THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501190563
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
The University of Virginia has denied discriminating against Christian views when it refused to subsidize the magazine Wide Awake in 1991.
A Christian student group filed a lawsuit over the university's action, and oral arguments in the case are scheduled to be heard before the Supreme Court on March 1.
University attorneys filed their response Tuesday.
Attorneys for Wide Awake Productions accuse the university of favoring Muslim and Jewish religious views over Christian ones when doling out money from a student activity fund.
A U.Va. law professor who will argue the university's case said that university officials bristled at that argument.
The case began in 1991 when Ronald W. Rosenberger and other U.Va. students who formed the group Wide Awake Productions were denied $5,800 to produce a Christian news and opinion magazine for distribution on U.Va.'s campus.
U.Va. said producing the magazine constituted a religious activity and therefore was ineligible for state assistance - in this case a subsidy from an activity fund that all students contributed to through mandatory fees.
The students filed a lawsuit against the university in July 1991. Lower courts have upheld the university's decision.
The Supreme Court's decision in the case could have widespread implications on religious freedom and state-sponsored religious activity.
``I think it's quite possible this will be the most important religious freedom case in a decade,'' McConnell said.
In an unusual move, Virginia Attorney General James S. Gilmore has sided with the students and against a state university.
The students' attorneys cite the university's decision to subsidize the Jewish Law Students Association, the purpose of which, according to the brief, is to ``be a focal point for Jewish activities'' and ``encourage law students to participate in Jewish activities.'' They also point to university support for the Muslim Students Association, which produced a magazine, ``Al-Salam'' to ``promote a better understanding of Islam to the University Community.''
U.Va. attorneys say that the Jewish and Muslim groups are funded as ``cultural organizations,'' which university guidelines define as one ``which is primarily concerned with studying, promoting, and/or expressing racial, ethnic, or affinity group traditions, social forms, art and/or tastes.''
KEYWORDS: DISCRIMINATION
by CNB