Students from Seattle Pacific University, a Christian school associated with the Free Methodist Church, have ended their more than month-long sit-in protesting the board of trustees’ decision to uphold a policy prohibiting the hiring of people who identify as LGBTQ.
They are now pursuing legal action against the trustees, according to a statement posted Friday (July 1) on Instagram by the Associated Students of Seattle Pacific, who have raised more than $36,000 through GoFundMe to cover legal fees.
Tracy Norlen, a spokesperson for Seattle Pacific University, told Religion News Service in an e-mail Friday afternoon that there were no plans to change the university’s “employee lifestyle expectations,” which include traditional views on sexuality and a policy against hiring full-time faculty who violate it, including those who engage in homosexual activities.
Students participating in the sit-in, which began in late May, had given the board of trustees until July 1 to rescind the hiring policy. On Friday night, as the sit-in concluded, students hung paper hearts from the ceiling and walls of the building where the protest took place. There were 924 paper hearts in the “Heartfelt Reactions” display, representing the hours spent protesting the policy.
The display is a nod to the board of trustees’ statement in late May noting that their decision to retain the policy, “which brings complex and heart-felt reactions,” was made in order for the university to “remain in communion” with the Free Methodist Church USA.
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At issue is the school’s employee lifestyle expectation policy that states, in part, that “employees are expected to refrain from sexual behavior that is inconsistent with the University’s understanding of Biblical standards, including cohabitation, extramarital sexual activity, and same-sex sexual activity.”
The Associated Students of Seattle Pacific on Friday posted a letter on Instagram from Board Chair Dean Kato that was addressed to sit-in representatives.
“We acknowledge there is a disagreement among people of faith on the topic of sexuality and identity. But after careful and prayerful deliberation, we believe these longstanding employee expectations are consistent with the University’s mission and Statement of Faith that reflect a traditional view on biblical marriage and sexuality, as an expression of long-held orthodox church teaching,” the letter reads.
In April 2021 the university’s faculty took a vote of no confidence in its board of trustees after members of the board declined to change the hiring policy. The no-confidence vote was approved by 72% of the faculty. In the aftermath, a campus work group was assigned to explore how the university could change how it addresses issues involving gender and sexual orientation, according to The Seattle Times.
But before the trustees could vote on the campus work group’s recommendations, the Free Methodist Church USA issued a statement making clear the school would no longer be in communion with the church if it changed the hiring policy to condone sexual activity outside its understanding of orthodox Biblical standards.
Chloe Guillot, who graduated last month, told RNS in June that their suit will be against the board of trustees, not the university.