Lucas Wilson
(he/him)
Liberty University
Lucas Wilson lives in Toronto in Ontario, Canada. He identifies as a gay man.
He graduated from Liberty University in May 2012. Liberty University’s student honor code, “The Liberty Way,” has a range of anti-LGBTQ+ policies and explicitly prohibits romantic and sexual relationships between people of the same sex. The school’s official policies lead to an unaccepting anti-LGBTQ climate.
Lucas decided to go to Liberty University because it was an evangelical school and because, as someone who struggled with his sexuality, he wanted to be straight and knew that Liberty had an anti-LGBTQ “conversion therapy” program. “My main form of therapy involved numerous individual meetings with a Liberty administrator over the course of all four years of my time at Liberty. Repression, deep-seated shame, self-hatred: these were the enduring fruits of my meetings. At the time, I didn’t understand that you can’t fix what isn’t broken.” He also attended one group “conversion therapy” session – a group now called Armor Bearers.
“Essentially, conversion therapy is part of the ‘menu’ of educational opportunities available for same-sex attracted students ‘who accept responsibility’ for their homosexuality or homosexual behaviors,” Lucas said. This ‘opportunity’ is provided by Liberty as an alternative to disciplinary action. Queer students should be protected from the discrimination that I experienced at Liberty. No university that offers conversion therapy or treats LGBTQIA+ students the way Liberty University does should receive government funding.”
He is raising his voice to protect all LGBTQ+ students at Liberty University and religiously affiliated colleges across the country.
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