Azusa Pacific University students linked arms and prayed for one another Monday in response to the university board’s decision to reinstate a ban on LGBTQ relationships late last week.

Two hundred students gathered in front of the Richard and Vivian Felix Event Center on Monday morning in support of LGBTQ students who may have been hurting as a result of the reinstatement of the ban. A clause banning same-sex relationships had been removed from the student code of conduct by administrators at the start of the semester but reinstated on Friday.

Students had planned to post encouraging messages for LGBTQ students via chalk on concrete and sticky notes affixed to walls in response to a negative letter written by a faculty member that was shared by a conservative Christian website last week, senior Alexis Diaz said. However, Friday’s reversal meant that students needed to make their support known with their presence on campus, Diaz said.

“It’s incredible to see all of the support on campus for the LGBTQ community,” Diaz said. “We have students, faculty, staff and administrators here affirming their support for these students who suddenly found themselves in a scary, vulnerable place.”

Philosophy professor Teri Merrick and APU seminary professor Rob Muthiah spoke to the students gathered to encourage and pray with them.

Muthiah praised the students for responding with peace rather than anger, which he said was consistent with both their and Christ’s message of love.

“At a time when people rip each other up when they disagree, it’s tempting to be sucked in,” Muthiah said. “The way you’ve handled yourselves is consistent with His message of grace.”

In time for the Aug. 27 start of the fall semester and following months of discussions between students and university leaders, Azusa Pacific had removed a section from its student conduct policy that outlawed LGBTQ relationships on campus. The altered language referenced a standing ban on pre-marital sex but dropped any mention to orientation.

When the APU student newspaper published an article on Sept. 18 about the move, the 119-year-old university received some kudos but significantly more criticism, especially from Christian media outlets and pundits.

Headlines claimed the university had “caved,” “surrendered” and was “Losing ‘God First.’”

In response, the university announced Friday afternoon that because the policy change was never approved by its Board of Trustees, it was reinstating the ban.

“Last week, reports circulated about a change in the undergraduate student standards of conduct,” reads the statement issued on behalf of the APU Board of Trustees. “That action concerning romanticized relationships was never approved by the board and the original wording has been reinstated.”

Board member Albert Tate, senior pastor for Fellowship Monrovia church, said Friday he hopes university administrators and board members can continue to talk and work together to create better wording for the policy.

But Merrick said students may be hesitant to come back to the table after engaging in those same discussions last school year.

“It’s asking a lot for them to trust again, to tell their stories and relive that trauma again,” Merrick said.

Senior Autumn North led the students in song — “No Longer Slaves” by Bethel Music — to end the hourlong demonstration. While she said she does not identify as a member of the LGBTQ community, it was important to her to help show her peers that they are loved by the broader campus community.

The group repeated the song’s chorus several times: “I’m no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God.”