I find this interesting as Wheaton was one of my original college choices back in the day. It is considered a "sister" institution of where I eventually ended up. Although I applaud the efforts of the documentarians, it is sad to see that Wheaton has not progressed much in the last 20+ years; not that the college I went to has either.
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One thing that both the right and left tend to agree on is that higher education is vastly more accepting of LGBTQ people than mainstream society overall. We tell young people all the time that their lives will "get better" once they leave for college, where they can start exploring and expressing themselves freely.
There's a reason for the dual narratives that alternately delight the left and terrify the right. Whether we're talking about the LGBTQ youth who goes to college and finds themselves, or the intolerant youth who upon getting to college is exposed to positive interactions/portrayals of LGBTQ people for the first time and ends up becoming an ally, for a huge number of people, one or the other of those two scenarios is exactly what happens.
But for students at conservative and religious colleges, the story is often very different.
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,,, We wanted to create something that would bring this discussion at Wheaton College and other conservative Christian institutions away from political and theological debate and bring it to people, their lives and their voices and their stories. This is of course what this 'issue' is all about.
"Usually the only thing that causes an evangelical Christian to re-examine their beliefs is personal experience -- a friend coming out to them or something similar. We wanted to create that for Wheaton College as a whole. Luke and I both hope this can make some sort of small impact. All we want is for love to win.
New Documentary Tackles Being LGBTQ at Wheaton College | The Bilerico Project
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