Kristan,
I am totally in agreement with you that SDA LGBT students should not be attending Adventist schools, but for very different reasons than you state.
Self esteem and mental well being are so paramountly important to late teens and early twenty somethings.
Adventism has such overtones of homophobia, shunning, shaming, blaming, and general rejection, no matter how subliminal, I would hesitate to send any LGBT family member of mine to endure such an ambiance.
LGBT taxpayers should have every expectation under both federal and state law, that they will be given absolutely equal treatment of equality under the respective constitutions.
As Elaine Nelson, who always âhits the nail on the headâ, so aptly said in her posting: âHe who dances to the piper pays for the tuneâ
That said, I am sad for Adventist students who will be financially adversely affected by this mandate.
In researching US ( and international) colleges for my entering freshman grandson this spring, I was saddened to see a ranking of those colleges who had graduated students with the most student debt.
Regrettably of the four thousand plus colleges in USA, three SDA colleges ranked in the TOP FIFTY of those colleges whose graduates had the most student debt, while regrettably NONE ranked in the top for academic excellence!
Adventist colleges are very reasonable compared to IVY LEAGUE tuition rates.
However, the Ivy League schools, and other prestigious colleges are so well endowed financially that a family earning less than $100,000 a year, can expect
to have their student not pay ANY tuition â they would be fully funded by grants and scholarships! Of course one has to have premier academic achievement to be accepted at these schools.
My own grandson has been given a considerable scholarship even though he is attending a public university not in his state of residence.
No wonder enrollment of Adventist students is declining at our schools. Their families simply cannot pay the tuition. Fortunately, the enrollment of non Adventist local, and international students has helped âthe bottom lineâ
Since our colleges were founded in the âhorse and buggy ageâ pre-interstate freeways, pre-automobile, pre-air travel, maybe it is time to close any Adventist college with an enrollment lower than two thousand, and have just a few large institutions (like the Mormons do with Brigham Young University)?? A larger college may be able to consolidate costs to achieve lower tuitions.
Prospective students, with modern cheaper travel, do not have to have an Adventist college âin their back yardâ.