TWU drops controversial covenant
LGBTQ community says first step welcome, but doesn’t go far enough
Trinity Western University will no longer require its students to sign a controversial community covenant that includes abstinence from sex outside of heterosexual marriage. The covenant has been blocking the university’s bid for accreditation of a long-proposed law school.
Last week, the Langley school’s board of governors voted to remove the requirement for students this fall. The decision was characterized by LGBTQ people and their supporters as a welcome first step, but one that didn’t go far enough.
TWU president Bob Kuhn said the university dropped the requirement to make it clear it does not discriminate against LGBTQ people, including students and potential students.
“There is no restriction,” Kuhn said.
“We welcome, and have for decades, individuals who wish to study in a Christian environment. We desired to clarify that point to people who may have misunderstood, especially over the number of years when there was debate of whether we were welcoming of students, which we want to make clear we certainly are.”
Kuhn said the change doesn’t signal a shift in TWU’s values: Rather, it supports the religious perspective behind the covenant, but made the “operational decision” to not require students to sign it.
He said the school’s attempts to establish a law school was “not irrelevant” to the decision, but was only one of many factors.
Staff and faculty at TWU, however, will still be required to sign the covenant, university staff confirmed.
For Michael Mulligan, a Victoria lawyer who has been active in the fight against the covenant, that means TWU “may have only gotten halfway there” if it continues to seek accreditation.
“The change they made is positive. I’m glad to hear they’re going to reduce the discrimination they engage in, but it may not answer either their problem with getting approval from the minister (of advanced education) and it may also not address that fundamental issue of look, is this in the public interest to grant approval to an institution with policies like this?” Mulligan said.
Matthew Wigmore, a graduate of TWU and the co-founder of One TWU, a network of LGBTQ+ students, alumni and allies, said “this small step” would be hugely positive on campus, but he said much more needed to be done.
“This is not a change in the covenant, it is simply a change in the requirement to sign it. Let’s celebrate this as a first step but nothing more. To do so would undermine the mounds of work that needs to be done to respect LGBTQ+ students on campus,” Wigmore said.
Vanessa Singleton, the new president of LGBTQ law student group TRU Outlaws, said the motion was an accomplishment, but it was “absolutely concerning ” that faculty and staff would still be required to sign the covenant.
“In fact, there is still this exclusion happening, that’s happening behind the scenes.”
Staff and faculty come to TWU because of its academic excellence and its Christian perspective, said Kuhn. They have always been required to sign the covenant. He said he’s not aware of complaints from staff and faculty about the mandatory signing.
Asked whether retaining the requirement for staff and faculty would be an obstacle in a renewed push for an accredited law school, Kuhn said it was premature to speculate because the university has not yet decided whether it will reapply to the province to set up a law school.
Robynne Healey, a professor of history and gender studies at TWU, said the change was an initial step and that work is needed to bring a culture of trust at the school. “To me, what is most important is the culture in which those of us who are part of the Trinity community live and work and function,” she said. “I think some people have found that culture welcoming. Others have not.
“I do think that there’s work to do to bring reconciliation to the community.”
TWU became the subject of headlines and controversy after it announced in 2012 plans to open an evangelical law school.
While the proposal received approval from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, both B.C.’s and Ontario’s law societies said they would refuse to accredit future graduates from the program due to the university’s governing values, detailed in the school’s community covenant agreement.
In June, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that societies governing the law profession had the right to deny accreditation to TWU. The province withdrew its accreditation for the school in 2014, pending the court decision.