Messiah alumni rally around gay studentsNews
The Christian Century
May 24, 2011
by Ivey DeJesus
GRANTHAM, Pa. (RNS) Alumni at evangelical Messiah College have launched an online petition urging the conservative Christian school to change its policies toward gay and lesbian students.
The petition has collected hundreds of alumni signatures, with some indicating that they would withhold donations as long as the college continued to foster "an unsafe and noninclusive campus climate."
The group,
InclusiveAlumni.com, is petitioning Messiah to become "a place of reconciliation, compassion, and true community." The petitioners call on Messiah to take steps to prevent harassment and provide sensitivity training to staff.
The move follows a similar petition at another evangelical flagship institution, Wheaton College in suburban Chicago, where gay alumni and supporters have launched the group OneWheaton.
