John Brown University Incident

SILOAM SPRINGS, AR — A gay student at John Brown University says he was dismissed from the school earlier this month for violating campus lifestyle guidelines related to his sexual orientation and for material found in his online journals.

Michael Guinn, 22, said he was dismissed from the school on Jan. 13 after meeting with John Brown University administrators.

Guinn said he became a Christian two years ago and chose to attend the university last fall because it’s in his hometown, and because he admired the unique bond the administration had with the student body and because, as the son of a faculty member, his tuition would be free.
Guinn’s father, Gary M. Guinn, is an English professor and his mother, Mary Ann Guinn, is the campus nurse, he said.

John Brown University, a private Christian liberal arts university, requires students to agree to behavioral codes, including a promise not to smoke, drink, have sex outside of marriage or gamble while attending the school. Guinn said the administration asked him to adhere to additional behavioral codes not required of other students because he said he is gay and that he ultimately was dismissed from the university on the grounds that he violated that agreement.

John Brown University media relations and student development officials declined to comment on specifics of the school’s agreement with Guinn or its interactions with him.

A statement released Tuesday by Steve Beers, vice president of student development, read : “In all cases, students who have been disciplined have violated agreed upon behavioral expectations. These behavioral expectations are based upon JBU’s Biblical and cultural core values.”

The university learned that Guinn was gay last summer from an anonymous e-mail that included a link to Guinn’s online journal on the Xanga Web log community, where Guinn makes his sexual orientation known, he said.

In a meeting with the school’s administration the week before school started last fall, Guinn said the administration told him that, in addition to the regular behavior covenant students sign, he was to abide by a separate code of conduct.

Guinn said he was told : not to dress in women’s clothing ; if he participated in sports he could not slap other players on the rear end; he could not hug or shake hands with other men for too long ; he could not “broadcast” his lifestyle; he could not tell other students he was gay until he got to know them well.

Beers declined to comment on the specifics of Guinn’s agreement with the university, saying it would be inappropriate to publicly divulge specifics about any particular student.
Guinn said that every few weeks a meeting was called by the administration in which he had to dispel rumors or was admonished for being “too flamboyant.”

When asked why Guinn was dismissed, Beers said, “We work redemptively with all students who struggle with behavior issues in their lives and we discipline students after we have credible, substantial and typically repeated evidence of violation of our Community Covenant.”
Guinn said he will not return to John Brown University.

Asked if openly gay students will be admitted to the university in the future, Beers said, “We gain our directive on admissions from our JBU Community Covenant. The Covenant states, making the choice to attend JBU means having a sympathetic appreciation for our guiding principles and choosing to abide by our community expectations.”