Nondiscrimination

Campus Ministry at Vanderbilt: Seven Years After Derecognition

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 14:41:45 +0000

April 8, 2019

Gordon Govier

Campus Ministry at Vanderbilt: Seven Years After Derecognition

Seven years have passed since ��Ƶ chapters were among almost a dozen campus ministries that were derecognized by Vanderbilt University. Students who are graduating this spring have no memory of what it was like before derecognition, and yet ��Ƶ staff at Vanderbilt report their work continues with both challenges and successes.

When ��Ƶ chapters are derecognized—kicked off campus is another way of describing it—the chapters don’t disappear. Chapter leaders adjust to operating without the official stamp of approval and the benefits that official recognition provides, and stay the course with Bible studies, prayer meetings, and evangelistic outreaches.

Derecognition has most typically affected ��Ƶ when colleges and universities institute nondiscrimination policies mandating that membership, or more specifically leadership, in recognized student organizations must be open to all students regardless of religious belief. ��Ƶ welcomes all students into chapter activities but believes leadership should be reserved for students with demonstrated leadership qualities, including adherence to traditional Christian doctrines and standards of morality.

“God is still at work, even if the situation is not ideal,” said Rachel Harmon, an ��Ƶ Campus Staff Minister with Greek students at Vanderbilt, and a recently launched Black Campus Ministries chapter. Colin Fagan, who works with graduate students, agreed. “The many frustrations with regard to the policy change I would say are minor grievances,” he noted. “It’s nothing that would be a significant hindrance to our ability to do ministry.”

One of the main reasons that campus ministry continues at Vanderbilt—despite the derecognitions—is that the Office of Religious Life kept the door open to all groups without regard to status. “We told the Christian derecognized groups, ‘We’re here to help you. We’re sympathetic and we want you to succeed,’” said Mark Forrester, who directed the office as chaplain for six years, and served as the Methodist chaplain for 18 years before that. He left his job at Vanderbilt late in 2018.

Mark said that the office realized that a fair assessment of most of the derecognized groups showed that they had been good citizens on campus; they had not violated past policy. “We didn’t want them to go away,” he said. “They were still serving the significant need of a wide range of students.”

The derecognition was difficult, but Mark maintains that religious life on campus is vibrant. “There is a significant presence of religious devotion, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and otherwise,” he said. He supports Vanderbilt’s nondiscrimination policy, which was behind the derecognition, but doesn’t like the way it was implemented. He said his office was not consulted on the policy change; it looked to him like the university administration viewed religious life as more of a liability than a gift to be cultivated.

Kristen Wilkinson, who works with the Asian American Christian Fellowship (AACF), ��Ƶ’s largest chapter at Vanderbilt, says students who are now far removed from the original derecognition decision are sometimes confused over the current situation, particularly when the rules change, such as room reservation requirements sometimes do. The AACF chapter hosts small group Bible studies and has a regular large group meeting.

“I see the campus status affecting them in more subtle ways,” Kristen said. Their unrecognized status “feels like confirmation of a common issue of Asian American voices being stifled and their needs not being taken seriously.”

Rachel came to Vanderbilt four years ago with the goal of planting a chapter for Greek students. Fifty percent of Vanderbilt undergrads are involved with a fraternity or a sorority. However, as some of the Black students she was working with discovered the broad scope of ��Ƶ’s campus ministry, they told her, “We love being Greek, but the huge need at Vanderbilt right now is something reaching Black students.”

So after a semester of Bible studies and other preparatory steps, a launch night for a Collegiate Black Christian (CBC) chapter was held on campus last spring. The room filled up and then there was a line out the door. The chapter got off to a strong start.

The CBC chapter continues to grow, without official recognition. Specifically, that means they are allowed to reserve rooms and meet on campus. However they have to wait until all of the recognized student groups have made their room reservations and then pick from what’s left. They cannot use Vanderbilt’s name in the name of their chapter. They cannot participate in student organization fairs or apply for funding. And they cannot co-sponsor an event with a recognized student organization.

So, for example, when Veritas Forum, an organization that sponsors campus dialogues exploring truth and other philosophical issues, brings an event to Vanderbilt, all of the cooperative support from ��Ƶ chapters is unrecognized. Only officially recognized campus groups are listed in the program.

“We have to be careful how we market that,” Colin said about ��Ƶ’s involvement. “Some of the boundaries are clear, others are not so clear. Navigating the grey space can sometimes be tricky.”

��Ƶ’s grad chapter at Vanderbilt is currently in a rebuilding stage and Colin said it would have been helpful to have access to a student organization fair. Rich Zeigler, another ��Ƶ Campus Staff Minister who works with international students agreed. “The main thing that has changed is our ability to go to the Religious Life Fair and meet students who may be looking for a Christian group on campus,” he said.

Colin said ��Ƶ staff have countered that situation by partnering more robustly with local church communities. Students inviting other students to get involved, either personally or through social media, has also been effective. And grad students appreciate the opportunity to meet off campus, since they spend so much time on campus. “When it comes to an opportunity to do something off campus, they’re like, ‘Yes, please, let’s be away from here for some period of time for our own sanity,’” Colin said.

Brian Pugh, another ��Ƶ Campus Staff Minister who works with medical school students, also meets more frequently off-campus than on-campus with his students. “The only annoying thing about the policy is the advertising prohibition,” he said. But once he has student email addresses, it’s easy to stay in contact.

All in all, ��Ƶ has seven chapters which continue to meet at Vanderbilt, including a faculty chapter. Don Paul Gross, a Regional Director for ��Ƶ’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries, who lives in Nashville, said, “God is not limited, and we see him continue to work at Vanderbilt.”

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��Ƶ Defends Religious Freedom at Iowa

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 18:10:11 +0000

Press Room

August 7, 2018

��Ƶ Defends Religious Freedom at Iowa

For Immediate Release: August 7, 2018

Media Contact: Melinda Skea media@becketlaw.org | 202-349-7224

UPDATE: The University of Iowa has agreed to temporarily reinstate ��Ƶ and all other religious groups that the University had recently deregistered. This information is now available online at the Becket Law website.

MADISON, WI–An ��Ƶ student group at the University of Iowa is fighting for the right to ask its leaders to be Christians. In ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship v. University of Iowa, a student group is suing the University after it was kicked off campus for requiring its leaders to agree with its faith. Almost 40 other student groups —including the Sikh Awareness Club, the Chinese Student Christian Fellowship, the Imam Mahdi Organization, and the Latter-day Saint Student Association—were also expelled by the University at the same time. Becket filed the lawsuit on August 6, 2018 on behalf of ��Ƶ, seeking to get the group back on campus in time for the fall semester.

��Ƶ has been a part of campus life for 25 years, welcoming all students as members. But like the over-500 other student groups on campus, it has a distinct mission and asks its leaders to embrace that mission. In June, the University abruptly ordered the group to drop its religious leadership standards within two weeks, stating that leaders could not even be “strongly encouraged” to share its faith. And in late July, after ��Ƶ explained why it couldn’t eliminate its leadership standards, the University officially derecognized the group, along with dozens of other religious and ideological student groups.

“We’re grateful to have been part of the University community for 25 years, and we think that the University has been a richer place for having Sikh, Muslim, Mormon, Catholic, Jewish, atheist, and Christian groups.” said Kristina Schrock, student president of ��Ƶ Graduate Christian Fellowship. "Because we love our school, we hope it reconsiders and lets religious groups continue to authentically reflect their religious roots.”

��Ƶ’s 25 years on campus include hosting Bible studies and worship services, sponsoring discussions on important issues, and participating in community service activities such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and the Johnson County C.R.O.P. Hunger Walk (where it’s been the top fund-raiser in six of the last seven years). The group is made up of a diverse collection of multiethnic and international students, and it welcomes all to join as members. While the University deemed ��Ƶ’s religious leadership requirement “non-compliant” with its non-discrimination policy, it has exempted or ignored leadership and membership restrictions set by other student groups, such as sports clubs, fraternities, and political organizations. The University’s action against ��Ƶ comes after another religious group’s lawsuit challenged the school’s discriminatory application of its policy.

“If public universities really want to foster an intellectually diverse environment, this isn’t how to do it,” said Daniel Blomberg, senior counsel at Becket, which is representing ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship. “Universities should allow students the space to form their own groups that challenge and grow their sincere beliefs. Banning religious groups from having religious leaders just flattens diversity and impoverishes the campus.”

_{Photo: Schaeffer Hall at the University of Iowa, By Vkulikov - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28272266}

News Keywords

Campus Access

Religious Freedom

Nondiscrimination

��Ƶ Defends Religious Freedom in Wayne State University Case

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 14:55:23 +0000

Press Room

March 7, 2018

��Ƶ Defends Religious Freedom in Wayne State University Case

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Melinda Skea | media@becketlaw.org | 202-349-7224

UPDATE: ��Ƶ's Wayne State University chapter has been allowed back on campus. More information in this Becket news release.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –��Ƶ is fighting for its right to continue serving at a campus it has been on for over 75 years. In ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship v. Wayne State University, an ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship student group, represented by Becket, sued Michigan-based Wayne State University after school officials stripped them of official recognition just because the group requires its leaders to affirm their faith. Wayne State has over 400 student groups that contribute to its intellectual and cultural diversity, all of which are free to select leaders who embrace their missions—except, suddenly, one Christian student group.

��Ƶ welcomes all students to its meetings and to join as members. It requires only that its leaders believe in and live out its faith. Yet in 2017, Wayne State rejected the group’s constitution, derecognized ��Ƶ, and cancelled all of ��Ƶ’s reserved meetings. After 75 years, Wayne State decided that ��Ƶ’s religious leadership requirements violated school policy. Meanwhile Wayne State actively violates its own policy in many of its programs, and allows dozens of other larger student groups do the same.

“��Ƶ just wants to continue to serve Wayne State students as we have for 75 years,” said Greg Jao, ��Ƶ Director of External Relations. “Students should be able to find a campus community which reflects their faith tradition with authenticity and integrity.”

��Ƶ Christian Fellowship at Wayne State is one of the oldest ��Ƶ chapters in the country, and has held weekly Bible studies, meetings, and organized service opportunities on campus for over 75 years. In 2009 the group sponsored a series of campus events that raised awareness regarding human trafficking. And the group regularly hosts discussions of important issues, like the intersection between faith, race, and social justice.

Now ��Ƶ is given second-class status, forced to rent tables like outside vendors if it wants to host discussions or reach out to new students. It can no longer reserve meeting rooms for free like other student groups.

Additional information, including the Complaint (February 28, 2018), Press Kit and Case page is available here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/intervarsity

Photo: Del Arte via Wikipedia

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U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Briefing Report

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:32:43 +0000

News

March 26, 2013

Gordon Govier

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Briefing Report

The U.S. Commission of Civil Rights is focusing on legal tension at the intersection of nondiscrimination policies and religious freedom. A briefing was held before the commission on March 22, 2013, and a report is anticipated by the end of the year.

��Ƶ is grateful to the commission for taking up this issue. ��Ƶ staff and students have experienced this tension on more than 40 campuses over the past dozen years, particularly since the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez.

Concerns about Religious Freedom

During the briefing, Commission members showed sensitive concern regarding religious freedom. “Religious groups such as ��Ƶ are being substantially burdened by being forced off campus,” said Commissioner Peter Kirsanow. “There have been more pre-hearing comments about this issue than any other issue in my 12 years on the Commission.”

Attorney Kim Colby, an invited panelist who represents the Christian Legal Society, said, “Many school administrators don't understand religious groups. They think they are asking religious groups to make small changes in their constitutions but in reality they are asking students to recant their religious beliefs. In the name of inclusion, religious groups are being excluded from campus.”

Panelist Lori Windham, Senior Counsel for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, added, “What you have lost is the ability of religious groups to retain their identity.“

Many Campuses Impacted

So far ��Ƶ staff or students representing more than 16 campuses have filed statements to be included in the public record of this briefing, detailing their experiences with nondiscrimination policies and religious student organizations.

In Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the justices ruled that universities are allowed to institute all-comers policies, which require that student groups accept all students, as long as all student organizations are covered by the policy. ��Ƶ has always opened its activities to all students but we require chapter leaders to affirm basic Christian doctrines and a code of Christian conduct. Some schools have asked ��Ƶ to drop this requirement, because it seems to discriminate on the basis of religion.

In many cases, such as at the Universities of Michigan, Ohio State, and Minnesota, officials first raised the issue but then reached an accommodation or a policy change to allow faith-based campus organizations to avoid violating the nondiscrimination policy. But at a small number of campuses, such as Vanderbilt University, Rollins College, and Grinnell College, ��Ƶ has been derecognized and deprived of the privileges given to registered student organizations.

Summing it Up

The report of the Civil Rights Commission, when issued later this year, won’t have any legislative power, but it may influence legislation or legal rulings. ��Ƶ has more background on this issue in the Campus Access section of our website. Following the USCCR briefing, ��Ƶ's Greg Jao gave a short video report. The Christian Broadcasting Network also reported on the briefing.

News Keywords

Religious Freedom

Nondiscrimination

Campus Access