BREAKING: Walla Walla University (WWU) students are rallying to protest the school’s “discriminatory action against its students based on sexual orientation,” according to a post on “wwu_stand_together,” an Instagram account made by students angered by administrative actions.

Student organizers staged a walk-out at 10:45am, leading to a rally outside of the Administration Building at 11:00am. 

Wire reporters were asked to vacate WWU’s campus, citing a policy prohibiting outside press and individuals unaffiliated with the university. It is unclear if this policy is regularly enforced.

Approximately 100 students, faculty and alumni gathered to hear students speak in an open-mic style forum directly outside the building from approximately 11:05 to 11:50 am.

Campus security heavily monitored the protest. The Wire witnessed a security officer taking a photo of a student’s sign.

“Trans people exist on this campus,” one student said, addressing the crowd. “And to be honest, it’s hard to exist.”

One of the student organizers, WWU junior Ross Gurule shared his reaction to size of the rally in an interview with The Wire.

“Just seeing the first students show up at 10:30, 10:45 was incredible,” Gurule said. “I definitely expected students to show up, but I didn’t expect this many to show up. It’s meant a lot to see people come out and be here and be queer and be with us and fight for a voice on this campus equal to all others.”

While WWU senior Heidi Kissinger explained that the rally was spurred by specific discriminatory actions, including the censorship of a pride flag from a senior recognition video, she acknowledged that recent incidents are a symptom of broader religious tensions within the university and beyond.

“LGBTQ students have had troubles on this campus with being seen. There is a lot of censorship because the Seventh Day Adventist fundamental belief on marriage is that marriage is defined as between a man and a woman,” Kissinger said.

The other major incident that led to the rally was the disqualification of WWU junior Ross Gurule from the Associated Students of Walla Walla University (ASWW) presidential election. 

“At the beginning of this quarter…I declared candidacy for the position of ASWWU president, and about half way through my campaign they [Vice President for Student Life Darren Wilkins and Vice President for Academic Administration Pamela Cress] brought me into the office and told me I was not going to be able to run because I was in a same-sex relationship,” said Gurule. “They gave a lot of theological reasons; they said ‘we’re concerned for your safety,’ ‘we want to make sure this is the right decision for you,’ and they were asking me to pull out of the race, and I said ‘no,’ that I wasn’t going to make that decision. After more back and forth, they got to the point of saying ‘we’ve decided to pull you out of the race.’”

The WWU administration declined to comment on the situation.

When asked what his broader experience has been as a queer student at WWU, he explained that he was not publicaly “out” before his meeting with the administration.

“I actually wasn’t out before this. I was in a relationship, but it was very on-the-downlow; no one really knew about it, [but] one of the administrators caught wind of it,” Gurule said. “It was a very personal decision that was made, and the way the information came out was totally inappropriate.”

While WWU administrators have not officially announced the reasons his campaign was cut short, their discriminatory actions prompted Gurule to speak publicly about his experience.

“Any information students have got has primarily come from myself,” Gurule said.

Gurule echoed Kissinger’s sentiment that this conflict ultimately extends beyond the university.

“A lot of what this conflict is about is the higher-ups. It’s the board of trustees; it’s the union, the conference, the general conference; it’s the church as a whole. I think what’s important to remember is the core values that our church was founded on, which is just love and acceptance. That’s pretty much the basis of it and that’s all we’re asking for,” Gurule said.

Kissinger explained that the administration has backtracked on their decision to censor the pride flag from the senior recognition video. However, they are unlikely to allow Gurule to continue his campaign, leaving the ASWWU presidential position open, as no other students are currently running.

“If somehow Seventh Day Adventists were able to wake up one day and put Christ’s love over SDA doctrine, that would be wonderful,” Kissinger said.

For now, though, her goal is to foster unity and student safety, which she believes to be in line with the university’s mission.

“The principles of the university, the core values, are excellence in thought, generosity in service, faith in God and beauty in expression. By doing this and creating a forum where students can communicate freely, it creates a space for students to demonstrate those core values. It allows us to show that we have a voice and that voice matters.”

While it’s unclear exactly what the next steps will be for WWU administrators and students, Kissinger and Gurule said they will continue to be in conversation with the vice president of student life regarding the presence of queer students on campus.

This is a breaking news story, and will be updated continuously. Reporting provided by Bex Heimbrock and Kaitlyn Salazar.