The 3 - March 11, 2018

Two of this week's stories in The 3 deal with religious expression on college campuses, with a Georgia university facing legal challenges due to its preferential treatment for some organizations and a Michigan university has reinstated a Christian campus group.  And, the Mississippi Legislature has passed a 15-week abortion ban.

3 - Attorneys protest tiered system at Georgia university, speech restrictions

According to its website, Alliance Defending Freedom has filed two lawsuits against the Atlanta-area Kennesaw State University. Last month, the legal organization sued the school on behalf of student organization, Ratio Christi, to "challenge policies that officials used to relegate a pro-life display to a 'speech zone' that makes up less than 0.08 percent of the 405-acre campus."

Now, ADF is at it again, filing suit on behalf of Young Americans for Freedom at KSU and its president, "challenging policies that give university officials complete discretion to impose 'security fees' in any amount they decide on any event they deem 'controversial.'"  The school had imposed such fees on YAF for an event featuring a conservative speaker earlier this month.

At the heart of this new lawsuit is a tiered system on recognizing student-related organizations. The website states:

The tiers function as a sort of caste system for preferential treatment on campus, including which of areas of the campus green officials will allow a requesting student organization to use and how much access a group has to funding for activities.

The article goes on to say:

The four classifications for registered student organizations at KSU, from the lowest level of privilege to the highest, are “recognized” (where the university has placed YAF), “affiliated” (where the university has placed many Christian student groups), “sponsored” (which includes the Kennesaw Pride Alliance and the African-American Student Alliance), and “chartered” (which includes the International Students Association and the LGBTQ Student Programs). The higher the classification, the more access a group has to the best areas of the campus green and to student funding. No faith-based groups are higher than the “affiliated” tier, and no overtly political groups are higher than the “recognized” tier.

ADF Legal Counsel Travis Barham is quoted as saying, “Kennesaw State’s byzantine speech policies allow officials to place student organizations into an arbitrary caste system of superiors and inferiors, and to assess security fees that numerous courts in other cases have routinely declared unconstitutional.”

2 - Christian student organization returns to Michigan campus

There's good news for a Christian student organization at Wayne State University in Michigan, according to a Christianity Today story, which stated:

Last year, InterVarsity lost its recognition as a student group at Wayne State, the third-largest school in Michigan, over requirements that its leaders affirm the organization’s Christian beliefs. The school viewed the belief requirement as a violation of its nondiscrimination policy.

With the assistance of the Becket Fund, InterVarsity had sued the school, claiming "religious discrimination." And, two days later, the school "ultimately re-certified the student ministry..."

Cristina Garza, a former president and current member of the Wayne State chapter, is quoted as saying, “We hope the school will make this change permanent, so no other students have to go through what we’ve been through over the last six months.”

The article points out:

InterVarsity is all too familiar with the fight for campus access, having lost then regained its place on 19 Cal State campuses in 2014 and 2015 due to the schools’ “all comers” policy, which requires school-sanctioned groups to open membership eligibility to all students and leadership positions to all members. Such a policy also led to InterVarsity getting forced off Vanderbilt University’s campus a few years before.

The story notes that the Becket Fund "also helped a Christian group regain its status at the University of Iowa earlier this year...:"

Business Leaders in Christ lost its place on campus over a “sexual morality” requirement in its faith statement, which kept a gay student from taking on a leadership role in the organization. Back in January, a judge ordered that the group be reinstated, though litigation is pending.

1 - Mississippi lawmakers approve bill banning abortion at 15 weeks

The state of Mississippi is down to one abortion clinic, and its Legislature has passed a bill that would ban abortions at 15 weeks, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, which reported that the House had concurred with a Senate-passed version of the bill by a 75-34 vote.

Earlier, according to another Clarion-Ledger article, the Senate on Tuesday had passed the legislation 35-14.  Governor Phil Bryant has been supportive of the bill, stating, "I have repeatedly said, I want Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child," adding, "House Bill 1510 will help us achieve that goal, and I encourage the House to pass it and look forward to signing it."

The Lt. Governor, Tate Reeves, is quoted as saying, "Mississippians are committed to protecting the lives of unborn children, and this law will be a major step in accomplishing that goal," adding, "I am committed to making Mississippi the safest place in America for an unborn child."

The owner of that lone clinic in Mississippi, whose Birmingham clinic had been shut down due to health violations, told the newspaper that she would plan to file lawsuit against the legislation.