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Liberty University

Some Liberty University alumni are returning their diplomas to protest Trump

Megan Schellong

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Liberty University alumni have started a Facebook group to express their opposition of the university president's support for President Trump.

The group's description reads, "The purpose of this group is to demonstrate our dismay with Liberty University and Jerry Falwell, Jr." The "Return your diploma to LU" group's membership has grown to more than 500 members as of Tuesday afternoon.

The leader of the evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Va., Jerry Falwell Jr. was one of the first white evangelical leaders to show support for Trump. In the 2016 election, a majority of evangelical Christians supported Trump.

In this Jan. 18, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a speech at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

But some evangelicals are turning away from Trump now.

"Trump claims to govern by the same principles of evangelical Christianity," Chrissy Spears, a 2009 Liberty graduate told USA TODAY College. "But angrily bullying those you don't agree with, lashing out in frustration, and not seeking to cultivate compassion for others is in complete opposition to the Evangelical Christian view of Liberty." She plans on returning her diploma along with approximately 50 reported others.

Liberty University released a statement in response, saying that it supports freedom of expression and calling the returning of diplomas a "tactic."

In a statement to The Independent, Falwell went further, writing that alumni plans to send back diplomas was “nothing but a joke and a publicity stunt.”

In this May 13, 2017 photo, President Donald Trump stands with Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. in Lynchburg, Va.  Falwell, in tweets and interviews in recent days, defended the president's response to a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that descended into deadly violence. A small group of Liberty University graduates are planning to return their diplomas to the evangelical Virginia school as a rebuke of Falwell Jr.'s latest showing of unwavering support for Donald Trump.

But that response may have served to strengthen dissenting alumni resolve. "When Jerry Falwell, Jr. basically said we are a 'joke' and it's only one or two people, that's when it really spoke to me that I have to do more," 2001 graduate Shanna Slovinsky tells USA TODAY College. "That showed me that I do need to take that step, and I will be returning my diploma."

Slovinsky is distancing herself from Falwell. "Even though Jerry Falwell, Jr. is the president of Liberty University, he does not speak for the overwhelming majority of students and alumni," she says. "We do not hold his beliefs. We do not blindly follow any political leader, and this has become very emotional for very many of us."

In May, Falwell invited President Trump to speak at spring commencement, making Liberty the first university commencement ceremony to feature the president as speaker.

Falwell has expressed his support for Trump over Twitter and Trump tweeted back, commending his appearance on the television program Fox and Friends.

In the wake of the Charlottesville rally brouhaha, Falwell said on Fox and Friends that Trump "does not have a racist bone in his body."

Some Liberty students took to Twitter to express opposition to Falwell's support of Trump.

Tweets with replies by Seneca (@SenecaDeniseDig) | Twitter

The Facebook group description says that by Sept 5., diplomas will be returned to Falwell's office along with letters that explain why the alumni are withdrawing support. Copies will be sent to Falwell and the board of trustees president's offices.

Related: Hundreds of Hanover College grads tear into alum Mike Pence in open letter

Related: Here's where Team Trump went to college

Megan Schellong is a student at California Polytechnic University-San Luis Obispo and a USA TODAY College correspondent.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.

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