After Falwell's Departure, Liberty Students Worry About Their
School And Their Faith
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/18/903607975/after-falwells-departure-liberty-students-worry-
about-their-school-and-their-fai
Transcript:
Liberty University students are returning to a campus under new leadership. Liberty President Jerry
Falwell Jr. is on an indefinite leave of absence after a series of scandals culminating with Falwell
posting a controversial photo online. The school, a conservative Christian school in Virginia, has been
a center of white evangelical political activism for decades, and Falwell has been a leading
supporter of President Trump. As NPR's Sarah McCammon reports, some students say they are
feeling conflicted about both leaders.
Jerry Falwell Jr. is the son of Liberty University's late founder, the Reverend Jerry Falwell. Like his
father, he's been a vocal supporter of Republican politics. But Falwell Jr. has been known more for
his business acumen than for his religious devotion.
His whole family has worked so hard to build a good school. And, like, his father worked so hard to
build a legacy.
Caroline Reinhart is a 21-year-old rising senior from Ohio. She's a government major at Liberty.
And, like, one person's actions are threatening that, and I think that's very sad.
Reinhart says she was pleased to see Falwell agree to an indefinite leave of absence after a series of
high-profile scandals, including questionable business deals and accusations of racial insensitivity.
His departure came earlier this month after he shared a vacation photo on Instagram that showed
him with his pants unzipped next to a woman who was not his wife whose shorts were also
unzipped. Falwell recently told a local radio station, WLNI, that the photo was taken, quote, "in good
fun" and that the woman was his wife's assistant and she couldn't zip up her pants because she's
pregnant.
I've apologized to everybody. And I promised my kids I'm going to try to be - I'm going to try to be a
good boy from here on out.
Falwell has not responded to requests for comment from NPR, and Liberty University has declined
requests for interviews with Falwell and the interim president, Jerry Prevo. It's not clear when or if
Falwell will return, but Caroline Reinhart worries he's sullying the reputation not just of Liberty, but
also of her faith. She's also concerned about Falwell's prominent support for President Trump.
I think at times he presents himself in a way that suggests that he almost sees Trump as an idol. I
think he just excuses everything that goes on, and that's not acceptable.
Still, Reinhart says she's leaning toward voting for Trump because she aligns with many of his policy
positions. Nick Nary, a 20-year-old Liberty senior from Bent Mountain, Va., has similar concerns
about Falwell.
It just feels like he's just clowning around I guess.
Like Reinhart, Nary also dislikes the way Trump talks. But he says he plans to vote for him in
November. Even so, Nary worries about what Falwell's behavior and support for Trump will mean for
Liberty graduates.
Say, for instance, someone graduates Liberty University, and they're going out to an employer, and
they don't want to hire them because of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s antics.
As the son of a faculty member at Liberty, Isaac Liu has lived in the Lynchburg area since high school.
He's now a junior there studying mechanical engineering.
I think Falwell ultimately is, like, a symptom of the modern-day evangelical movement in America.
Liu says he's pleased to see Falwell go, at least for now, but that alone will not solve what he sees as
larger problems at Liberty and in evangelical Christianity as a whole.
I think a lot of younger evangelical Christians really noticed that Christianity is losing cultural
relevancy due to that hypocrisy and speaking out and working towards change in evangelical
Christianity.
There is some change within evangelicalism, says Michele Margolis, a political scientist at the
University of Pennsylvania. But as a whole, Margolis says, evangelicals under 29 don't seem to be
moving away from the Republican politics of their parents and grandparents in large numbers.
These folks look, like, 65-plus on certain issues. They are still far more conservative than their non-
evangelical counterparts at their age.
Margolis says there's evidence that young evangelicals with more liberal beliefs may be leaving their
faith, but those who stay aren't abandoning the Republican Party. As for Liberty, it's a similar story.
As student Caroline Reinhart put it, I wouldn't leave a school I love just because one man can't
behave. Sarah McCammon, NPR News.
Design:
After a series of scandals culminating with Falwell posting a controversial photo online, Liberty
President Jerry Falwell Jr. is on an (1) ___________________________.
The school has been a center of (2) _____________________________ for decades, and Falwell has
been a leading supporter of President Trump.
Like his father, he's been a (3) ______________________________ of Republican politics.
But Falwell Jr. has been known more for his (4) _________________________ than for his religious
devotion.
Jerry Prevo is the (5) _______________________________.
It's not clear when or if Falwell will return, but Caroline Reinhart worries he's (6)
____________________________ not just of Liberty, but also of her faith.
It just feels like he's just (7) _____________________________ I guess.
Say, for instance, someone graduates Liberty University, and they're going out to an employer, and
they don't want to hire them because of Jerry Falwell Jr.'s (8) ___________________________.
Isaac Liu is studying (9) _____________________________.
I think a lot of younger evangelical Christians really noticed that Christianity is losing cultural
relevancy due to that (10) _________________________________.
