Religious frat sues after school denies recognition
November 9, 2009 by Taylor HanniganPosted in: From the Courts, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
A Christian fraternity sues a university after being denied official recognition. Then the university changes its policy and lets the fraternity in. Case closed, right? Wrong.
The University of Florida initially refused to recognize the frat because it did not admit women. But then the frat entered into an affiliation with a sorority, solving the problem.
But the school still wouldn’t offer the frat recognition and all the benefits that come with it – such as eligibility to apply for funding and priority use of some facilities. Why? Because, according to the school, the frat discriminated on the basis of religion.
The frat sued, claiming violations of its rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Then the school modified its policy, saying religious student groups wouldn’t be denied registration just because they limited membership to students with the same religious beliefs. It also officially recognized the frat, making it eligible for the benefits it sought.
But when the school told the court the dispute had been resolved and asked it to dismiss the case, the frat resisted. It said the school changed the policy just so it could avoid liability. And it suggested the school would simply go back to the old policy if the case was tossed.
The court disagreed. There was no longer any live controversy to resolve, it explained. The school said it intended to abide by the new policy, and the suggestion that it would go back to its old ways was just speculation.
The court instructed that the case be dismissed as moot.
Cite: Beta Upsilon Chi Upsilon Chapter at the Univ. of Florida v. Machen.
Do you think the court made the right decision? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Tags: fraternities, freedom of speech, religious freedom, University of Florida
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November 11th, 2009 at 10:55 am
This is not over, nor should it be. The University is a public university and funded with the public’s funding through tax dollars and tuition dollars. As such, any and all school sponsored events, activities and organizations are compelled to be open to all students. A fraternity or sorority has the option of being selective and set preconditions for membership as long as they are not publicly funded or sponsored. The school and court blundered ontnis and may in the future have to reconsider when a new case is filled against the school based on discrimination. I look forward to reading about the next round of events.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
“As such, any and all school sponsored events, activities and organizations are compelled to be open to all students. ”
But if it is true, why many universities have special programs to involve woman in sciences etc? Should this be considered illegal also – to have “women in engineering” events for example?
November 11th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
What would be important is to have the University prepare a policy statement in writing which can be used as a basis for any future issues; that is something a court could then examine if necessary. As a faculty advisor to two fraternities and also to a Christian organization, I know that a “modification” in policy which is not actually recorded can just as easily be revoked later on by the university (or by another administrator unfamiliar with the history).
April 14th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
There are too many activies and organizations that are either discouraging participation or discrimintory against the others, e.g. Society of Women Engineers, race-based fraternity/sorority, and Queer Council. Not sure why pick on religious fraternity in the first place??