September, 2007
Litigation Derangement Syndrome Returns
Ashley Emans
Since July 10, The University of Florida administration has been in a legal battle with the Christian fraternity Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX), otherwise known as "Brothers Under Christ." After applying to be a Registered Student Organization, the eight boys of BYX were refused student group status on the basis that their membership process is discriminatory. Only males who are Christian are allowed into the brotherhood. Official standing would mean BYX could meet in campus facilities, advertise on university property, recruit on school grounds, have office/storage space, own a student organization mailbox, have access to tables, bulletin boards, computers, and listservs; apply for student funds, and run a student organization email and website. BYX has 21 chapters nationwide, most of which are at public universities.
The fraternity's attorneys from the Christian Legal Society and the Alliance Defense Fund wish to declare UF's policy unconstitutional via the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. UF claims BYX has not actually been rejected yet, as it has not completed the application process. No matter; since UF plans to deny BYX anyway, why bother with the needless paperwork?
Beta Upsilon Chi v. Machen has a decent shot of success for the members of BYX. In December UGA went through the same lawsuit with the same representation, and BYX came out on top. At the University of Missouri BYX also won a federal lawsuit for chapter establishment. The legal precedent is clearly in favor of those who support the fraternity.
The fact is that many of the 650 UF groups already discriminate by sex, race, or other factors. Here is just a sampling of clubs with Registered Student Organization status: Progressive Black Men, Women's Chorale, Men's Ice Hockey, Men's Lacrosse...and the list goes on and on.
"It's really a case of the University of Florida singling out Christian fraternities and sororities," said Timothy J. Tracey, litigation counsel for the Center for Law & Religious Freedom at the Christian Legal Society.
"Regardless of name, none of the (mentioned) organizations limits its membership to a single sex...all of the above referenced organizations affirm in their constitutions that they do not discriminate on the basis of sex." wrote Amy Hass, assistant general counsel for UF. Let's stop being so legal and start being real: all of these clubs are clearly exclusionary. Fussing over whether girls should play men's lacrosse is a perfect example of what I call our society's Litigation Derangement Syndrome. Many anti-Christian rulings are only achieved through legal gymnastics and the exploitation of law loopholes, anyways.
The "Independent" (read: slaves to the DailyKos) Florida Alligator editorial board wrote a BYX piece on July 17 that was dripping with ignorant sarcasm and hatred. Let's look at just a few samplings:
- "Now BUC (sic), along with its very own frogs, blood water and locusts in the form of lawyers, is seeking damages against UF for upholding its school principles...we can't help but wonder if Jesus would really condone this lawsuit. Even if he had the option of suing for his mistreatment, we doubt he would've taken Judas to court. Maybe we're forgetting the commandment "Thou shalt sue if thou is clearly wrong but has run out of viable options.""
- They call BYX an "elite circle" and jokingly refer to discrimination as a "treasured American value."
- "Why should student tuition money go to a group that doesn't represent the beliefs of all students?" Well, NORML doesn't represent my beliefs, but it is a student organization. Universities are supposed to serve as many people as possible.
- They also have more bad-tasting Christian puns than is room here to name. This is what we expect now from the Alligator when no one is there to hold it accountable.
Perhaps the left is just angry that the Christian Right has wisened up to using the judicial system. Echoes of the left seem imminent, "Hey! Hijacking the American legal system is how WE impose our policies upon innocent people!"
"UF's claim strikes me as inconsistent with what the facts actually appear to be," Tracey said. Standing up for the rights of Christians just does not fit the agenda of diversity-conscious UF. Because Christian males are not the minority, does that mean their rights are fair game to take away? Luckily, this case has only exposed the hypocrisy of the fairness crowd. If they want to protect the rights of blacks, Muslims, gays, &c., they have also got to afford the same respect to everyone else.