The University of the Cumberlands recently expelled a student after he declared on his MySpace webpage he is gay, a punishment which could affect the university's plans to build a pharmacy school.

Jason Johnson, a dean's list sophomore majoring in theater arts, was officially dismissed from the 1,700-student Baptist school in Williamsburg, Ky., for violating school policy.

"Any student who engages in or promotes sexual behavior not consistent with Christian principles [including sex outside of marriage and homosexuality] may be suspended or asked to withdraw from the University of the Cumberlands," the school policy reads.

Johnson's attorney, Don Waggener, has advised him not to comment on a potential discrimination lawsuit.

Jim Taylor, the university's president, released a statement in defense of the school's policy, as he has been out of town during the controversy's eruption.

"Students know the rules before they come to this institution," he said. "We've followed our policies and procedures in keeping with our traditional denominational beliefs."

And it is those policies and procedures that could inhibit the university's hopes of building a pharmacy school.

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the only organization that can accredit pharmacy schools in the United States, has revised guidelines that will take effect July 1, 2007. "Sexual orientation" is one of the newly prohibited types of discrimination.

And Cumberlands may have funding repealed for such discrimination, as the university has already been appropriated $11 million in the 2006-08 state budget for the building of the pharmacy school and pharmacy scholarships.

Certain groups such as the Kentucky Fairness Alliance — a group that seeks to advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people — are asking Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher to use his line-item veto power to drop the appropriations.

But University of Wisconsin professor Donald Downs said that the school, because it is a private institution, did not act unconstitutionally.

"This doesn't violate any constitutional rights at a private school unless the state Supreme Court has ruled against it or the state Constitution rules against it," he said. "It is not a constitutional issue but might be a discrimination law issue."

Downs added that though private schools are not held to the U.S. Constitution but to their own policies, most do not promote discrimination.

"Private schools can set their own standards for what it is like to go there, while public schools can't," Downs said. "But most private schools don't discriminate and usually talk about nondiscrimination in their policies."

Lori Berquam, UW interim dean of students, noted that schools have different expectations of students, especially between public and private schools. She was concerned, though, with students not being allowed to express themselves, even in forums like MySpace.

"We don't necessarily want to go around censoring students," she said. "But I think as this whole medium grows, we are going to have to pay attention to it."

And MySpace, which displays personal information so members can "expand their network of friends," monitors and prohibits activity that includes: "using any information obtained from the [MySpace] Services in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person."

Berquam echoed those concerns as she warned of negative impacts from sharing personal information in a public forum, and of displaying derogatory statements and student behavior.

"[School administrators] have a responsibility to student safety," she said. "We want to keep students from putting themselves in harms way or attacking a specific group on campus."

Yet Taylor took a firm stand in his university's actions.

"We are different by design and are non-apologetic about our Christian beliefs," he said.

The University of the Cumberlands could not be reached for further comment on potential litigation as of press time.