Legal Groups Commend UGA's Decision to Recognize Christian Fraternity
by Ed Thomas
December 26, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The University of Georgia (UGA) has reversed its decision and will now recognize Christian fraternity Beta Upsilon Chi, also known as "Brothers Under Christ," as a registered student group on that campus. The school originally refused recognition to the fraternity because it required members to share Christian beliefs. David French is a spokesman for the pro-faith and pro-family legal advocacy group Alliance Defense Fund. He says ADF and the Christian Legal Society jointly filed suit in federal court after UGA accused Beta Upsilon Chi of religious discrimination based on the fact that the fraternity included only Christians.
"The university said that that's discrimination on the basis of religion, and they weren't going to allow it, which makes very little sense when you think about it," French contends. He says religious non-discrimination rules were passed to protect religious people and groups, not to exclude them from campus.
Also, all student groups on campus have the right of free association, the ADF representative adds. That means they have the right to form groups according to common interests or shared values and beliefs, he explains, and to deny that right to religious groups alone is unconstitutional.
UGA officials recognized their mistake within 24 hours of the religious discrimination suit being filed, French notes, and he feels they were expeditious in correcting it. "The university very quickly said that it was not only going to recognize the fraternity," he explains, "but also that they were going to review their policies to see what to do in the future."
ADF and the Christian Legal Society are "pleased that the university has acted quickly to recognize the fraternity" and to acknowledge that the right of association applies to all students and student groups on campus, French says. "But at the same time, the university has not made any definitive policy changes," he notes, "so the case is still pending while we see what the university finally decides to do." In other words, the suit remains pending while the attorneys wait for UGA to permanently adjust its policy.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
