West Liberty University: Not Fundamentalist, In Spite of the Name

Have you ever noticed that "Liberty" and "Freedom" usually appear in the titles of organizations that are about taking away our liberty and freedom?  They're dedicated to criminalizing gay people, keeping women in the kitchen, and teaching Christianity as the only true religion.

So this photo from West Liberty University had me running for the door, in spite of the beefcake.



And this one.  Different year, different wrestling team.

Turns out that West Liberty University is public, named after the town of West Liberty, West Virginia, near Pittsburgh.

There is a town of Liberty, but it's 150 miles south and west.  Apparently it's "West Liberty" because, during the Revolutionary War, it was the westernmost point in the new United States.

For a town that's been around since the Revolutionary War, there's not much of a there there.  The main road, Van Meter Way, winds past the university, two churches (Methodist and Catholic), an elementary school, and a grocery store called The Store.  The only restaurant appears to be a Subway.  The nearest high school is in Wheeling.

West Liberty University, born as West Liberty Academy, was founded in 1837, so there are a few historic buildings amid the glass and steel. 

It may not be affiliated with a fundamentalist church, but it's still quite conservative.  There is no major in gender or women's studies, but one of the hot topics of discussion is "Who should pay for the date?"

I didn't see a gay student organization, but it might be hidden under Equality Aliance or P.R.I.D.E.  A gay student interviewed for a newspaper article states that he is sometimes called names and yelled at, but "nothng major."

Nothing major, indeed.

On the other hand, a quilt collage called "Children's Programming and the Homophobic Masked Ball," by Shawn Quinlan, was on display at West Liberty.

 Men doing quilting is rather gender-transgressive in itself, so West Liberty can't be all bad.

Finding beefcake photos is a bit of a problem, since Google Images keeps mistaking "West Liberty University" for "Liberty University" or "West Liberty, Ohio."

Or Turney Ashby High School in Bridgewater, Virginia, 250 miles and a state away from West Liberty, Virginia







Or Matthew Goode, a British actor who starred in the film Chasing Liberty (2004).

Not nearly the same thing.