11 More Vandy Student Groups Revolt

by College Fix Staff on April 12, 2012

The religious liberty controversy at Vanderbilt just keeps getting bigger:

After Vanderbilt University issued a new, discriminatory policy that prevents religious student groups from maintaining belief-based membership and leadership requirements, 11 Vanderbilt student organizations have refused to accept second-class status at the university because of their beliefs. Organized together as Vanderbilt Solidarity, these organizations have applied for recognition as belief-based groups. Their decision follows the choice of the student group Vanderbilt Catholic to accept self-exile by no longer officially registering with Vanderbilt rather than lose its unique identity.

Vanderbilt has refused to permit belief-based groups to maintain their missions despite significant national outrage.

Looks like Vanderbilt is doing its best to become the leading adversary of religious liberty in all of academia.

How long until Vandy donors and alumni withhold enough money to put a stop to the reckless disregard for individual conscience and intellectual freedom on the part of university administrators?

For now, typical academic buzzwords like “tolerance,” “diversity,” and “intellectual freedom” don’t seem to apply to religious students at Vanderbilt.

Looks like they have no appreciation for the principles of academic freedom that are supposed to be the foundation of higher education in America.

Here’s something ironic: Vanderbilt was founded by the Methodist church. Looks like the current leadership there is doing everything it can to distance itself from that legacy.

Read more about how students are fighting back.

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  • Lee

    This is what happens when we allow policies to be made because someone stated that they were offended by religion, life style, american flags and any number of other activities that they disagree with. Where is it written that you have a right to go through life without being offended.

  • Larry Uloth

    The chickens are coming home to roost….the socialist progressives in academia are showing their true colors…and it really is all about their desire to rule everyone else because of a mistaken belief that they (the elites) know what is good for everyone else.

    I congratulate the eleven other groups so far that have stood with the Catholics to say you will not rule us..period!

    as far as the renaming demand goes..I suggest calling yourselves the following
    ………………….NOTVANDERBILT……Catholics…..

  • Jan D

    Good for them. It wouldn´t make sense for a Gay group to elect an anti-gay leader, or a group of Atheists to elect a Christian Pastor to lead them. People should be free to coalesce with like minded people as long as they don´t force themselves upon others, in either direction.

  • Bruce

    Am I missing something here? It’s just a policy saying that a person cannot be excluded from the opportunity to RUN for leadership positions in student groups based on religious faith. Why would the catholic group ever elect someone who wasn’t catholic? Furthermore why would a non-catholic even want to run? This is not impeding on any rights, it is just framed that way to make it look like the whole country is in a religious war. Just like the race war that supposedly going on according to Fox Nation. According to the media I should go out with a bulletproof vest and a bible, but when I went to school today, everything seemed pretty relaxed.

    • texas58

      The problem Bruce is that the organizations are open to all in every way under the universities policy. It wouldn’t be too terribly difficult for those who don’t hold the tenets of the organization (say a Christian group), to stack the membership so leadership which is diametrically opposed to the tenets of the organization were elected. The University’s policies will destroy these groups if the U. isn’t forced to change.

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