Daily Dose of Queer reader Drew left some links in the comments section of my post about Jason Johnson being expelled from the University of the Cumberlands for being out on his MySpace.com page that I just got the chance to look at.

One link is to the article “Reaction grows to gay student’s expulsion” at Kentucky.com, in which Jamie Gumbrecht writes that Jason’s boyfriend, Zac Dreyer, wrote the following on his MySpace page after hearing that Jason had been expelled: “He is being asked to leave the university because he is gay… Help get the story out there so that all the gays and lesbians at the university will no longer have to live in secrecy, in fear of having their dreams crushed in front of them.”

Also from “Reaction grows to gay student’s expulsion,” the policy which the University of the Cumberlands claims Jason is in violation of did not exist when he became a student at the university:

Johnson, a sophomore majoring in theater arts, was expelled from the university Thursday because he declared online that he is gay. In a statement released last week, the university’s president, Jim Taylor said students are held to a “higher standard” and that “students know the rules before they come to this institution.”

But a copy of the student handbook provided by the university confirmed the policy was not spelled out in 2003-04, when Johnson chose to attend. The school did not provide a copy of the policy for the 2004-05 school year. The 2005-06 student handbook says: “Any student who engages in or promotes sexual behavior not consistent with Christian principles (including sex outside marriage and homosexuality) may be suspended or asked to withdraw.”

According to University of the Cumberlands officials, it doesn’t matter.

School officials said that although the 2003-04 policy did not explicitly mention homosexuality, it did say that students must “conduct themselves, on and off the campus, in a manner which is consistent with the objectives of the College and with its standards of conduct.”

Drew also linked to “Dean’s List Student Asked To Leave College After He Reveals He’s Gay” at MSNBC.com and pointed to this quote from a written statement by University of the Cumberlands President Dr. James H. Taylor: “At University of the Cumberlands, we hold students to a higher standard than does society he general…University of the Cumberlands isn’t for everyone. We tell prospective students about our high standards before they come. There are places students with predispositions can go such as San Francisco and the left coast or to many of the state schools.”

Yes, we really should be thankful to those places which continue to keep their standards down for us.

(Thanks for the links, Drew!)