[caption id=”attachment_141591″ align=”aligncenter” width=”5184″]Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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Liberty University, the venue where Ted Cruz announced his presidential run in March, will soon play host to another 2016 candidate: Bernie Sanders.
The private Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia is traditionally a stop on the speaking circuit for conservative candidates. Convocation ceremonies are held three times per week, frequently drawing in more than 12,000 people and attendance is required for all undergraduate students. Liberty’s website calls it “North America’s largest weekly gathering of Christian students.”
According to the fall semester schedule released on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is booked to speak at a convocation on September 14. As a self-described democratic socialist, whose policy positions include carbon taxes, free college tuition for all Americans, and raising the minimum wage to $15, Sanders is not the typical speaker brought in by Liberty.
“We have a very conservative student body,” university President Jerry Falwell said. “I admire him [Sanders] for having the courage to come to Liberty and speak.”
Falwell told The News & Advance that school attorneys believe inviting all of the presidential candidates for the 2016 election cycle protects Liberty University’s nonprofit status under U.S. tax law.
Other upcoming convocation speakers include Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson, as well as Duck Dynasty’s Korie and Sadie Robertson, Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Jim DeMint of the Heritage Foundation.
Sanders released the following statement on his decision to accept Liberty’s invitation:
“Liberty University was kind enough to invite me to address a convocation and I decided to accept. It goes without saying that my views on many issues – women’s rights, gay rights, education – are very different from the opinions of some in the Liberty University community. I think it is important, however, to see if we can reach consensus regarding the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality in our country, about the collapse of the middle class, about the high level of childhood poverty, about climate change and other issues.
“It is very easy for a candidate to speak to people who hold the same views. It’s harder but important to reach out to others who look at the world differently. I look forward to meeting with the students and faculty of Liberty University.”
