About the project
A collective record, built to be inspected.
Out ORU connects survivor-controlled stories with policies, court records, leadership statements, and public-money data. It exists so no one has to choose between human experience and documentary proof.
Mission
Make the hidden structure legible.
Out ORU documents how institutional policy, public law, leadership, money, and lived experience meet at Oral Roberts University. Its audience includes students, alumni, families, journalists, researchers, and anyone deciding what the public record can responsibly show.
The project is not a substitute for a survivor’s voice, a court’s holding, an institution’s response, or the original source. It is an evidence system that keeps those things distinct and lets readers see how they relate.
Independence
Not an ORU property.
Out ORU is independent and is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or sponsored by Oral Roberts University. ORU’s name appears descriptively because the institution is the subject of the project. Out ORU does not use ORU’s logo, seal, trade dress, or institutional voice.
Founder disclosure
One experience, not the whole story.
Andrew Hartzler founded Out ORU. He is an ORU alumnus and a participant in theHunter v. U.S. Department of Education litigation, and his experience has been described in public reporting. That history explains his relationship to the project; it does not make him the central subject, the sole authority, or a proxy for every LGBTQ+ person who attended ORU.
Editorial accountability
The record can answer back.
Material claims display their sources, pinpoint locators, evidence status, limitations, rights state, verification date, and ORU response status. Contested claims receive a focused opportunity for response. Material corrections are dated and described. Survivor withdrawal is handled under a separate consent process.
Funding and conflicts
Disclose what shapes the work.
This site does not collect donations and contains no advertising, analytics, sponsorship, or paid-placement system. If that changes, Out ORU will publish its funding, editorial leadership, and relevant conflicts and keep those disclosures current.