Woke students at Christian college DePaul University are demanding a religious group is ‘eliminated’ from campus because it said LGBTQ lifestyles are a ‘sin’.
The private Chicago university’s leaders are facing an internal rebellion over the row, despite the Christian group not being an official student organization.
A petition to ban the group from campus says it is ‘abhorrent,’ adding that ‘there’s no reason that in 2023 you should still be homophobic’.
Known as ‘Vessel’, the organization sparked fury on campus after it posted a Q&A on its since-deleted Instagram page, where it said ‘we do not agree’ with the LGBTQ agenda.
DePaul University, a private Christian college, has been upended by an LGBTQ row
A Q&A post from the since-deleted Vessel Instagram page sparked fury among the student body
Faculty are under mounting pressure from students as the nascent group is reportedly attempting to become an established college organization.
While not yet recognized by the university, the group reportedly brings together like-minded students to classrooms across the campus.
It’s controversial Instagram post said the group was ‘non-affirming’ – a term for those who disagree with same-sex relationships on religious grounds.
The group also cited bible verses in its statement, including 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, which states that ‘neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves … will inherit the kingdom of God.’
Despite this inclusion, the organization claimed that ‘everyone is welcome at Vessel,’ adding that it is ‘a space where we come as we are to learn more about Jesus’.
But the group’s assertion that ‘we do not agree’ with the LGBTQIA lifestyle, led fellow students to demand it’s disbandment.
‘DePaul has a wide variety of religious groups on campus,’ says the ‘Eliminate Vessel’ petition.
‘But one in particular called Vessel is outwardly promoting that they are “non-affirming” to the LGBTQIA+ community because of religious beliefs and claiming that it’s a “sinful” lifestyle.
‘With a large majority of DePaul students who identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, this is abhorrent.’
The student protest also alleges the group’s existence is ‘a clear violation of DePaul’s Anti-Discrimination policy’.
‘There’s no reason that in 2023 you should still be homophobic,’ it continues.
‘There’s nothing “sinful” about people who identify as LGBTQIA+. As a student who identifies as bisexual myself, it makes me sad to see hatred spread around campus like this.
‘Do better, DePaul.’
Following the backlash, a DePaul media relations officer told The DePaulia, the campus newspaper, that the group was yet to officially begin the application to be a registered organization.
However, screenshots of the group’s now-deleted Instagram page reportedly said they ‘are not DePaul affiliated’ but ‘are looking to become a club soon.’
Student activists at the college say they are hoping to outlaw the organization before it has the chance to do so, arguing it is breaking the school’s anti-discrimination code.
‘In some way, with the quoting of the Bible verse, I think to an extent, that is still discrimination,’ said student organizer Alexandra Murphy.
‘We were super p***ed,’ added Brigid O’Brien, Murphy’s roommate who was one of the students who created the petition.
Spectrum, a DePaul LGBT advocacy group, accused the group of ‘exclusion’ and ‘bigotry’, and said it was ‘ashamed’ of the students who supported it.
‘DePaul University has always shown that tolerance of the LGBTQ+ community can coexist with religious beliefs,’ the group added in an Instagram post.
‘We are proud of the action the DePaul community took against this organization and are heartened to know how supportive the DePaul community is in the face of homophobia.’
An LGBTQ group on campus said it is ‘ashamed’ of students who have supported Vessel’s existence
A petition has been launched to ‘eliminate’ the group from campus
In response to the calls for its dissolution, Vessel told the campus outlet: ‘Recently, our small group Vessel was questioned on our views of sexuality and relationships.
‘In no way did we intend to harm, or seem to ostracize or reject the LGBTQIA+ community at DePaul. In fact, we would much rather focus on worship and community building, key aspects of our faith community.
‘We have reached out to those who have raised issues with our group (none of these people have attended or attempted to attend a meeting) in order to promote conversation and understanding, but none have followed up on this.
‘Disagreement is not harassment, but we apologize for any hurt we may have caused in how we have communicated things.’
DePaul University did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com when contacted for comment.
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