ADF attorneys file suit against Univ. of Wisconsin for de-recognition of Christian student groups
University’s actions are in direct defiance of the law, say attorneys with ADF’s Center for Academic FreedomSUPERIOR, Wis. — Attorneys with ADF’s Center for Academic Freedom filed a lawsuit today in federal court against the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s “de-recognition” of the school’s InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapter. The university alleges that InterVarsity is in violation of the school “anti-discrimination” policy by not allowing non-Christians to serve in leadership positions.
“Christian student groups can and should be led by Christians,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David French, director of ADF’s Center for Academic Freedom. “But this is not just a matter of common sense. It is also the binding law in this jurisdiction. What’s amazing is that the university is willing to openly defy the law in its efforts to marginalize or censor Christian influence on campus.”
Groups denied official recognition by the university are deprived of access to campus facilities and student funding which recognized groups enjoy.
French had previously sent a letter to university officials citing a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit which reinstated the official recognized status of the student Christian Legal Society chapter at the Southern Illinois School of Law (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3820). The University of Wisconsin is located within the jurisdiction of the 7th Circuit.
A copy of the complaint filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in the case InterVarsity Christian Fellowship-UW Superior v. The Regents of the University of Wisconsin System can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/UWIVCFcomplaint.pdf.
ADF’s Center for Academic Freedom is defending religious freedom at America’s public universities. ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
