Seattle Pacific University students stage walkout after board reaffirms discriminatory hiring policy

Seattle Pacific University faculty and students are pushing back on what they say is a “devastating” recent decision by the school’s Board of Trustees to uphold, again, its policy that discriminates based on sexual orientation.

Students walked out of class to rally on campus Tuesday, and the Faculty Council, an executive committee of the faculty, is expected to consider official action to keep pushing for the removal of the policy — and potentially the board.

The SPU’s Board of Trustees voted last week to not make any changes to its hiring practices at the private Christian school in Queen Anne, as pressure mounts from students and faculty to nix the school’s employee lifestyle policy that prohibits employees from participating in “sexual behavior that is inconsistent with the University’s understanding of Biblical standards,” including same-sex marriage.