This week, universities across the country are dealing with the question of intolerance on their campuses and what they should do with groups whose message does not necessarily open their arms to everyone.
Can an advocacy group for Palestine raise money and support on campuses if it supposedly has links to Hamas? Can a law school in California deny a Christian group recognition for refusing to admit gay and lesbian members?
A group of universities have possibility had a pro-Palestinian group called Viva Palestina USA advocating on their campus. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) is urging the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the organization that has supposedly been linked to Hamas.
Controversy arose at the University of California, Irvine last May when the group appeared on campus at an event hosted by the Muslim Student Association. Viva Palestina USA was founded by George Galloway, a British Parliament member. The group’s ties to Hamas are still in question, but while it is not illegal under U.S. law to provide funds to Gaza, it is against the law to donate to Hamas, which is considered a foreign terrorist organization.
Meanwhile, at another California university, the question of a Christian groups rights to deny gay and lesbian students memberships has come under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court.
The Christian Legal Society at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law requires that members uphold their beliefs, which means only accepting relationships between a man and a woman.
“However, CLS voting members and officers must affirm its Statement of Faith,” a press release from the society said. “CLS interprets the Statement of Faith to include the belief that Christians should not engage in sexual conduct outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.”
The university argues that all groups under campus funding cannot exclude people, while the Christian group maintains that its right to freedom of speech and religion has been violated. Federal courts rejected the groups lawsuit, but the case has now been taken to the Supreme Court.