The Equality Ride

I've been following the media coverage of the Equality Ride, a cross-country protest tour through which GLBT students hope to bring attention to anti-gay policies and practices at Christian colleges.  Whatever our view of the policies being protested, it is, in my view, a valuable model of cultural engagement by the riders, who seem to be targeting hearts and minds, rather than the levers of government power.  Equally interesting are the divergent approaches taken by the institutions themselves, ranging from the fortress mentality (e.g., Liberty having the protestors arrested for setting foot on campus) to the facilitation of dialogue (e.g., Bethel planning various discussion forums with students and faculty).  As Wheaton College's provost recognized, "this is a significant event" because "it signals a heightening of the pressure that's going to be on our institution as we are discordant with the general culture on our stand of sexual morality."

Rob