Evangelical Christian Liberty University received half a billion dollars in federal aid money

[Bluebear]

Liberty University -- where the biology department teaches Young Earth Creationism -- is, astoundingly, an accredited school of higher learning.



Liberty University, the evangelical private Christian school founded by dead apartheid-supporting bigot Jerry Falwell, received $445 million in federal financial aid last year. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, by the way, received $420 million from the federal government.

That massive sum was thanks to the growth of Liberty's online program, which enrolled 52,000 students last year. The school is the No. 1 recipient of Pell grant money in the state of Virginia. While it may seem like the federal government is basically subsidizing this formerly financially challenged ultra-conservative religious private school, LU's executive director of financial aid sees it differently:

For Ritz — a financial aid veteran who got his start at a small Bible college — Liberty’s use of federal financial aid does not run counter to the university’s conservative values. Liberty does not receive the federal money directly, Ritz said, but through students, who use it to pay for tuition, room and board and other expenses.

“These funds are authorized by Congress and Congress is elected by voters. . . I’ve always been in the position where I believe I’m a steward of those federal funds. I’m a steward of tax-payer money.”

And I'm sure ACORN, Planned Parenthood and NPR feel the same way.

http://www.salon.com/life/education/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/04/05/liberty_university_federal_money

[sakabatou]

1. Wait, that place is ACCREDITED?!

:wtf:

[deminks]

2. We are evidently not broke enough to cut this bs out of the budget

and I am quite sure there are others.

How about someone going in and making fake heavily edited films about the school administrators in embarrassing situations? Oh, wait..... /sarcasm off.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. What makes it "kosher": the public financing is INDIRECT.

That's how religious groups are subsidized with our tax dollars. The money isn't paid directly to the churches or religious groups. It's given to their programs which are "secular" enough to qualify for the dollars. And since the money is put into one pot, the government dollars free up the budget for religious expenditures. It has the same effect albeit a different means of tfinancing religious programs.

[Bluebear]

6. Indeed.

[Dogtown]

4. K&R n/t

[Viking12]

5. but, but, but, government is eeevil.......