom. “Many of our professors present ideas in such an anti-Christian, anti-God manner, it is disgusting,” he said.
But despite the obstacles, Billingsley said he is encouraged by the progress the College Republicans have made. “The administration did fund our event in the end,” he said, “and we have been able to foster dialogue about true diversity.”
Anti-Christian bias at Chapel Hill
Anti-Christian biases are not foreign to students at UNC-Chapel Hill either. Stephanie Evans is president of Carolina Students for Life (CSFL), a pro-life, student-led group on campus. Evans fought for months to counter the one-sided, pro-abortion policies of the Carolina Women’s Center (CWC), a school-funded health center on campus.
Evans said CWC consistently denied her group’s requests to participate in CWC events. And she said that every CWC event dealing with abortion was stacked with pro-abortion advocates. No pro-life advocates were invited or allowed to participate.
CWC also refused to post even one pro-life link on its Web site. A slew of pro-abortion links were posted.
Evans said CWC “overstepped its legal bounds as a university organization by taking a pro-abortion stand and excluding pro-life sentiments.” In a letter to CWC, she also said, “As a public institution it is your duty to offer both sides of the debate equal time and opportunity in the name of academic freedom.”
Thankfully, this episode had a positive ending. After reading Evans’ letter, school officials required CWC to post a pro-life link on its Web site and invite Carolina Students for Life to participate in all future events about abortion.
But Adams said there is still an abundance of discrimination against Christians at Chapel Hill. In his book, he cited a January 28, 2003 directive from Chapel Hill officials, telling Young Life to change its constitution to refer to its membership as a “community supporting Christianity” instead of a “community of adult Christians.” Adams said this was a clear attempt to forbid Young Life from requiring a profession of Christianity for membership in its Christian group.
And Adams said Chapel Hill has issued similar directives to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the Lutheran Campus Ministry.
The need for confrontational Christianity at UNCC
Closer to home, the climate for Christians at UNC-Charlotte appears to be less hostile, but not without its problems.
Dr. Alan Freitag, a Christian who is an associate professor of communications at UNCC, said he would not describe the climate as “aggressive” or “hostile.”
“I’m very open about my biblical worldview,” Freitag said. “And I never feel the least bit of resistance to it. It’s just not a matter of concern to anyone.”
Mike Witt, a campus staff member for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at UNCC, agreed, saying he would describe the climate for Christians as “neutral to positive.” “As far as I can tell,” Witt said, “the university does not show partiality towards any one group.”
But some believers at UNCC think that Christians are not meeting resistance because they are not pushing back. David Whisler is a database administrator at UNCC, and has worked informally with Christian organizations on campus for five years. According to Whisler, the anti- Christian bias on campus is strong.
“It is very much one-sided,” he said. “All the time you see liberal, non-Christian, humanist, post-modern viewpoints being promoted on campus – whether it be abortion rights, gay pride, whatever.”
Whisler pointed to a recent “sexual health” week promoted by student activities. Events included a forum with Planned Parenthood, a Valentine’s event in which participants made “condomgrams” and received free “sex kits.” And – of course – the annual student production of the play, “The Vagina Monologues.”
By contrast, Whisler said, “It’s very rare to hear of a Christian event.”
That may be because public Christian events at UNCC are rare.
While more than a dozen Christian groups meet on campus regularly, the focus seems to be on an internal approach to outreach – get them to come to us. Witt, from InterVaristy, said his group’s philosophy is to encourage Christian students to interact one-on-one with other students to share the Gospel.
In a nutshell: more relational, less confrontational. “If there was a big pro-abortion rally on campus, we’re not the type of group that would set up a big booth across from them to distract or counter,” he said.
But Whisler thinks that is exactly what Christian groups should be doing. “Christians forget that they need to confront the culture with the truth,” he said. “Christians often have good events in their own groups and churches, but don’t take it to the world.”
Chad Keith, a junior at UNCC agrees. He said the anti-Christian voice is loud and clear on campus. And he’d like to see Christians become more pro-active in speaking the truth.
“Fraternities, sororities, and even credit card companies are always out setting up tables, talking to students, handing out information. I’d like to see some Christian groups actively out talking to students and trying to get their message across too,” he said.
No time for Christian capitulation
Mike Adams, for one, doesn’t think Christians on college campuses are nearly aggressive enough.
“Only a minority of Christians are letting their voices be heard while the vast majority of non-Christians are absolutely letting their voices be heard,” Adams told “The Charlotte World.” “Christians are capitulating.”
And Adams said that silence is deadly. “When Christians don’t speak up they are empowering the anti-Christian agenda,” he said. “Christians can only prevail if they challenge.
Just so. Though there's a literal shooting war going on in the US Southwestern border areas, this is CWII group noteworthy for two reasons: it's the other side of the coin of the flat-out armed hostilities, and the location in this instance is not in an eletist northeast or left coast area but the former Bible Belt of the south, so worth more attention to that area.
And, no, I don't know why they call it North Kakkalakky.
Nor do I, but I have heard it more as "No' Kakka Lakka"
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