Falwell Jr Losing His Shine

“Remember when people wanted to tar and feather folks? That’s about the level it’s at in the Lynchburg community right now,” a former longtime Falwell associate told me over the phone. “You have … 16,000 petri dishes he’s inviting back to Lynchburg, who have gone out all over country for spring break—he’s inviting them back into our city, our community, knowing that at some point they’re gonna have to interact with the public.”

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Liberty University, meanwhile, has invited its students to return to the dorms, whatever their circumstances might be. Falwell has said this decision was in students’ best interests—that students would be better off if they returned to campus before the coronavirus spread—but that suggestion has met with exasperation by public health experts, state and local officials, and many residents of Lynchburg.

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In light of these emails, some faculty were puzzled by Falwell’s appearance Tuesday on ABC News Live. During his interview, the chancellor insisted that any faculty who “feel they’re at risk … don’t have to come into the office,” and that “only essential staff” were on campus, including “cleaning staff, food-preparers and security.”

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In a March 16 email sent by the university, faculty were told that while their classes would be moved online, they must conduct their classes from their on-campus offices. A March 19 email to faculty reiterated that instructors must be on campus during their class times and office hours. Faculty members were further told that if they wished to avoid being on campus at this time, they should submit requests for consideration to their department chairs, who would then run those requests up the chain of command. And a March 25 email reminded faculty that in order to work from home during the pandemic, they must include an explanation for their request.

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CaughtInThe said:

A huckster who uses God for political purposes.

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calamity said:

Man of the devil, if ever there was one.

I have to seriously question the sanity of any parent who sends their kid to that "school."

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Liberty University controversially welcomed back students after the spring break—and, as officials feared, some of them may have brought the coronavirus back with them. Dr. Thomas W. Eppes Jr, who runs the evangelical university's student health service, told the New York Times on Friday that at least 11 students on the campus in Lynchburg, Va., are sick with COVID-19 symptoms. He said three had been referred for testing and eight others had been told to self-isolate. Eppes said he warned university president Jerry Falwell Jr. that they had "lost the ability to corral this thing." Falwell has repeatedly downplayed the risks of the outbreak, calling measures to slow the spread of the virus a politically motivated "overreaction." Falwell initially planned to allow in-person classes to resume, but backtracked after Virginia banned gatherings of more than 100 people.

Around 1,900 students returned to on-campus housing last week and others are in off-campus housing in Lynchburg, where Mayor Treney Tweedy called Falwell's decision to allow students to stay for the spring semester "reckless." Falwell has clamped down hard on criticism and has even fired back at worried parents, the Times notes. "I’m as right wing as they get, bud. But as a parent of three of your students, I think this is crazy, irresponsible, and seems like a money grab," tweeted one parent concerned about students bringing the virus back to their grandparents. Falwell called him a "dummy." WSET reports that Falwell says the Times' story is "false and misleading" and the university is not aware of any students showing COVID-19 symptoms, though four students who had been in the New York City area have been asked to self-isolate.

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StillBallin75 said:

Jerry Falwell Jr. had shine?

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calamity said:

Man of the devil, if ever there was one.

I have to seriously question the sanity of any parent who sends their kid to that "school."

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yankintx said:

So praying the virus away failed, and we have Trump supporters gathering in churches. Hmmm

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calamity said:

In Lynchburg? Yes, for sure.

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calamity said:

Silver linings perhaps.

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calamity said:

In Lynchburg? Yes, for sure.

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