Engineering School Reverses Decision Against Campus Christian Group
by Jim Brown
April 28, 2005
(AgapePress) - A prestigious school in Wisconsin has relented in its discrimination against a Christian student group on campus.
The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) initially denied recognition of the "ReJOYce in Jesus Campus Fellowship," claiming the group's ban on homosexual behavior and requirement that voting members be Christian were discriminatory. That prompted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) to intervene on behalf of ReJOYce. FIRE sent a letter to the school, notifying officials that the student government's rejection of ReJOYce violated school policies supporting religious freedom.
Greg Lukianoff, director of legal and public advocacy at FIRE, says it is not the first time -- and likely will not be the last -- that his group has had to make that concept clear.
"It's amazing how often we have to explain this on campus colleges, to students and administrators, that the right to freedom of association doesn't really mean very much if you can't organizes a certain set of beliefs -- whether people agree with them or not," Lukianoff says. "And all this group was doing was saying [to prospective members] 'Listen, you have to live in accordance with our beliefs.'"
Not long after FIRE intervened, the student government at MSOE granted full recognition to the campus Christian organization. According to the FIRE spokesman, even though the group is now officially recognized, many students on campus still support banning ReJOYce. That demonstrates a lack of understanding, he says.
"They're not really understanding the basic principles of what it means to live with freedom of association, what it means to live in a pluralistic democracy, [and] what it means to really tolerate other people's beliefs," Lukianoff says.
That is why, FIRE says, it will continue to educate students that the decision to recognize ReJOYce was not only in keeping with legal traditions, but was also the right thing to do.
ReJOYce was among several campus groups that had been granted "temporary status" by the student government, but were then granted full recognition following FIRE's letter to the school. Other groups that became "full-fledged" campus organizations included the Muslim Students Association and the Cigar and Pipe Social Club.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
