Christian groups demand right to discriminate on campus. Will racists be next?

This story has been all over the news in the last few weeks and I have been meaning to make a comment, so here it is:

Christian groups are pushing very hard to force universities to give recognition and funding to them. They want access to university facilities and money, but want to be able to restrict membership to those who believe as they do.

They argue that it is a violation of their right to free assembly not to have access to university facilities and seem to have found a judge in southern illinois that agrees with them.

They should ask themselves if this isn't a slippery slope. Will they sit idly by when a racist group decides to ask for university recognition for a group that will exclude all people of color? How about groups that exclude everyone of a different gender? Are these okay too?

The university anti-discrimination rules are meant to make campuses a welcoming place--I suppose if we want our universities to be filled with little gated, frightened communities that refuse to admit one another, as some Christian groups demand, we are headed down the right path.

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 08/11/2006 | Official apologizes for mishandling Knights of Columbus announcement