Student Expelled For Being Lesbian, University Demands She Pay Back Tuition


Can you say insult to injury? Danielle Powell, a former student at conservative Christian school Grace University in Omaha, has begun an online petition to protest the institution's demand that she pay back her scholarship funds after being expelled in 2012 for being a lesbian. According to The Advocate:

"Grace University, originally the Grace Bible Institute, has refused to transfer the credits earned by Powell during her three-and-a-half-year enrollment until she agrees to pay $6,300. The amount reflects the tuition of the spring semester of 2011, when administrators first discovered her sexual orientation and removed her from courses.  

Powell, a former member of the college’s volleyball team and an on-campus volunteer for the homeless, was one semester shy of graduation.

Michael James, executive vice president at Grace University, justified the college's actions to The Huffington Post, affirming that its student handbook forebade "sexually immoral behavior." Quoting from the handbook, James stated:

'Any student involved in sexually immoral behavior, including premarital sex, adultery, and homosexual acts, is at minimum placed on University probation and may be subject to a Judiciary Hearing.'”

How is he so sure she's engaging in any acts? Being lesbian doesn't automatically mean you're getting down with the get down. Anyway, Powell's wife Michelle Rogers has started the position, which demands the university drop its claims as they are keeping Powell from transferring to another college and completing her degree. So far the petition has 11, 200 signatures.

Go here to sign the petition.

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