Christian university where 'safe spaces' are banned opens in Boston

The founder wants to focus on Christianity, costs, and character

A new conservative Christian university is opening in 2018 which will have no “safe spaces”.

Sattler College is set to begin offering classes in Boston, Massachusetts, next fall and is being funded in large part by wealthy businessman and Harvard alumnus Finny Kuruvilla.

He told Fox News he decided to make the risky $30m pledge to open to the school that “the modern educational system is too expensive, it’s academically weak and it’s hostile to faith.”

Mr Kuruvilla said that traditional four-year universities are “very resistant to change” and expensive -- Sattler will only cost students $9,000 a year thanks to his endowment.

According to Time magazine, an organisation working towards access to higher education, the average tuition for students to attend a public university in the US was $9,410 and $32,410 for private schools.

That does not include room and board, books, and miscellaneous fees.

But, it is not just cost that motivated Mr Kuruvilla. “It’s time for a revolution to get college back on track to think about character as much as it thinks about developing the mind,” he said.

A “safe space” was originally meant as a literal place for LGBT students at a university to gather and discuss sensitive topics. Lately though, the term has been used in reference to students who have been accused of insulating themselves from political opinions that differ from their own.

Most notable have been the riots and protests ahead of campus speeches by white nationalist Richard Spencer or far right personality Milo Yiannopoulos. Critics have said the “safe space” mentality is stifling free speech for all students.

After a stint as a resident advisor for Harvard undergraduate students while he was in medical school, Mr Kuruvilla said Sattler students will not face the same issues of “pornography addiction, drug use, cheating and promiscuity,” according to Fox News.

“The whole notion of education has become generally confined to academic thought, not so much to developing of the whole person, character, and integrity,” Mr Kuruvilla said about his new school.

Sattler’s mission is to “prepare students to serve Christ, the church and the world.”

Human biology, computer science, biblical and religious studies, history and business will be the initial bachelor’s degree offerings.

Several of the classes will be offered online to keep costs low and faculty will not only teach their subjects but be spiritual mentors for students.

“The college will have three faculty and about 25 students the first year, with the goal of eventually enrolling 300,” the Boston Globe reported.