Following the march, BJUnity members want to pursue open dialogue with school administrators in an effort to help them come into compliance with accepted standards on LGBT issues in the school’s current quest for regional accreditation. Also, they will continue their challenges for the Republican Party to distance themselves from this network.

As a sign of the shifting U.S. culture regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, LGBT alumni from fundamentalist Bob Jones University (BJU), in Greenville, S.C., marched for gay rights at last weekend’s NYC Pride March. Gathering under the banner of BJUnity, a newly formed affirming alternative for LGBT alumni and students of BJU, the marchers also shared their online petition calling for a public apology from the school for a 1980 statement made by now Chancellor Bob Jones III about homosexuals and subsequent extreme rhetoric as well as for what members view as a hostile environment for LGBT students and alumni.

Jeffrey Hoffman, executive director of BJUnity said their presence lets LGBT students and alumni know they are not alone, there and at other Independent Fundamental Baptist organizations.

Like other children born into this conservative subculture, Hoffman, born on campus, was groomed to attend BJU and seek out a traditional marriage modeled after Genesis 2. While he knew he was attracted to men by the time he was eight years old, all Hoffman heard from the pulpit is that he should be stoned, deserved to get AIDS and other hostile messages.

When LGBT BJU students and alumni began gathering together online, Hoffman noted they were not aware of the concurrent rise of other LGBT groups representing other fundamentalist and evangelical colleges such as OneWheaton, Queer Biola Underground, Cedarville Out, and OneGeorgeFox. “OneWheaton celebrates the momentum among LGBTQ students and alumni and their allies at Christian colleges and universities across the country. We are proud of BJUnity and stand with them in affirming LGBTQ individuals and the relationships that are a natural expression of their identity,” said One Wheaton board member Adam Hibma about recent collaboration among the networks.

More than 50 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight affirming alumni, spouses, significant others and friends gathered for the New York march.

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