Critics say APU is caving to pressure from the LGBTQ community. “They can tell themselves whatever they like about their ‘spirit,’ but it’s self-deception,” writes Rod Dreher. “This is how conservative institutions surrender: by giving up, then telling themselves (and their donors) that they haven’t surrendered. Saving face is not the same thing as saving the institution’s core values.”

After extensive dialogue between students and administrators, Azusa Pacific University (APU) has ended a ban on public same-sex relationships on campus. Starting this fall, the student conduct code at the evangelical Christian college no longer singles out homosexuals; instead, “biblical standards of sexual behavior” are upheld for all students.

According to a report in APU’s student publication, associate dean of students Bill Fiala said the goal is to have a consistent standard for everyone rather than “differential standards for different groups.”

APU alumni Erin Green says it’s “unfair to single out queer folks in same-sex romantic relationships” when it’s “impossible to enforce or monitor” whether heterosexual couples are abstaining. Green is co-executive director of Brave Commons, an LGBTQ organization that helped facilitate conversations about the issue.

“Queer students are just as able to have romanticized relationships that abide by APU’s rules,” says Green. “The code used falsely assumed that same-sex romances always involved sexual behavior. This stigmatization causes harm to our community, especially those serious about their Christian faith.”

The debate at the California school made headlines last year when LGBTQ students demanded justice for an employee who was allegedly harassed. Mahesh Pradhan, 52, a former line cook at APU, says co-workers who thought he was gay called him names, hit him with a paddle, locked him in a freezer and more. Pradhan also contends he was unfairly removed from a supervisory role.

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