After initially shutting down a Christian student organization, Florida A&M University has reversed course and has decided to give the group campus recognition.
The school revoked the active status of “Commissioned 2 Love,” claiming the club did not comply with campus regulations that call for a university-appointed overseer to take an active role in its activities and provide leadership. Jeremy Tedesco of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) tells OneNewsNow his firm argued the constitutionality of the school’s policy.
“This is forced association. What if a club is a Christian club and the university appoints an atheist, or if you’re a Republican club and they appoint a Democrat,” he poses. “The student group certainly isn’t going to want to have that voice included in the message they present on campus.”
So ADF sent a letter to the school that outlined the unconstitutional policy, and that was followed with a quick reply.
“Our client, Commissioned 2 Love campus ministries, [has] been put back on active status,” Tedesco reports. “They’re now a fully recognized group on campus, and…the university is going to be looking at their unconstitutional policies, seeing if there was something they needed to do to change or amend them. In our view, there certainly is.”
In the reply, FAMU’s legal counsel stated that upon review of the school’s policies, it is “prepared to make changes as appropriate.”
The ADF attorney says it is important that college and university officials understand they cannot force student groups to associate with government employees that may be against the group’s mission.
(Source: OneNewsNow)