GCC student suspended for off-campus participation in online gay porn

To Grove City College, John Gechter was a bright young student majoring in molecular biology.

[max]

I go to college here and it is absolutely the most intolerant, oppressive place I can imagine. I feel bad for John.

[Emily]

No it's not; he isn't dead yet.:)
I find the whole thing both funny and tragic. What else did he expect from this campus? But the fact that "Freedom's College" can't manage to act any differently than any other college trying to avoid bad PR is irritating, to say the least.

[Ellice]

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
I guess I wonder what makes this offense different from a lot of the other stuff that goes on...the girls in my building are out partying all the time (and I go to Grove City College) and does that mean that because his sins are public that the school has to do something about it?
Anyway, the poor kid was just getting ready to graduate. The temptation of getting money to pay for college is great (3-5,000 dollars a scene is extremely tempting). I think it would have more of an impact on this kid if the college would have shown some mercy and an interest in helping him to change, not just wanting to keep dirt from getting on the school's alumni list.

[Anne]

The college is not oppressing him, he made a choice to be in adult films. The school is not trying to "cover it up", they are simply standing behind their views against the adult film industry. Also, the school did try to help him change. I am pretty sure they told him he would be suspended for one year and he could come back to finish his degree if he stopped working in the porn industry. In light of what the school believes that seems pretty reasonable. I think he chose to not take their offer and he might sue them. In regards to girls drinking on your hall, that does not promote anything except the fact that they like to drink and that they have not been caught (also it is not against the rules/or a sin to be 21 and to drink). Porn exemplifies everything that is wrong in this world. It promotes impurity at all levels, it is truly evil. I am not going to say that Grove City is completely tolerant of everything on campus but the school does stand for something and will continue to stand for their beliefs even if they start to look bad in the public eye. That is more than most wishy washy people/colleges these days.

[Irritated]

Didn't Jesus accept everyone, especially those who needed helped the most? Did the people at Grove City forget about those values? Being gay is a personal matter and any school (Christian affiliated or not) should not have any say in the matter. The problem is that close-minded people who consider themselves "Christians" only accept people that are just like them.

[Rachel]

Irritated wrote:

Didn't Jesus accept everyone, especially those who needed helped the most? Did the people at Grove City forget about those values? Being gay is a personal matter and any school (Christian affiliated or not) should not have any say in the matter. The problem is that close-minded people who consider themselves "Christians" only accept people that are just like them.

It's not about being gay. He chose to go to a Christian college. He chose to do porn. If he didn't know that doing porn would get him kicked out of school if anyone found out, then he certainly should have. People have gotten kicked out for less.

[Angered]

Jesus is clear in the New Testament about love.“Love your neighbor as yourself”(Matthew 22:29). He does not give any conditions which the neighbor must meet, i.e. straight or gay. He simply says love them. People live in different ways from what is considered “moral” and instead of loving them regardless of their choices, these people are judged harshly, ostracized, and ultimately hated. This is not the Christian way; this is the conservative, narrow minded way of viewing Christianity, which does not preach a gospel (which when translated from Greek means ‘Good News’) of love and acceptance, but one of hate.

Paul states in I Corinthians 13: 2 “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” He states later in I Corinthians 13: 13,“And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” Love is the central focus here. Not hate. We are not to differ from those who we do not agree with; we are to love them. It does not matter one iota what one can do, if they do not love, they are worthless. I quote the Scriptures here, not so as to seem a Bible snob, but instead to put those of the GCC community on point that they cannot simply pick and choose the parts of the Bible they wish to believe. They must accept it all or deny it all. Further, they should go back and try to understand Paul’s condemnation of the community at Corinth, which was hating one another for opposing viewpoints (sound familiar????)

Apparently Grove City College does not take to heart the story of Jesus and his Passion. He was persecuted for his views; he was condemned by his community; and ultimately put to death for preaching his beliefs. And if there truly are real Christians at that college, they will come out and support John, no matter what he has done. Instead, they cast him out and set him apart, making a mockery of him. John is not to be hated; he is to be loved.

[Gina]

Why isn't the student that turned John in being reprimanded? Isn't it just as "sinful" in the eyes of GCC faculty, students, and administration to be looking at porn? Maybe they just see that student as doing "God's work" and finding John online. This whole matter to me is completely ridiculous and even more so coming from a so-called Christian college. Instead of teaching the love and acceptance Jesus showed to everyone they are breeding hate and small-mindedness.

[Steve]

I don't really understand why Grove City COLLEGE, a purported institution of higher LEARNING (aka academics) is telling John that while he has earned all his credits, satisfactorily completed his studies, and earned the right to be conferred a Bachelor's degree that because of conduct done in free time, not in school, away from the college, aka OFF-CAMPUS, he cannot be awarded an ACADEMIC degree. His conduct does not show that he is not intelligent enough to get a degree; it shows he makes a personal choice differing from that of the administration.

They're not giving him the "Citizen of the Year Award." They're supposed to be giving him an academic degree. In my thinking, if he has the grades, necessary work, and training to be conferred such a degree, what does a personal life choice have anything to do with it?(I'll answer that for you: Nothing at all.) This is just Grove City's way of getting on the map, recruiting more close-minded ignorant students, and bashing homosexuals. They're just proving that they are not a real college, but rather a training camp for hate.

[Anne]

They are not "bashing homosexuals" there are other gay people on campus, they just are not in porn. You can be gay on campus as long as you don't have sex, just like you can be straight on campus as long as you don't have sex. The problem the school has is that he was in the adult film industry. Also, I think he went on record in an article saying he wasn't even gay but bisexual or something.

[Steve]

Anne,

Since you seem to know so much about Grove City, it is obvious that you currently attend, recently attended, or are on staff there. In any case, you have an inner knowledge of the campus.

Here's the question: What does the college do with the gay, lesbian, and bisexual students, who apparently from your comment, can be found all over campus? Celebrate their life choices or make them receive counseling to "cure" their problem (I use the word cure because many conservatives feel that is the correct term).

“Clearly something happened since he’s been here for four years that led him down this unfortunate path,” she said.“We want to get him out of that type of life.”<---Ms. Amy Clingensmith, Communications Director for GCC. Anne, maybe you can explain "what happened"; does GCC have a problem with this? Is there a rash of straight students who come there and then turn out gay or bisexual? From Ms.Clingensmith's comment, you would certainly think so. He's 22 years old and a consenting male; I think he has the right and privilege to do as he pleases. Now, before you launch into a huge diatribe that GCC is a private school, receives no federal dollars, etc. I'm not commenting here on civil rights; I understand that the "fascists" that run that place feel that their students cannot be trusted to make sensible decisions all on their own and must be babied. I read the Crimson tonight after learning of this horrid incident. I found it to be the most infantile document, which does NOT encourage personal responsibility, growth, and free thinking.
Also, there have been no comments as to the "historical Christian values" (which is ridiculously vague) which the Crimson, the school's student handbook, cited in the decision of the administration to release John. I'd like to hear some Scriptural basis from those at GCC who are "in the know" as to where exactly hating homosexuals is valued ABOVE loving them.

Finally, what does it matter if he went on record as bisexual opposed to gay? Are you saying he should be punished more severely because his personal sexual appetite varies? Or would any straight person who went on record, opposing the viewpoints of the college, be treated in such a way? I think not.

All of you at GCC need to read your Bibles a little closer; or do they not require you to read and think for yourself, they just cram it down your throat at mandatory chapel? Here are a few selected verses:

Matthew 7:1-5 "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor,“Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye."

From the story of a woman caught in adultery John 8:7b "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

Just a few thoughts, from JESUS, who supposedly is the one worshiped by GCC. I guess you worship, just don't listen and learn.

[Anonymous]

It seems like some people are just taking verses right out of the context and using it backward....
Yes, Jesus did love everyone, and yes, he did says love your neighbor as yourself..
But he was also crucified for our sins.
and even more, he did not tell the woman in the synagogue to go back and don't sin.
After he told everyone that if there's someone who has not sinned, he can throw stones at her, he didn't tell her,
'bug off, now that I saved you go sin again'
he said go and do not repeat the sin.

[Rachel]

Yes, Jesus wants us to love one another. Yes, that include people who choose to do pornography. I am still waiting for the verse where Jesus says that loving one another means that you cannot suspend someone from school for clearly violating the school rules.

[Anne]

I think that Anonymous and Rachel responded to your (Steve's) questions/statements pretty well. However, I want to clarify things that were specifically asked of me.

I never said "they can be found all over campus". I simply said that there are other gays on campus, not that there are swarms of them. As for what the campus "does with them when they find out", I do not know. Since they are still in attendance I can say two things. 1) They do not parade their orientation around and 2) Even if they did/do, someone cannot be suspended for being gay. Like I said previously, one can be suspended for having homosexual sex AND heterosexual sex (breaking the rules clearly stated by the college).

As for your comments about ...“We want to get him out of that type of life.”<---Ms. Amy Clingensmith, Communications Director for GCC... I would take that not as an attack of his orientation but the fact that he is in the adult film industry. Porn in itself is a lifestyle, a terrible one.

In response to your last comment directed towards me..."Finally, what does it matter if he went on record as bisexual opposed to gay? Are you saying he should be punished more severely because his personal sexual appetite varies?"...It does not matter if he is bisexual as opposed to gay. The only reason I said that he might not even be gay is because someone was stating that GCC was gay bashing or opposing gays. I just want to state that he might not be gay. The issue here is not orientation, it is porn.

[Wilson]

The very same week John got kicked out, a girl and guy were arrested for having sex (yes, straight, guy-on-girl sex) in public and were kicked out for 1 year...probably won't be back. The college is pretty consistent on their policies.
Yes, Jesus was a loving individual and befriended sinners. However, Grove City College is not Jesus Christ, it is a college...with policies that need to be enforced to appease alumni (where they get all their money). I can't stand the argument that Jesus was this or that or Christianity says this or that so Christians are wrong. That makes it seem like Christians are perfect. Christians make errors and sin THE SAME AMOUNT as everyone else. Just because a Christian individual or orginization handles something poorly shouldn't reflect poorly on Christianity as a whole.
I disliked my stay at Grove City, but they are correct to defend their policies. They have rules and he knowingly broke them. Besides, John is a self-absorbed douche with little to no personality.

[Went there]

The fact remains that no matter what the rules, he knew them, and knowingly broke them. If he was granted admission on the basis of these rules, and chose not to adhere to them then he was wrong...
The rule could have been ANYTHING. If you say I won't do X (or XXX in this case) and you do it anyway you've not fulfilled your end of the bargain!
Going to a particular college or university is not a right.