This has got to be overturned...

For those of you who are unfamiliar with our little campus scuffles, AIO is a Christian frat that wants to side-step the university's non-discrimination policy in order to restrict its membership to those who subscribe to its tenants of belief, including its views on pre-marital sex and homosexuality.

A couple years ago, InterVarsity tried the same thing, and came away with a reasonable compremise: they would be allowed to restrict their leadership, but not their members. This makes ok sense, although pragmatically I honestly don't see a bunch of non-Christians trying to storm InterVarsity (or AIO for that matter) and take it over.

But if the group is going to have a particular purpose, then ensuring the leaders subscribe to said purpose is reasonable... the key is that any student be allowed to experience the group despite their beliefs; that's what education is all about. Furthermore, these groups are allowed to get student fees and have the right to use campus facilities to meet, etc.

Unfortunately, AIO thinks that is somehow restricting its 1st amendment rights, and they just got a District Court to install an injunction until the whole thing is resolved. Now, that's not a big deal in and of itself, but I just wonder why the judge punted on the question by allowing the injunction? It appears to me to be so clear-cut as to be the object of scorn... the university is not denying their right to speak, to assemble, or to exist: they are merely saying that unless you play by the policy, you can't use the facilities or the student fee money.

Imagine the slippery slope this would create if the courts held in favor of AIO... I could form my own little exclusive group and then sue on 1st amendment grounds when I was denied public funds. Absurd. Hell, this is so retarded that I almost wish they would win... I would form the Society of DHP, and I would restrict membership to whoever I wanted to get in (the criteria would be top secret). Then I would try to bring in Fred Phelps or David Duke or some other mutant and demand funds and facilities for it, just to cause a stir. Heck, I could even go a step further: create the Society of ? and refuse to publish a list of leaders or members based on whatever constitutional grounds I could find... then demand funds and only communicate through a Hotmail account or IM in order to process them or speak to the media or whatever... just to piss people off.

Yeah, I know... I probably wouldn't do it... but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to do so.

Update: Looks like UNC's little scuffle has gotten noticed by the big blogs...