GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Bob Jones University's decision to lift its half-century-old ban on interracial dating has stunned students and the fundamentalist Christian school's supporters who learned about it Friday night in a national television interview with President Bob Jones III.
"I don't think even his own secretary knew what he was going to do," said school spokesman Jonathan Pait.Thousands of students and supporters gathered at the university's auditorium to watch Jones' interview on CNN's "Larry King Live." People were surprised, said senior Naion Lundy.
"We didn't expect it at all," he said.
Lundy, also a sergeant with the university's public safety department, said Saturday that reporters were not permitted to interview students and faculty on campus.
Jones said the extraordinary national scrutiny the school has received since George W. Bush made a campaign appearance led to the move.
"This thing has gotten so out of hand," Jones said. "All of a sudden the university is at the center of a Republican presidential debate."
Bush appeared at the school last month and later apologized for failing to criticize the school's anti-Catholic views and racial policies.
The Greenville school banned interracial dating in the 1950s, when an Asian family threatened to sue after their son, a student, almost married a white girl, a school spokesman has said.
The first black student was not admitted until the 1970s and the school lost its tax exemption in 1983 after a 13-year battle with the Internal Revenue Service, which said the school's policies were discriminatory.
The university is a popular stop for Republican candidates seeking conservative support. Bush appeared at the school shortly after he lost to Arizona Sen. John McCain in New Hampshire.
After losing South Carolina, McCain's campaign made "Catholic Voter Alert" calls in Michigan and Washington to tell voters of Bush's visit to Bob Jones.
Those remarks have hurt McCain more than Bob Jones, said Jerry Brockman, who owns a clothing store near the university.
"I just admire that university for sticking up for its principles," he said.
South Carolina House Speaker Pro Tem Terry Haskins, a Greenville Republican and Bob Jones graduate, resigned as co-chairman of McCain's state campaign after the Arizona senator's criticism.
He said Jones wrestles with reconciling deep spiritual convictions and the changing social and political landscape.