[El Scorcho]

You just reminded me to go check the inbox on some of my past burner accounts.

[hoop20]

I know this forum really doesn't have any pull, but I just want to every once in a while harp on a 3rd party investigation.

Is anyone aware that a former Liberty Law prof (as recent as last year) created an organization to investigate these kinds of matters when they happen in churches? I dont know if they can handle a university but they're at least worth consulting. They've got some big names in this field they work with.

https://www.netgrace.org/

I heard him speak at a school event a few years ago, he was very impressive.

[Calum]

Wow, just read through dozens of pages of this thread. Lots going on and lots to do.

An alum referred me to this forum; said there were a lot of knowledgeable, well-versed Liberty alumni here that I might not run into otherwise. Looking over the forums, it seems like he was right.

I'm Calum Best, btw, one of the co-founders of Save71.org. I'll be hanging around now and hopefully engaging in some more of the forum postings.

It's great to meet everyone!!!

[thepostman]

@Calum great to have you! Looking forward to hearing your perspective.

[Purple Haize]

Wow, just read through dozens of pages of this thread. Lots going on and lots to do.

An alum referred me to this forum; said there were a lot of knowledgeable, well-versed Liberty alumni here that I might not run into otherwise. Looking over the forums, it seems like he was right.

I'm Calum Best, btw, one of the co-founders of Save71.org. I'll be hanging around now and hopefully engaging in some more of the forum postings.

It's great to meet everyone!!!

Don’t speak too soon. You’ll wish you hadn’t met some of us. I kid I kid. Or do I?

[ballah09]

Wow, just read through dozens of pages of this thread. Lots going on and lots to do.

An alum referred me to this forum; said there were a lot of knowledgeable, well-versed Liberty alumni here that I might not run into otherwise. Looking over the forums, it seems like he was right.

I'm Calum Best, btw, one of the co-founders of Save71.org. I'll be hanging around now and hopefully engaging in some more of the forum postings.

It's great to meet everyone!!!

Great to have you around. I just wanted to say keep up the great work! Keep the pressure on the BoTs.

[rtb72]

We absolutely need an independent third party investigation.

I posted this on social but I’ll say the same thing here:

I had an AP reporter call to ask my reaction to everything going on at Liberty.

Because of my fear of retribution from Jerry - even though I’m a nobody - I recorded the conversation on my end to have proof of exactly what I said.

Imagine what people who actually know things feel like.

Or people who work for the school.

People are so scared of being sued that they've been bullied into silence.

We're talking employees worried the University is reading their email or listening to their phone calls.

Past employees using burner phones to pass along information because they feel they're putting their family in danger.

All of this at a Christian university.

That's why we need an independent investigation into everything he did while president.

I think this would go along way in helping LU with our image in this mess. The BOT certainly needs to consider this as their credibility has taken a major hit. While it want be a quick fix....an outside investigative audit can certainly lend to credibility. I think it would also be embraced by students, parents, faculty/staff, and alumni. oh.....and donors.

[Sly Fox]

Forgive my memory, was it Boz or his brother who played football for us back in the day? Regardless I am a big fan of their work. But I am not sure if they are the right ones to manage this particular mess. It falls primarily outside their wheelhouse.

Welcome, Calum. We have been here for over a decade and we are seeing many folks who were pushed away from the LU community over the years reappearing on the site the past few days. I think you will find alumni of all ages going back to the school's founding until present.

[Schfourteenteen]

Wanted to pop back on for a hot minute. Look at all these fancy board upgrades!

This has been quite the implosion, and I'm looking forward to Liberty not being a topic of conversation. Potential financial missteps need to be uncovered, and full accountability is required for the University to be able to prevent this from happening again.

I'm interested to hear how others have been impacted or are handling the news within their workplace. For me, it's actually created opportunities to better connect with people- working in soccer means I am constantly in contact with people whose lifestyles would either rack up the reps or land you in Pastor Dane's office. What are these conversations like for you guys?

[thepostman]

Welcome back @Schfourteenteen ! It has been really cool seeing so many older members coming back. I guess Jr really did scare a lot of people off.

Anyways, great question. I work from home these days so I don't really know but before Covid, to be honest very few people actually knew about my connections to Liberty. I always waited until I knew i wouldn't be judged too harshly before I let them in on that secret.

[BlueBlood]

I wore my LU hat everywhere the past few days. I’ve had 4 people make remarks to me. I was super nice to all 4, non argumentative, and told them exactly what I actually think. I let them know that I’ve wanted Jerry gone for a long time because his behavior and demeanor were un-Christlike and at odds with the spirit of the school, that I always kind of knew it would take something “big” to get rid of him because of his bloodline, and that while this is totally crazy bad and embarrassing, there is definitely a silver lining for the school moving forward. I make sure to tell them how much my kids love it there, and how impressed I’ve been with the quality and character of the kids who go there. I hope they walk away thinking that I seemed like a nice level-headed guy and that the school obviously isn’t made up of a bunch of Jerry clones.

I’ve actually been through this before (Penn State). Keep wearing your gear, do not defend the sin/evil, and be the positive representation of LU that Jerry wasn’t.

If you are a miserable, argumentative person looking for a fight, please don’t wear your LU gear.

[ballcoach15]

I am not a fan of Save71. When groups like that form, they're usually just trouble-makers.

I wear my LU gear every day, and have for several years.

[thepostman]

Well good news ballcoach, one of the founders of save71 is posting here and his first few posts didn't sound like someone who is here to make trouble. Save71 has brought up issues that you have chosen to ignore. Even last week you were saying everything would be back to normal in 6 months and then act like the info that came out this week is somehow new. You have purposefully buried your head in the sand on this and have called out anybody who has called for Jr's removal.

I am going to sound like a broken recorded here, but you have been wrong on this issues every step of the way. As Elmer Towns said earlier this week, "The school belongs to the graduates". I think his authority, as a co-founder, trumps yours. You are not a graduate and though I appreciate how you support softball, you just do not get a say in this or anything else on this matter.

[Purple Haize]

I am not a fan of Save71. When groups like that form, they're usually just trouble-makers.

I wear my LU gear every day, and have for several years.

So you know nothing about them but just categorically denounce them? Your desire to live in ignorance is truly breathtaking

[Logic]

Anyone read between the lines of Jonathan’s convo speech yesterday? Had to score a 900 on the SAT verbal. Brilliance. Said everything that needed to be said without saying it.

[Yacht Rock]

Anyone read between the lines of Jonathan’s convo speech yesterday? Had to score a 900 on the SAT verbal. Brilliance. Said everything that needed to be said without saying it.

He’s had a few sermons like that at TRBC that would come pretty quickly after Jr would say something crazy.

[Jonathan Carone]

Anyone read between the lines of Jonathan’s convo speech yesterday? Had to score a 900 on the SAT verbal. Brilliance. Said everything that needed to be said without saying it.

Ruth Graham (NYT Religion Correspondent) said you could've titled the sermon "Subtweet".

[flameshaw]

I am not a fan of Save71. When groups like that form, they're usually just trouble-makers.

I wear my LU gear every day, and have for several years.

Me either. When the kid first started it up, I was supportive and tried to help him with some ideas, but quickly after he started it, it became more of a hate Trump and identity politics group.
The funny thing, is he actually thinks that they had something to do with getting rid of Jr. I can promise you the Save71 group had no impact on the board, or anyone else in the decision-making process. (I got that straight from a board member). Can you imagine the number of complaints and kooks that the board has to deal with on a regular basis? Even when Sr. was there and before the SHTF with Jr. Personally, I think they did more harm than good, but of course I can't prove it.

[BJWilliams]

Good to see you back Bryan...to be fair I really never got asked much about it even before all the COVID stuff. My hours didn't lend themselves to working around many people so I didn't get asked many questions about Liberty in general

[ballcoach15]

Well good news ballcoach, one of the founders of save71 is posting here and his first few posts didn't sound like someone who is here to make trouble. Save71 has brought up issues that you have chosen to ignore. Even last week you were saying everything would be back to normal in 6 months and then act like the info that came out this week is somehow new. You have purposefully buried your head in the sand on this and have called out anybody who has called for Jr's removal.

I am going to sound like a broken recorded here, but you have been wrong on this issues every step of the way. As Elmer Towns said earlier this week, "The school belongs to the graduates". I think his authority, as a co-founder, trumps yours. You are not a graduate and though I appreciate how you support softball, you just do not get a say in this or anything else on this matter.

I doubt if anyone on this board has a say on this matter.

[Calum]

I am not a fan of Save71. When groups like that form, they're usually just trouble-makers.

I wear my LU gear every day, and have for several years.

Skepticism is very fair to have -- you're right in pointing out that sometimes, grassroots advocacy groups are careless, tend towards overemphasizing feelings of bitterness/anger, and sometimes just don't even write well enough to get their message out. However, I'd argue that the biggest recurring issue among groups like ours is a fundamental misunderstanding of how change happens, by which I mean that inexperienced advocates often don't understand that popular social media posts won't make change by themselves. No, change requires building relationships with decision-makers, navigating complex incentive structures for people in power, and truly understanding the business/organizational systems that institutional leaders operate in.

That's not Save71. Sure, our leadership is mostly composed of people under the age of 30, but we like to think that we're thoughtful people under the age of 30. Every day, we're in contact with lawyers, communications professionals, organizational governance specialists, pastors, LU students, alumni, faculty/staff (both current and former, both high-level and frontline), and yes, Board members. We're not just posting on social media or writing (sometimes melodramatic-seeming) Facebook posts. We're leveraging relationships and spreading our message behind the scenes, directly to the decision-makers who have the ability to make change. That's how advocacy works, and that's what we're doing.

If it seems like Save71 is angry, or hates the school, or wants to see conservatism burn, the best advice I have is to read the words we write, and listen to the things we say. We're not hiding anything, and we say exactly what we believe. You can look into our backgrounds too, if you want. Here's mine: I worked for three departments at LU during my time as a student. I was completely involved in my academics. I was a prayer leader, and tutored for accounting classes, and spent lots of my free time helping other students edit cover letters, resumes, and sometimes even emails to professors. None of this definitively proves that I genuinely care about the school, or that I'm not interested in "making trouble," but it certainly should make you re-consider the idea that my goals are nefarious. You can apply the same lens to any other named, founding member of Save71. We all love Liberty. Our fondest memories and most important moments of spiritual development are from LU, and we'll never lose sight of that.

I am not a fan of Save71. When groups like that form, they're usually just trouble-makers.

I wear my LU gear every day, and have for several years.

Me either. When the kid first started it up, I was supportive and tried to help him with some ideas, but quickly after he started it, it became more of a hate Trump and identity politics group.
The funny thing, is he actually thinks that they had something to do with getting rid of Jr. I can promise you the Save71 group had no impact on the board, or anyone else in the decision-making process. (I got that straight from a board member). Can you imagine the number of complaints and kooks that the board has to deal with on a regular basis? Even when Sr. was there and before the SHTF with Jr. Personally, I think they did more harm than good, but of course I can't prove it.

There's a lot here, but I'll respond to some of it briefly.

There was no "the kid" that started Save71. It was co-founded with the support and advisement of many people, many of whom still can't be named because they work in sensitive positions. I'm not quite sure who you are (if you'd like to reveal yourself via DM, that's fine), but I don't recall anyone that is not currently a part of the Save71 group "helping us with ideas" and then dropping out. Pretty skeptical of this claim to be honest.

I'm not sure where you're deriving the bits about "Trump" and "identity politics." We've stated literally everywhere that our goals are related to accountability, spiritual focus, virtue, and responsibility. Much like you repeatedly describe us as "kids," your references to "Trump" and "identity politics" seem like rhetorical devices that serve to delegitimize our credibility to speak at all, while avoiding sincere engagement with our actual points. If I'm wrong on that, feel free to correct me, but this doesn't feel like sincere critique.

Lastly, we're under no delusions that we were the principal agents of Falwell's departure. I mean, come on, a sitting U.S. Congressman called for the guy to go! What we can say is that we have organized a huge group of people from the Liberty community and united their voices into one cohesive mission. We've told the watching world how some of the Liberty community really feels about the school's leadership. We've stood up for Liberty, and that's something we're proud of.

There's plenty more to say on how we've been able to influence decision-makers, but I won't get into it here because most of it is pretty sensitive. Sorry for the long post, everyone! I try to respond to critique whenever I can, because I'd rather misinformation not spread if I can help it. If anyone ever wants to talk more about critiques, just private message me for a phone number!

[Jonathan Carone]

Please stick around.

[thepostman]

@Calum thank you for your response. It was thoughtful and I learned a few things about your group.

There is often resistance from people with younger voices. Sometimes it is warranted but most of the time it isn't. I am far removed from my time as a student and think it is important for current students and recent grads to have a voice in this. They are going to be the ones that can best describe what they have seen on campus day to day.

So thank you and please don't be a stranger.

[RubberMallet]

Ha!

well this has gotten interesting!

I'd never heard of Save71 it could be a colossal waste of time organization, but I'm often considered a waste of time contributor, so this is exciting.

[Purple Haize]

I like this @Calum He can stay