Religious Club Demands Equal Treatment from University
The largest student group at the University of Wisconsin is demanding school officials to give them the same rights as every other club on campus.
"Once again, UW-Madison officials have chosen to treat Christian students as second-class citizens," said David Hacker, litigation staff counsel of Alliance Defense Fund, in a statement Tuesday.
ADF lawyers filed on Monday a motion against the university on behalf of Roman Catholic Foundation. The Christian legal group alleged that university officials violated the terms of a seven-month-old settlement agreement designed to give the religious group the same rights as other campus groups.
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"Because university officials failed to follow the terms of the settlement agreement, we are asking the court to step in and make sure the rights of Christian students are protected," Hacker stated.
In May, the university settled a lawsuit also filed by ADF, agreeing to recognize the Catholic group and refrain from discriminating against the club when allocating student activity fees.
When the school failed to honor the agreement, ADF filed a new lawsuit in September that alleged the university was not viewpoint neutral in determining the group's funding in previous years and violated the university's "non-discrimination" code. The suit also demands a reimbursement of $39,000.
The University of Wisconsin had turned down funds for items and activities, including rosary booklets, retreats and Evangelical Catholic training camps, because they were related to prayer and worship.
Under viewpoint neutrality, school officials are not supposed to consider a group's ideology or religion when allocating funds for their activities.
"Singling out certain RCF activities because they may include prayer, worship, proselytizing, or a religious perspective is viewpoint discrimination," the complaint stated.
Dennis Chaptman, spokesperson for the university, denied any wrongdoing.
"We are fully in compliance with the terms of the agreement, and have done as the law requires in the administration of state funds," said Chaptman in a report by campus newspaper The Daily Cardinal.
In Monday's court documents, ADF also argued that defendants are incorrect in thinking that allocating student fee funds to religious expression violates the Establishment Clause.
"We're not asking for special treatment," Hacker told The Daily Cardinal. "We just think, and the law says, that Christian student groups and Christian expressions should be treated the same as all other expressions on campus."
