The student body president of a Christian University in Eugene, Ore. publicly declared that he's an atheist in his school newspaper, ABC News reported.
Eric Fromm, fourth-year student at Northwest Christian University, published his thoughts about not believing in God in the Beacon Bolt, the school's student-run online newspaper, writing "I am an atheist. Yes, you read that correctly."
In the article, published on Oct. 30, Fromm said before he enrolled he was struggling with his faith and for a while he not at peace.
"Every day I'm burdened by the fact that my peers might reject me because I'm different from them," he wrote. "I won't be rejected because of my race or social class, but simply because of the fact that I don't believe in God -- because I am an atheist."
Although he was well-regarded enough to be elected student body president, confessing his doubts to other students revealed their discomfort.
Despite his public declaration, Fromm is not in trouble with his religious school.
The university's Vice President for Enrollment and Student Development Michael Fuller told the Eugene Register-Guard that he has known about Fromm's views for years, but still thinks he is a great leader for the school.
"He's a man of very high character and respect ... He's a great advocate four our student body, which is exactly what he's supposed to be and do," he said of Fromm. "I want students like Eric here ... students who are looking to explore their faith and willing to look hard and make their faith their own."
Fromm said he decided to attend the university despite not sharing the school's religious beliefs because of the school's small class sizes and communications program.
"Truth be told, I came to NCU not because of its religious affiliations, but because it had a solid communications program. I knew that the school catered to Christian thinking, so before I enrolled," he said. "I visited the campus to make sure that the chapel services were comfortable enough that I could fulfill the requirement," he wrote in Beacon Bolt. "No one was speaking in tongues or handling snakes, so I decided to stay."
