On Thursday, Jason Johnson posted news about the Kentucky Supreme Court's ruling against the University of the Cumberlands on his Facebook page and recalled the Internet posting that changed his life.

After Johnson said on his MySpace.com page in 2006 that he was gay, he was expelled from the university, a Baptist school in Williamsburg, and he became a national symbol.

In an interview Thursday, Johnson said his expulsion shined a light on the University of the Cumberlands' rule against homosexuality and "made people look a little harder" at the state's decision to give the university $11 million dollars to open a pharmacy school.

After Johnson was kicked out, the Kentucky Fairness Alliance — which advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Kentuckians—filed a lawsuit saying that the state Constitution prohibits public education money from being spent on a religious school, an argument that the Kentucky Supreme Court agreed with Thursday.

"It's good for Kentucky," said Johnson, now 24 and living in Connecticut. "I'm glad the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the Kentucky Constitution."

Though Johnson was not specifically part of the lawsuit, he became the face associated with the issue at the time when he went to New York to give national television interviews.

"It helped to give me a platform to speak out about discrimination and injustice," Johnson said.

He said he did not make the fact that he was gay public before he graduated from Lexington's Lafayette High School in 2004.

But by his sophomore year at the University of the Cumberlands, he said he was comfortable enough with his sexuality to write about his dating relationship online.

"I didn't reveal anything that shouldn't be on a social networking page, but obviously the university felt otherwise," Johnson said.

Johnson said he was not aware that the university had a policy against homosexual behavior when he enrolled. He was planning on transferring when he was expelled, he said.

"I didn't like feeling like I couldn't be myself on campus," he said.

Johnson transferred to Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, where he found "a much more open atmosphere" and completed a degree in English, with a concentration in theater, last May. He's pursuing a career in theater.

Despite his problems with the administration, Johnson said his fellow students at the University of the Cumberlands generally stood by him.

"I had a really strong support group within the student body at Cumberland," he said. "There were great experiences that I had there."

Johnson said his family was supportive as well. When the Dean's List student found out that his expulsion would also mean failing grades for the semester, his family hired Lexington lawyer Don Waggener.

Johnson and Waggener said Thursday that they worked out an agreement in which the university allowed Johnson to complete his work for the semester.

Though Johnson said he doesn't regret acknowledging his sexual orientation online, he said his expulsion sends a message to high school and college students.

Students should be aware that university officials and employers could be watching their social networking posts, Johnson said.

"It can come back and either hurt you as an individual," he said, "or cause some discomfort in your life."