The cafeteria at Trinity Western University looks much like other campus eateries at this time of year. Chatter among frayed-looking students is mainly focused on exams: How many done? How many to go?
But the conversation of Julie Thomas, Marie Stuart and Kaley Williams reveals how different this university is from other campuses across the country. The students have just finished lunch and the conversation has turned to other things: the word of God, the vocation of teaching and why homosexual behaviour can't be tolerated among people who call themselves Christians.
"If I claim to want to live my life like Jesus did, I will love and accept [homosexuals]" Ms. Thomas, 19, explained. "But there are some behaviours that are destructive." Homosexual behaviour is one. Others are drinking, smoking, swearing and having sex outside marriage.
Ms. Thomas's views are shared by all her friends who attend the small liberal-arts university. In fact, they must put this in writing before they can be admitted.
That is because Trinity Western University is a fundamentalist Christian university and students and faculty must sign a so-called community-standards waiver pledging that they will not drink, smoke, swear or use marijuana, and they will abstain from premarital sex, adultery and homosexual behaviour.
The fundamentalist Christian university says these requirements are perfectly legal because it is privately funded, privately run and accepts no public money. Tuition for its 2,700-plus students is $16,000 a year.
But the waiver has touched off a fierce row in B.C.'s education circles. The B.C. College of Teachers says the rules display an inherent bias against homosexuals and has refused to let Trinity Western train teachers.
The university fought back and in 1998, a B.C. Supreme Court sided with Trinity Western. The college of teachers appealed.
The battle is now headed for the Supreme Court of Canada, pitting the university's claim of religious rights against the licensing body's claim of human rights. Tucked away among the farm fields of the fertile Fraser Valley, the campus, at first glance, looks like any other small modern university. Nondescript glass and concrete buildings are clustered around green courtyards. Students, weighed down with books, bags and knapsacks, trot along the paths and sidewalks.
But take a closer look and you notice again how remarkable Trinity Western is compared with other universities. There are no students smoking in the entrances of buildings. There are no campus pubs. In the pristine washrooms, there's not one scratch of graffiti on cubicle walls.
Reform MPs Deborah Grey and Grant McNally are among the alumni, as is Vancouver mining executive Catherine McLeod-Seltzer.
In the cafeteria, the students say they came to Trinity Western because they craved an environment where they felt at home. Ms. Stuart, 21, said her teenage years in Kitimat, B.C., were alienating because she was ridiculed for her beliefs.
"I went to public school all my life," Ms. Stuart said. "I think 1 per cent of the population there was Christian." Ms. Stuart shunned parties where there was drinking and drugs and, as a result, found "that I was definitely not popular."
She came to Trinity Western because she needed to be in an environment "where my faith is supported."
Ms. Stuart and her friends say the court challenge raises important issues of freedom of religion. Ms. Thomas thinks the dispute is emblematic of a wider societal disdain for Christianity, fuelled by the past crimes committed in the name of religion, such as the treatment of natives in residential schools.
She said she is aware of the disdain in the secular world for fundamental Christianity and it saddens her.
But she can think of no better place to learn how to be a teacher than at a Christian university.
"We learn about Jesus as a teacher," Ms. Thomas said. "He went to the prostitutes and the lepers and said 'You are loved.' So, I can't be intolerant of others."
Ms. Thomas, Ms. Stuart and Ms. Williams say the university has every right to create a Christian milieu for like-minded students. They don't believe their campus is a breeding ground for homophobia and they think the university should have the right to train them as teachers.
When they become teachers in the public-school system, they say they will keep their opinions to themselves.
Ms. Thomas said she would never feel or display a bias against a gay student. Her role model on that front is Jesus Christ, who never shunned sinners and who drew a distinction between a person's behaviour and the person.
However, she does believe homosexual behaviour, like other sex outside marriage, is destructive and sinful. If a future student asked her about issues of homosexuality, Ms. Thomas said she would tell the student it was against her beliefs.
Ms. Stuart, 21, a second-year education student, also said she would have no problem treating all students equally -- no matter what their sexuality.
But she too believes homosexuality is a choice -- a morally wrong one.
"They have a choice to make," Ms. Stuart said. "They have free will. And I respect their choice. But to me, it's not a beneficial behaviour."
Ms. Stuart said she could never support a gay lifestyle, but she would give the same time and effort to gay students "no matter what their decision is in life."
The trio in the cafeteria don't hold carbon-copy views on all issues. As Ms. Stuart talks, Ms. Williams, from Toronto, shakes her head.
She doesn't necessarily believe that all people who engage in behaviours outlined in the waiver are sinners. "I think you can be living in sin and still be a Christian," said Ms. Williams, 19. "I know Christians who smoke. They're just struggling, that's all."
Ms. Stuart said her views on homosexuality have softened over the years and she credits this to Trinity Western, which has allowed her to "mature in her faith.
"If you knew me five years ago, I was very judgmental about homosexuals," she said. Even today, she said she has problems with Gay Pride celebrations and doesn't believe gay couples should be allowed to adopt children. These are the sort of musings that rankle the college of teachers.
Deputy registrar Marie Kerchum said they are discriminatory and must be drummed out of Trinity Western students before they can be let loose on the public-school system.
The college of teachers argues that Trinity Western is thumbing its nose at human-rights laws that forbid bias against homosexuals. Ms. Kerchum likened the students' attitudes toward homosexuality to racism and sexism.
"It would be like, in our view, if an institution had some statement about black people as part of their community-standards contract because homosexual orientation is very much considered like an issue of colour," Ms. Kerchum said.
Both sides claim that key democratic rights are on the line. The problem is, each party says their rights are the important ones.
At Trinity Western, executive vice-president Guy Saffold argued that Canada's constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and expression are at stake. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has sided with the university in the dispute, saying important freedom-of-religion issues are on the line.
The issue has raised other thorny questions about freedom of expression in the public-school system, such as: What kind of values should teachers impart to public-school kids? Who gets to decide what those values are? And should a teacher be forced to uphold and promulgate a value that he or she believes is wrong?
Right now, Trinity Western students who want to become teachers take four years of undergraduate studies at the Langley campus. But students must go to Simon Fraser University in nearby Burnaby for their fifth and final year, which concentrates on practical teacher training.
In 1995, the university applied to the college of teachers for permission to offer that fifth year at its campus. College staff approved the request, but the licensing body's council members took exception to the homosexuality clause and turned the university down.
"I don't think we want our public bodies to go in and start testing how broad or how diverse our beliefs are," Mr. Saffold said in an interview at his campus office last week.
Mr. Saffold accused the B.C. College of Teachers of punishing the university just because it doesn't agree with the university's belief system.
"This is a very serious threat to civil liberties," he said. "If a public agency were allowed to look at peoples' beliefs -- not their behaviour, not how they treat others, not what they do -- but to look at their beliefs and on the basis of their disapproval of their beliefs, limit their freedoms -- then this is serious."
Mr. Saffold said Trinity Western students aren't trained to be homophobic. He said respect and tolerance for everyone are hallmark themes drilled into students. He also noted that the university alumni include non-practising homosexuals.
However, the college of teachers says the university's assurances that it instills tolerance and respect aren't good enough.
Ms. Kerchum said "tolerance" is a loaded word that suggests that a person must "put up" with another person's behaviour -- as opposed to accepting it.
COMMUNITY STANDARDS
Trinity Western University's community standards must be signed by all students. Among other things, the code of conduct says that all students must: Obey the law and conduct themselves as responsible citizens who contribute to the welfare of the greater community (Rom. 13:1-7). Among other things, this precludes the use of marijuana and drugs for non-medical purposes and conduct that disrupts classes or the general operation of the university. It also includes demonstrating respect for the property of others and of the university. Obey Jesus's commandment to his disciples (Jn. 13:34-35) echoed by the Apostle Paul (Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8, 13) to love one another. In general, this involves showing respect for all people regardless of race or gender and regard for human life at all stages. It includes making a habit of edifying others, showing compassion, demonstrating unselfishness, and displaying patience. Refrain from practices that are biblically condemned. These include but are not limited to drunkenness (Eph. 5:18); swearing or use of profane language (Eph. 4:29, 5:4; Jas. 3:1-12); harassment (Jn 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-21; Eph. 4:31); all forms of dishonesty, including cheating and stealing (Prov. 12:22; Col. 3:9; Eph. 4:28); abortion (Ex. 20:13; Ps. 139:13-16); involvement in the occult (Acts 19:19; Gal. 5:19); and sexual sins including premarital sex, adultery, homosexual behaviour and viewing of pornography (I Cor. 6:12-20; Eph. 4:17-24; I Thess. 4:3-8; Rom. 2:26-27; I Tim. 1:9-10). Furthermore, married members of the community agree to maintain the sanctity of marriage and to take every positive step possible to avoid divorce.
Utilize careful judgment in the exercise of personal freedom (Gal. 5:16-6:10; Rom. 12:1-15:13; I Cor. 8:9-13, 13:1-13; Eph. 4:17-6:18; Col. 3:1-4:6; I Thess. 4:1-5:24). This entails the responsible use of time and material resources, and the honest pursuit of knowledge, including regular attendance at classes, chapel services, and University events. It also requires that members of the community abstain from the use or possession of alcoholic beverages, tobacco in any form, other forms of substance abuse, all forms of gambling and that members of the community maintain modest, inoffensive behaviour in personal relationships. Co-ed living arrangements are not suitable for unmarried Trinity Western students. Furthermore, because many contemporary forms of amusement are of questionable value or diminish one's moral sensitivities, members of the community are to use discernment in their choice of entertainment, including television, movies, live productions and social dancing. Keep in mind that social dancing is not permitted on campus, neither may dances be sponsored by university or student groups. Furthermore, the university does not condone dancing at clubs where alcohol is liberally consumed, discretion in the choice of music is not exercised and the overall atmosphere is questionable. This application of the community standards is not offered as a legalistic definition of right and wrong. Rather, it provides concrete examples of a commitment to the mission of Trinity Western University and a commitment to fellow members of this academic community.