Liberty U. shuts down Democratic Club

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LYNCHBURG, Va., May 22 (UPI) -- Liberty University, the Virginia school founded by evangelist Jerry Falwell, has banned the Democratic Club from meeting on campus or using its name.

Brian Diaz told The Washington Post he was notified of the action by e-mail May 15. The e-mail said the club supports candidates whose views are "directly contrary to the mission of Liberty University."

Diaz, 18, starts his sophomore year in the fall. The club, with about 30 members, was organized during last year's presidential campaign and supported Barack Obama's candidacy.

"They . . . let the Liberty University College Republicans stay on campus but they don't let us,'' Diaz said. "Sounds like censorship to me."

Marcia Childress, a school employee who advises the club, said she plans to appeal to the chancellor, Jerry Falwell Jr.

The elder Falwell, who died in 2007, founded the school in 1971 as Liberty Baptist College. With more than 14,000 undergraduates, it is now the world's biggest evangelical university.