Apr 20, 2012
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Vanderbilt University has informed a small Christian student organization that it will no longer be recognized as a student group because it requires its members to have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, according to email correspondence provided to Fox News.
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“It just shows how radical the Vanderbilt administration has become in enforcing a policy that is nonsense,” said Kim Colby, senior counsel for the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom. “A lot of jaws dropped when we saw how far the Vanderbilt administration was taking this.”
Colby told Fox News the Christian group did not want to be identified because “they just don’t want to be caught in the crossfire of the culture wars.”
The group reached out to the Vandy chapter of the Christian Legal Society so others would know what had happened, Colby said.
“They are a small group of students who want to gather together and worship God,” she said. “That’s basically all they want to do.”
According to email correspondence from the university, the group’s constitution was not approved because the university took issue with a requirement that leaders have a “personal commitment to Jesus Christ.”
“Please change the following statement in your constitution,” a university official wrote to the group.
The original statement read: “Criteria for officer selection will include level and quality of past involvement, personal commitment to Jesus Christ, commitment to the organization, and demonstrated leadership ability.”
The university directed the group to change the statement to read: “Criteria for officer selection will include level and quality of past involvement, commitment to the organization, and demonstrated leadership ability.”
Ironically, Vanderbilt University was founded as a Methodist institution established for the purpose of practicing – among other things – theology.
University Provost Richard McCarty told The Tennessean that their policy “is about rejecting discrimination and not about restricting religious freedom.”
But isn’t that exactly what they’ve done to the small Christian group by telling them they can’t have leaders who have a commitment to Jesus Christ? Or for that matter, how is the university’s email not an intrusion into the freedom to practice religion?
The university released the following statement to Fox News in connection with the unnamed Christian club:
“We respect our students’ rights to hold and practice their religious beliefs. Our nondiscrimination policy does nothing to restrict those rights, nor does it limit these religious organizations’ ability to choose their own leaders. We require only that the groups be open to all Vanderbilt students and all members in good standing must be allowed to offer themselves for leadership. The groups themselves select their leaders. The policy allows leadership requirements such as length of membership, attendance, level of active participation and certain performance-based criteria, such as GPA for honor societies. Any groups whose leadership requirements don’t comply with our nondiscrimination policy are given the opportunity to revise and resubmit their application.”
Colby said the student group has decided not to comply with the university’s demands.
“They’re going to leave campus rather than take those five words out of their constitution,” Colby told Fox News.
Colby said it’s becoming clear that Vanderbilt University is specifically targeting Christian organizations.
“Any students have to be concerned about what an administration that’s being as radical as the Vanderbilt administration has been might do,” she said. “There’s a lot at stake for students when they stand up against their administration.”
This is just the latest in a string of controversies over Vanderbilt’s newly revised non-discrimination policy. At least 13 Christian groups have decided to defy the ban. Two groups, including Vanderbilt Catholic, have already announced plans to leave campus rather than conform to the university’s new policies.
The Tennessee Legislature is also jumping into the controversy. State Rep. Bill Dunn told Fox News it’s clear that Vanderbilt “has a policy that attacks religious organizations on campus.”
He drafted legislation threatening to block the policy because even though Vanderbilt is a private institution, it receives some public money.
“Some people have book sense and other people have common sense,” he said. “I think Vandy has gone with what the liberal elite would like to see and they aren’t using the common sense God has given them.”
Dunn’s drafted amendment would allow Vanderbilt to have an ‘all-comers’ policy, but it would have to be applied evenly to every student group – including fraternities and sororities.
The Tennessean reported that fraternities and sororities are exempted because of federal Title IX regulations that apply to gender issues.
“It shows the hypocrisy of Vanderbilt University,” Dunn said. “They know they can pick on Christian groups and it won’t affect their donors. But if they go after fraternities and sororities they realize it might hit them in the pocket book.”
Colby said it’s a very difficult time for Christians on campus.
“It makes me very sad,” she said. “We used to have religious liberty — where people understand that religious groups having their leaders agree with their faith was not only permissible and protected, it was common sense. And we’ve lost a lot of common sense in this country.”
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Finally education has caugh up to christianity, not only now you can graduate from a university without any knowledge of how to write or read, but you can claim christianhood without even knowing what the bible says, what a great country america is, stupidity is an equal opportunity acceptor.
Just another sign of what's to come as long as atahe current administration holds office. If we
want this crap reversed we need to vote REPUBLICAN – regardless of who it is!
Good then I want to join a sorority, according to Vanderbilt they cant descriminate against me. also what this group now needs to do is elect someone who is aChristian to the postion for life, then that person, when they cant make a meeting, just appoint someone else to "fill " in.
The group selects the "leaders" not the administration. The do not have to elect the non-Christians. What is the problem?
Other groups have tried similar things like this in the past…the Romans come to mind. Don't be concerned – these attacks usually result in more people coming to Christ. Stay on campus and let them find out the real leader of the group is God.
Ok, so let's take faith out of the equation……let's let kids who don't know the first thing about football be on Vanderbilt's football team…the same for basketball, you don't have to know basketball to be on the team…..Will the sponsors of Vanderbilt sports put up with that?
Or even better…lets say that the COACH of the football or basketball teams does not have to know the first thing about their respective sport !!!!
I would go ahead and let them in, it would be a great opportunity to preach the Word of God to a very captive audience. After hearing many testimonies and being witnessed to on a constant basis, they will either convert or they will just leave.
Look at this as an opportunity to win souls and you should be ok.
ReALlY???? Now aren't they so smart!
Vanderbilt isn't forcing members to vote for anyone in particular. They're simply saying that they have to be given the opportunity to go for it. If a group falls apart so easily that they'd elect someone as their president who doesn't share their core values that's a reflection on the group, not Vanderbilt's leadership.
Vanderbilt isn't forcing members to vote for anyone in particular. They're simply saying that they have to be given the opportunity to go for it. If a group falls apart so easily that they'd elect someone as their president who doesn't share their core values that's a reflection on the group, not Vanderbilt's leadership.
I'm not a big fan of this solution and feel it's been overused and abused in our society, but in this case, the word 'lawsuit' comes to mind. Another, more effective solution would be a Christian boycott of the school. Statistically, well over 1/2 of the student population is Christian. When those students stop paying tuition and attending classes the administration will be forced to rescind their policy. It is time that we on the right side of the aisle adopt the same tactics and strategies that the left has bashed us with over the years.
I'm not a big fan of this solution and feel it's been overused and abused in our society, but in this case, the word 'lawsuit' comes to mind. Another, more effective solution would be a Christian boycott of the school. Statistically, well over 1/2 of the student population is Christian. When those students stop paying tuition and attending classes the administration will be forced to rescind their policy. It is time that we on the right side of the aisle adopt the same tactics and strategies that the left has bashed us with over the years.
Bet ya $100 they wouldn't have said anything if this was a Muslim or Hindu group.
The Christians should turn this to a positive. Never know you might open the hearts and minds of those that don't believe. God is much Greater then the any disdain or unwillfullness.
From the First Amendment to the US Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;.
I realize that Vaderbuilt isn't the Congress, but should the sentiment be the same?
It would seem the Vanderbilt "non-discriminatory policy" discriminates against Christians. Therefore, Vanderbilt is violating it's own "non-discriminatory" policy!
It would seem the Vanderbilt "non-discriminatory policy" discriminates against Christians. Therefore, Vanderbilt is violating it's own "non-discriminatory" policy!
By the same rules, liberal groups should be forced to elect a leader that actually has a brain.
Sounds like a pretty clear violation of freedom of association to me. Sue! Sue! Sue! Sue!
Nothing makes me happier than to see some administrative idiots that fail to understand the American Constitution and laws get their butts handed to them in court!
BY this, I can start an Islamic club, and not have to be Muslim. I think there would be enough folks to do that. Then, if any Muslims do decide to join,, we'll just shut it down.
I believe Vanderbilt "stepped in it" when they first ruled on this matter and are too stubborn or proud to backtrack their decision. The fact is, ALL campus organization must be painted with the same brush or the University will be looking at a potential barrage of discrimination lawsuits from these injured organizations. White leaders in the NAACP organization? Straight leaders in a gay/lesbian organization? Can you say "INSANITY"?
How rightly the scriptures speak to the liberal elite of Vanderbilt University: "…always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3:7 NASB.
Common sense continues to disappear under the careful manipulation of political correctness.
It is always painful to listen to the faithless trying to tell the faithful what it takes to be faithful. Pity.
All Christian alumni should immediately stop any donations to the school. They should not resume untill the people responsible for this are gone from the employ of the school period.
I know the Christians are Biblically prohibited from deception but other groups are not.
All they have to do is find the small, weaker student groups and overwhelm their membership.
Once they have over half the membership, they can institute all kinds of group rules that drive the administration nuts. The University in it's efforts to suppress overt expressions of faith may have cut their own throats.
Ugh. This is profoundly ridiculous. It doesn't matter what organization it would be. It would be just as ridiculous if I were trying to become an officer of our campus' Muslim Student Association. I seriously am tempted to start a Caucasian Campus group. We will eat meatloaf while listening to "Free Bird". Or I guess we could eat free bird while listening to Meatloaf.
I'm the faculty adviser for an atheist group on my campus. I see what the college is trying to do (my college–a public, land-grant university has a similar rule)–basically, the club can't bar any student from coming to the club or trying to run for office and still receive money from the college. This is fair. If this club still wants to have "personal relationship with JC" as a criterion for election, they could choose not to be an RSO. OR they could do like the huge xian groups on my campus do, which is abide by the rules and simply not vote for someone they think doesn't comport with the goals of the club. It seems to work like gangbusters for them…
Very sad indeed!
Where's the outrage about this? Political Correctness now trumps Religious Freedom. Have they all forgotten what this country was founded on? or don't they care?
You know, they are ONLY doing this because they have the POWER. They would jump immediately if 50 conservatives joined a liberal group, hijacked it and changed the charter. They would demand that these groups have a right to exist according to their beliefs.
No. They know that this small group cannot exist except it maintains it's beliefs. They know that they could not fend off a takeover. They are powerless before a larger body that disagrees with them. The Administrators know that they have effectively destroyed any true religious group on Campus, and they like it.
So then if a non-Christian does not get elected to lead can he or she filel a discrimination suit claiming they were not chosen because of their lack of belief? Yes the could. That is why this is a problem. And why it is anti-Christian.
Let's make some nonsense out of this nonsense. One can apply to be a professor of music without having a degree in it, or one can be a professor of economics but don't know a lick about it (we have a guy in the WH that has no clue and it shows), and one can be a history professor without reading a book and not having a degree. Outrageous but true for this now lower institution of learning. All of those students who have a deep faith in God, should ask for their money back (even if they went for four years), and those that have been giving freely to the institution do the same. Talk about a university that will fold up quicker than a circus! Time for the board of regents to get rid of this admin before it is too late.
An Open Letter To The Christian Community of Vanderbilt University http://www.safehousesofhopeandprayer.org/2012/04/an-open-letter-to-the-christian-community-of-vanderbilt-university/.