SPU's Jeff Jordan won't support the school's LGBT group, according to SPU's student newspaper.
SPUs associate vice dean for academic affairs, Jeff Jordan, wont support the schools LGBT group, according to the student newspaper..
  • SPU’s associate vice dean for academic affairs, Jeff Jordan, wont support the school’s LGBT group, according to the student newspaper.

In the spring of 2007, I went to Seattle Pacific University to watch as the school welcomed a group called Soulforce (which promotes “relentless nonviolent resistance” to religious-based homophobia) onto campus.

It was a controversial event within the school community, but at least it was allowed to take place.

According to this recent report in the school’s student newspaper, the Falcon, SPU—which promises an education “grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ“—is no longer welcoming this kind of open discussion and instead is seeking to “define out of existence” a student-run group called Haven, dedicated to discussing sexuality and LGBT issues.

According to the Falcon, Jeff Jordan, SPU’s associate vice president for academic affairs, recently reminded Haven that it is not an officially recognized club at SPU (the club has been trying to get official recognition for four years) and said that as a result Haven “will no longer be granted the right to reserve rooms on campus for group meetings.”

Haven’s faculty adviser, sociology professor Kevin Neuhouser, told the Falcon:

We don’t seem to be making progress toward a place where our students can be safe… I would love the day when Haven is no longer necessary because the whole campus was safe for all our students.

A day when Haven is no longer necessary? I’m not sure how one can even begin to imagine that when this group can’t get a room for a private meeting—much less official recognition—at this school whose mission is to “influence the world for good.”

(Neither Jordan nor Haven’s student leaders were able to respond to a request for comment yesterday afternoon. I’ll post about this again when they do.)

Eli Sanders was The Stranger's associate editor. His book, "While the City Slept," was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He once did this and once won...

68 replies on “At SPU, It Gets Worse”

  1. My husband and I are both SPU Alumni (’92). While we were there many of our close friends were GLBT and in the closet. We had to fight tooth and nail to get the school to allow a gay man to come and speak on a panel about AIDS awareness. Professors caught heat for speaking in even vague terms about supporting GLBT “lifestyle.” The only break that GLBT students got at the time was that they could live with their partners in on-campus housing because administartors were so busy making sure hetero couples weren’t having pre-marital sex, that they didn’t think to watch out for happy lesbian couples setting up house in the school aparments! 🙂 (Go girls!)

    Banning Haven seem to indicate that things are not, in fact, “getting better” at SPU.

    I don’t donate to my alma-mater because of this, and will be writing to the Alumni Office today to make sure they know that.

  2. @46; Haven has, on numerous occasions (four I believe, though I graduated in ’07 and was only involved as a supporter after that, so my memory may be incorrect), altered and, at times, completely rewritten their constitution in order to respond cooperatively to previously unmentioned criticism on the part of SPU’s administration. Reasons for the refusal of club status have shifted over time and remained permanently nebulous (lacked clear feedback about what actions/statements needed to change in order to be accepted), despite concerted and dedicated attempts on the part of Haven leadership to communicate with the Department of Student Life.

    At some point, one has to acknowledge that they are being strung along. SPU’s administration has not offered adequate support or elaboration for this club to meet their cryptic demands, that or part of their unspoken demand is ‘affirm that being queer is wrong’ (bye bye safe space . . .).

    Enough is enough; Haven has tried to work with admin, admin has made every effort to shut this down.

    Alumni, parents, community members, etc.: if you’re interested in joining a letter writing campaign, email: alumni.haven@gmail.com.

  3. I was considering SPU for grad school, but if this really is the case, I’ll pass. I don’t need to identify with an institution that treats its LGBT students this way.

  4. I’m glad the school is committing to foundational truths they built upon. Better to stand for something than nothing. They are being firm about what they believe in, you don’t see that a lot from Christians these days.

    PS if you’re homosexual why go to SPU? It is a CONSERVATIVE christian school after all.

  5. I have appeared on a panel at previous Haven meetings, discussions around gender and the spectrum of human existence. What an honor to be in a place like that, where every soul there at the haven meeting was yearning to find some meaning in the complex tapestry that makes up our community. Gotta ask SPU Administrators: What would Jesus do? Because we know what you’d do.

  6. Shame on anyone who supports policies that are discriminatory & bigoted. The stance of SPU toward LGBT’s or anyone who thinks “differently” from faulty, so-called “theology” flies in the face of God as a being of pure, boundless love. Whether condemning drinking, dancing or any of God’s creations, SPU’s policies are excellent examples of fear-based ignorance. I hope their actions provide teaching moments for the rest of us.

  8. What the administration of SPU doesn’t know is that there has been an underground alumni organization called G.A.S.P. (Gay Alumni of Seattle Pacific), since the early 80’s.

  9. I went to one very painful freshman year back in 1979/80. A young lesbian woman hung herself in her dorm room closet. I knew her and liked her. It was devastating and it was also unbelievable how horrible how SPU handled the suicide( and her roommate!). I was so horrified but awakened out of ignorant innocence to the hate, bigamy and hypocrisy this tragedy set off, that I got off my wimpy butt, found my spine and signed up for a graphic design program at SCC. I was not at that school because of my religious views or anything. (I was not raised in a church going family) Just got in because my mom was forcing me to go to college and SPU accepted me. Didn’t have the nerve to do otherwise since I really did not know what I wanted. Of course I did not fit there at all and found the christian teachings sorely lacking in truth of Jesus’s teachings. I am now thankful for the eye opening lessons of the far right christian schooling provided there but I am sad to find out it has not changed much. I was aware of 2 professors at the school tat were gay at that time and counseled me as best they could over this student’s suicide and the loss it caused for many and the horrible way the school treated her death. The counseling was confusing and behind closed doors (at least they did reach out to me and it did save me since I danced on this edge fo death/escape myself at that time) There was such fear there that they withdrew from continuing to help me (understandably) because of this fear. From this experience I moved on to a more open atmosphere and lifestyle that left that SPU far behind except for the lessons learned that inspired me to this day.

  12. I’m also an SPU Alum, and glad to see all of the thoughts of other alums who have posted here. Haven started when I was a student there, and I had the pleasure and privilege of supporting the group in whatever ways I could for its first two years. What struck me most during the group’s initial years on campus was the substantial number of students and faculty who proudly went out of their way to support, accept and promote Haven, and to defend the group against the actions of the administration. For many of these students and faculty members, this support came as the result of their religious convictions, not in spite of them. I believe the SPU community really understands the Christian teachings of bold love and acceptance at any cost more so than the administration that claims to be instilling these values in its graduates. I’m excited to have the opportunity to continue pressuring the administration to take a principled stand on the side of love, acceptance and justice — rather than cowering behind concerns for its finances and reputation. Its policies towards Haven have done substantial damage to its self-purported reputation as a community of grace.

  15. Of course the heart of the issue is SPU’s dedication to marginalizing critics of the Church.

    I understand the need to secure funding, but the funding, in this case, goes to support such a retrograde institution that I’m not sure this battle is worth fighting. One must understand that this is primarily a Methodist training camp and only secondarily an academic institution. If you take issue with SPU’s policies, petition the Methodist Church. Or just don’t go there.

    The academic education I received at SPU (this is a university, after all) was somewhere between sub-par and absurd. (I promise I won’t ramble too much about the adjunct theology professor who was “not invited back” after hinting at the possibility that “Hell” might not be an actual place. … And I won’t even go into the bit about the statistics professor who told me that the Holy Spirit prompted the cat to jump up on the table to eat the tuna fish…and that our study of how often the cat jumped on the table to eat the tuna fish is called, “Statistics.”)

    There’s a really big world outside of the SPU bubble. Let them have their fun. If you know better and you know it, clap your hands. Then just go to a different school. The SPU bubble will surely crystallize before long and be placed underground as a time capsule for future generations to guffaw at.

  16. I’ve read many of the comments above and noticed there are many articles in regards to SPU. I have to stop and ask the question, Why does the stranger feel so threatened by SPU?
    Before a student decides to attend SPU they must read and sign a contract. A lot of students find that SPU has exactly the type of enviorment that they are looking for, so they knowingly and of free will sign into a contract with the University. If a potential student finds upon reading the contract that this is not the school for she or he they have the freedom to choose not to go there. Having grown up in Seattle I know that there are plenty of other fine and some not so fine establishments of higher learning.

    In the original hard copy article “The Secret Sex Lives of SPU Students” their are 10 students that are in flagrant violation of the contract they knowingly signed over the span of ten years. That’s not too bad really an average of 1 student per year? Of course I realize this is probably just the tip of the real iceberg.

    In the end I find that by trying to change SPU into what everyone else already has we are depriving the region of another diverse choice for the people. In effect I see it as an attack against diversity.

    As a Christian I am use to being attacked for my faith and I realize that many people who do not share that faith feel threatened by it. When will the Christian population in say the Seattle area be small enough that you no longer feel threatened? 100 Christians? 30 Christians? 3 Christians?

    I doubt the SPU lifestyle expectations contract states that you can not indulge in behavior that is in violation of the contract, it seems you simply can not attend SPU if you choose to do so.

    My children are in elementary school at the moment and I hope that they will be able to choose a school such as SPU in the future. Unfortunatley, the way things are going they won’t have that kind of a choice.

  17. hi guys
    i’m international student ,i’m planing to study at seattle pacific university
    i need some information about SPU ,and what do u think about it is a good university or not ???

    Thanks
    Abdullah

  18. I agree with #68, I go to SPU currently, and we do sign a contract, and actually they are a very grace filled community in allowing a forgiven attitude towards those that break the contract. I actually am almost appalled at how liberal the school is, which I’m sure many of those who read this will scoff at. In all actuality all of the professors I have talked to in my time here are not conservative in the least. In fact, they have promoted a liberal stance on many issues lately (which is frustrating for many more students here than not). I would have to ask the same question though and ask why the Stranger and so many others in Seattle feel the need to attack SPU’s administration and policies. I know that they would never dare to call out other religious groups for simply believing something else, in fact its often supported, but if someone dared to say that they were *gasp* a Christian then suddenly you feel out-casted in the community, and people will call you close minded. Has it occurred to anyone that maybe there are Christians out there who don’t promote hate, and really do want what they believe to be the best for them and their families?

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