Stuck On Stupid

A Christian fraternity filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the University of Georgia and the Board of Regents Wednesday, claiming UGA refuses to recognize the organization because it requires all its members and officers to be Christians.

University officials have held the fraternity’s membership rules violate UGA’s non-discrimination policies for student groups.

Lawyers with the national Christian Legal Society and the Alliance Defense Fund, the same group that filed a discrimination suit against Georgia Tech in the spring, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Athens Wednesday on behalf of Beta Upsilon Chi, which goes by the Greek letters BYX.

Six UGA students started a local chapter of BYX, which has 16 other chapters around the country, last fall. They were initially recognized as a student organization in the 2005-2006 school year, but were denied continued recognition by UGA in November.

To register as a student group, a student organization has to fill out a form stating "membership and all privileges, including voting and officer positions, must be extended to all students, without regard to age, ethnicity, gender, disability, color, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status," according to the suit. The form is part of a larger non-discrimination policy approved by the Board of Regents, the suit says.

The fraternity requires its officers and members to pledge their belief in Jesus Christ to participate.

The suit alleges that UGA has not consistently applied the nondiscrimination requirement to other student groups. It specifically cites the Baha’i Association, which the suit says requires its officers to be members of the Baha’i faith, and a Christian organization, Crossway Fellowship Christian Ministry.

…