Christian School Demands “Full Access” to Some Students’ Social Network Accounts|Hemant Mehta|Friendly Atheist|Patheos

Louisiana College (a private Baptist-affiliated school) remains in the news, again, for an issue of its own creation.

In 2018, they were taken legal action against by a man who was born into a Jewish household and converted to Christianity while attending the school, but who claimed he didn’t get a job as an assistant football coach there due to the fact that of his “Jewish blood.” That case is still pending.The more recent issue

is entirely various. According to a former professor at the school, who resigned this past Might, the school has actually adopted an incredibly Orwellian social networks policy that needs certain trainees to turn over all of their social media accounts(posts, pictures, etc )to school officials as a way of monitoring them. The policy likewise requires all trainees to alert administrators if they discover something inappropriate posted by a schoolmate. The relevant area starts around page 90 in the trainee handbook

. Not an exclusive list, some specific examples of improper and restricted

social media usage consists of posting commentary, material, images, or videos that are important, offensive, denigrating, derogatory, prejudiced, defamatory, pornographic, harassing, false, or that attack individual professor, personnel, students, or the College. Louisiana College may keep an eye on online activity and social media content of workers and students

, so this policy applies to communications and/or devices not owned by LC and after-hours activity. Microblogging (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, etc.)comments made using such media are not protected by personal privacy settings … Social media websites might be routinely kept an eye on by a variety of sources within LC (e.g., Sports, Trainee Advancement

, Infotech, and School Security)or licensed suppliers engaged by LC to keep an eye on social networks. 1. If you take part in certain high-profile student activities, you may be required to offer complete access to your personal social media to

chosen employees of LC or authorized vendors. 2. If you discover improper details on the social networks website of any LC student, you are required to call the Dean of Trainees or other LC administrative employee. You must not act by yourself accord(e.g., hazing or any kind of penalty). Maybe you might argue trainees and staffers understand this when they register to go to the Christian school. They’re offering to be babysat by administrators. That’s not exactly new at fundamentalist schools. Former teacher Russell L. Meek says this is far beyond keeping students employable in the future and responsible to spiritual requirements– the specified reasons for the policies. … it belongs to a pattern of habits that looks for to keep people from speaking easily about what is occurring at the college. If there is absolutely nothing wrong, then why threaten students, faculty, and staff with alarming repercussions should they state anything negative? And if there’s nothing incorrect and someone does make a negative remark, who cares ? There is something deeply off when a person or organization goes to such excellent lengths to silence criticism. … can you imagine” willingly”– under threat of expulsion or shooting– reporting on your buddies and next-door neighbors should they violate a policy that restricts their complimentary speech? All in the name of safeguarding the image of that institution?Meek mentions that the Southern Baptist Convention remains in the”midst of a reckoning “regarding all the sexual abuse that has

happened in its churches and by its leaders. If there’s some misbehavior at Louisiana College and a trainee posts about it, the school is saying that student could be expelled. This isn’t theoretical; Meek resigned due to the fact that a dean said at a required chapel service that a woman who had

several sex partners was turning herself into a”fracture house. “He likewise told females to” cut your yard,” referring to their pubic hair.(1. Wut. 2. When did Jesus say that? 3. Seriously, WTF. )Meek grumbled about the preaching to his managers, advising them to denounce what had actually been stated, but they didn’t do enough for his taste

. That’s when he left the school. In theory, if a trainee complained about that preaching on Facebook today, it’s the student who would be penalized, not the dean who made the remarks. The policy is absolutely nothing more than an early effort to silence critics. Acollege must be a location where you’re motivated to think seriously and independently. Louisiana College desires trainees who are incapable of a single idea that does not operate as an ad for the school.( I guess they simply desire to make certain trainees are employable by the Trump administration.)None of this is new for Christian schools; Liberty University has blocked posts composed by students working for the school’s

paper if they didn’t align with Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s political views.

Quite frankly, I don’t understand why anybody would choose to go to a school like this. Why go somewhere where mistrust is the default relationship everybody has with the administration? It’s combative from the very start, and school authorities have made it clear that they value their own credibility over students’independence. For a religious beliefs that values faith, Louisiana College declines to put any in its students.(Image via Shutterstock)