A student at Messiah College is planning on leaving the school after he was victim to harassment there because he is openly gay.
Isaiah Thomas, who was attending Messiah on a full scholarship, says his id was stolen and then soaked in urine, he has received a death threat and he has even been called an "abomination" in class.
Pennlive.com has more:
Thomas said at the center of his Messiah experience is the school’s Community Covenant, which outlines student behavioral expectations. The document, based on the school’s theological traditions, prohibits “homosexual behavior” and must be signed by all students.
Thomas said he had not been told about the covenant.
“I rather you tell me I can’t come than bring me here and strip me of who I am,” he said. “That’s worse than telling someone they can’t come.”
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“These are institutional issues and protocol we just can't talk about them, but I can say we followed through with them,” College Provost Randy Basinger said to CBS 21 in response to Thomas' allegations.
Basinger explained the school's policy in greater detail.
"We don't exclude homosexuals, we make a distinction between homosexual orientation and homosexual behavior...We make it clear though what the lifestyle expectations are.”
Isaiah Thomas is heading to Harrisburg Area Community College next year.
"Messiah's built on reconciliation, changing things. But reconciling is more than just color of skin and dialect," Thomas told Abc27 . "It's orientations. It's sex. It's everything."