College's new policy comes out against homosexuality

Patrick Foster | USA TODAY

In a statement adopted Feb. 20, Erskine College has effectively banned homosexual behavior on its campus. And the move appears to be in response to two male volleyball players coming out last year.

The Due West, S.C., school will now abide by a "Statement on Human Sexuality" adopted by the college's Board of Trustees and Student Services and Athletic Committee, according to The Washington Post.

In March of last year, Drew Davis and Juan Varona, two Erskine volleyball players, were featured in an article published on OutSports, in which the athletes officially came out as gay. Following the article's appearance, the Division II team went on to the NCCA tournament.

In part, the new statement issued by Erskine reads:

"We believe the Bible teaches that monogamous marriage between a man and a woman is God's intended design for humanity and that sexual intimacy has its proper place only within the context of marriage.

We believe the Bible teaches that all sexual activity outside the covenant of marriage is sinful and therefore ultimately destructive to the parties involved. As a Christian academic community, and in light of our institutional mission, members of the Erskine community are expected to follow the teachings of scripture concerning matters of human sexuality and institutional decisions will be made in light of this position."

The news inspired a flurry of negative reactions on Twitter.

The college issued a follow up statement Friday:

"The recent coverage of Erskine's Statement on Human Sexuality has generated considerable confusion based on an inaccurate understanding of the nature of the statement and its intent. This statement describes a position. It does not prescribe a policy and does not 'ban' any individual or class of individuals from attending Erskine. No students have been asked to leave Erskine based on this statement."