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Around the Region: Anti-LGBTQ student group sues University of Iowa

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Around the Region: Anti-LGBTQ student group sues University of Iowa

Iowa
Controversy continues at the University of Iowa as a Christian group sues after the University revoked it’s status as a student group following anti-LGBTQ discrimination. KCRG has reactions from LGBTQ community members on campus:

Alex Bare is the Outreach Director for Spectrum UI, the first LGBT university club in the United States. He says what Business Leaders in Christ did wasn’t right.
“The sole reason he didn’t get that position was for his identity. A fully qualified person in all other pursuits yet because of that aspect of his identity they were denied that position,” said Bare.
Business Leaders in Christ says the University isn’t allowing it to honor its beliefs, that intimate relationships should only be between one man and one woman in marriage.

Religious right gadfly Franklin Graham weighed in on the university’s decision. The anti-LGBTQ evangelical Christian website Christian Daily reports:

In a Facebook post, Graham talked about how the University of Iowa had revoked BLinC’s license to operate and activity fee funding after an openly gay student had complained about being kept from a leadership position. The evangelist sided with the Christian student group and applauded its members for standing up for their faith despite the accusations of discrimination thrown against them, the World Net Daily relayed.

“The school said they were discriminating. The group said that anyone can become a member, but leaders must affirm a statement of faith that upholds God’s standards, and the Bible says that homosexuality is sin,” Graham said in part on Facebook. “I’m proud of these courageous young people for being faithful to Biblical truth. Pray for them as they have challenged the school’s religious discrimination with legal action.”

Wisconsin
A Wisconsin university has been named one of the best schools fr LGBTQ students, WQOW reports:

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has once again been named a top spot for LGBTQIA+ students.

According to BestColleges.com, UWEC is the best college in Wisconsin for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and asexual students. Though the recognition isn’t entirely new for the campus.

In May of 2017, UW-Eau Claire came in third in the nation on College Choice’s 2017 “50 Best Colleges for LGBTQ Students” list.
Some credit the accolades to things like the school’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Center and the “Coming Out Day” celebration held every year on the campus mall.

“It’s important for us, as an institution, to be able to say, ‘Regardless of what’s going on in the country or around the world, you can come here and you can thrive, not just survive,'” said Christopher Jorgenson, the director of UW-Eau Claire’s Gender & Sexuality Resource Center.

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Andy Birkey has written for a number of Minnesota and national publications. He founded Eleventh Avenue South which ran from 2002-2011, wrote for the Minnesota Independent from 2006-2011, the American Independent from 2010-2013. His writing has appeared in The Advocate, The Star Tribune, The Huffington Post, Salon, Cagle News Service, Twin Cities Daily Planet, TheUptake, Vita.mn and much more. His writing on LGBT issues, the religious right and social justice has won awards including Best Beat Reporting by the Online News Association, Best Series by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and an honorable mention by the Sex-Positive Journalism awards.