A faith-based university in the American South has pledged to stop a group of gay equality protestors who are planning to visit the campus.

Columbia International University is a fundamentalist school in Columbia, South Carolina. They have pledged to arrest members of Soulforce if they attempt to protest on the campus.

Soulforce is a gay equality group started by former Jerry Falwell speechwriter Rev. Mel White. The Soulforce Equality Ride 2008 is a group of 17 activists who are travelling the country and visiting conservative religious schools across the South in an effort to improve those schools’ policies on homosexuality. They recently visited Liberty University, a school that had arrested activists from the same group several years ago.

The Soulforce bus is scheduled to enter Columbia International University around noon on Monday. They argue that the school’s policy on homosexuality is discriminatory and creates a hostile atmosphere for gays and lesbians.

CIU, which is a privately funded school, has said it will not allow Soulforce on its campus. Spokesperson Mike Blackwell said that the school offered to allow the group to visit and meet off campus, but Soulforce declined.

The school does not allow homosexuality, a policy made clear in its student handbook. Blackwell said that the school does not allow groups that promote homosexuality or other activities against the school’s “Biblical” teachings. 

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