UGA will accept frat, but no bias
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- Category: News
- Created: Friday, 08 December 2006 16:16
- Published: Friday, 08 December 2006 15:45
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 Brothers Under Christ - a formal group photo |
University of Georgia officials agreed Thursday to accept a Christian fraternity as an official student organization, allowing the group to require its members to be Christian, as long as the fraternity agrees not to discriminate based on age, race, color, class, nationality, sexual orientation or disability.
Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX) or Brothers Under Christ, sued UGA leaders in federal court Tuesday, claiming that university staff refused to register the group because it requires its members to be Christians.
. . .
The suit cites the Baha'i Association of UGA, which the lawsuit says requires its members to be members of the Baha'i faith.
But the Baha'i group's leader said her organization never has required its members or officers to be Baha'i, just to be dedicated to the group.
"We didn't have to put anything we didn't believe in our constitution," said the group's chairwoman, Crystal Rapier, referring to the university's requirement that registered student groups must include a nondiscrimination statement in their constitutions.
Furthermore, one of the officers in 10-member group is not Baha'i but Catholic, Rapier said.
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