The media: once again misrepresenting the truth

Senator Ted Cruz recently delivered a speech at Liberty University, announcing that he will be running for the Republican Candidate. The meeting held over 10,000 students, and many were in support of Senator Cruz’s speech. The liberal media turned around and told the public, leaving out vital information, that the students, whether or not they wanted to attend the meeting, were forced to attend. They continued to explain that if the students were not to attend, then they would have been charged a $10 fee. One liberal site, known as “The Young Turks”, did a great job of misleading the public from what actually happened.

Senator Cruz They quoted an anonymous message from a supposed student saying: “At our school everyone is Republican. You aren’t allowed to have any Democratic groups. That’s why I’m doing this anonymously because people will come after you. He told people what they wanted to hear and they are endorsing him, that’s what they are doing.” – Anonymous Democrat who supposedly attends Liberty University. There were also many other sources from anonymous students that claim they were not allowed to hold Democratic Groups. I was concerned with the idea that Liberty University was restricting Democratic groups and clubs from forming on their campus. As it turns out, this was not true, and it was not the first time they had accusations similar to this one as in the past. The following article shows that this dilemma has showed up in the past: “At the meeting, LU officials urged the sponsor to issue a public apology based on information given to the press implying that LU had banned the Democrat Club and that the club could not meet on campus, when in fact it was given full rights to meet on campus just a few days earlier.” - LU officials meet with College Democrats, May 28, 2008 Another example of this happening to them again to LU: “A number of media sources recently reported that Liberty University banned Democrats from meeting on campus… We encourage our students to bring positive change to all political parties, Democrats, Republicans and Independents. We hope our students challenge all political parties to remain true to the core moral values consistent with the Christian mission of the University. To blindly support any candidate solely because of party affiliation irrespective of their moral views is wrong. Liberty would never endorse a Republican student group that supported abortion rights. Liberty stands for certain core values; not for a political party.” - Falwell, Jerry, Op-Ed: Media's misrepresentation of club controversy, May 25, 2009 But what about all that talk that Liberty University is “forcing” students to attend Senator Cruz’s speech? Why are they being fined if they did not attend? Liberty University released the following statement from President Jerry Falwell in response to these claims:

“Convocation is not a worship service. Convocation is Liberty’s educational forum for students to hear from speakers with a wide diversity of viewpoints from all walks of life — entertainment, business, politics, ministry, and more — many of whom are globally respected as experts in their areas. It is no secret that Convocation is held three times a week and attendance is required, just like class is required for students. No one is expected to agree with every speaker on every point. In fact, Convocation speakers do not all line up with traditional Evangelical Christian viewpoints or even Liberty University’s doctrinal statement. A fundamental part of the college experience is being exposed to a variety of viewpoints so students can better understand why they hold their own beliefs and be better prepared to defend them. Liberty intentionally gives every student this opportunity to become well-rounded on important matters of faith and culture.

The fact that some students attended the service wearing T-shirts supporting another potential candidate shows that our students are not indoctrinated; they are free — and encouraged — to form their own opinions about what they hear in Convocation and to express it.

I should, however, point out that standing ovations are not required. Students are free to cheer or boo as they see fit. I also think it is irresponsible to take anonymous social media posts and assume that they are students, or are representative of the entire student body.

It fills me with great pride, then, to see that our students consistently provide such a warm atmosphere for every speaker who comes to campus, regardless if they agree with them or not.

Right after Convocation today, a pre-med student, who is a Democrat, came up to me and shared his appreciation for Convocation and how we bring in such a diverse panel of speakers. He said that he appreciated the opportunity to hear from Sen. Cruz so close to his announcement to run for president. He appreciated that Liberty was chosen as a platform for such a prominent moment. The student told me that he enjoyed the speech and even found some common ground with Senator Cruz on many issues.” Seems that the liberal media is stirring up the truth once more, unfortunately, their followers will blindly accept the information as true without fact checking or questioning these over-the-top claims.