THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 11, 1995 TAG: 9511110535
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
University of Virginia board members on Friday revamped the university's rules for funding campus groups, allowing students to withhold a quarter of their $28-a-year activities fee if they object to particular organizations.
A board committee also said student political groups could be eligible for funding for the first time, if they don't engage in lobbying or electioneering.
The move is in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision against U.Va. in June. The court ruled that the university violated students' rights to free speech by refusing to fund a Christian magazine, Wide Awake.
The decision was expected to trigger financing changes at campuses across the country, but U.Va.'s are the most far-reaching. Very few colleges offer students the option of not paying even a portion of the fee to support campus organizations.
Before the ruling, the university prohibited funding for religious and political groups. Afterward, in August, the board approved a change to accommodate Wide Awake, declaring that ``news'' and ``entertainment'' groups should be considered eligible for funds even if they advocate religious viewpoints.
But board members had said they would offer more changes in the fall.
University lawyers said Friday that the new changes were required to comply with the court's ruling while avoiding future lawsuits.
Because the Supreme Court's decision cited the free-speech clause of the First Amendment and not freedom of religion, ``It's difficult to read that decision and say it does not apply to political speech,'' said Earl Dudley, professor of law. But by opening the funding process, he said, ``the university will be funding advocacy religious and political associations that some people might fundamentally disagree with. To avoid the prospect of litigation'' and a rash of student complaints, the opt-out clause was needed, he said.
U.Va.'s activities fees annually raise about $450,000, which student leaders dole out to more than 125 organizations.
The changes take effect immediately. Students can get a refund of $7 per year, the amount that university officials estimate goes to advocacy groups. Students who want a $3.50 refund for the fall semester must fill out a form by Nov. 28, stating the groups they object to. The money will be credited to their accounts.
William Harmon, vice president of student affairs, predicted that few students would pursue the refund.
``I would hope that students would see that diversity of thought and opinion are crucial in this environment,'' he said. ``If they only hear what they want to hear, are they really educated?''
Students on campus agreed. Jeffrey Feldman of Detroit, a U.Va. graduate student in anthropology, said: ``I doubt students will rise to that challenge. Students are pretty apathetic.''
Allyson Cohen, a sophomore from Long Island, said, ``I wouldn't object for people to use the money to fund their interests.''
Jesse Rosenthal, a senior from Burke, was especially pleased with the changes. His group, the University Democrats, was denied funding last week because it was considered a political group. Carlos Brown, a senior from Chesapeake who is president of the Student Council, said he expected the University Democrats would now be eligible for money.
The Board of Visitors' Student Affairs Committee endorsed the changes at its meeting Friday afternoon. The full board is expected to approve them Saturday morning.
A few other colleges across the country have revised funding guidelines as a result of the ruling. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for instance, recently began allocating money to political and religious groups. And UCLA reversed its denial of money to a Hindu student group.
In Virginia, though, most schools say changes aren't necessary. Some, including the College of William and Mary and James Madison University, say they never had different standards for religious or political groups.
Others say their guidelines already meet the court's standards. Virginia Tech, for instance, will finance political and religious groups whose programs are ``educational and balanced in nature'' but does not support political campaigns or religious services or proselytizing.
Old Dominion University has similar restrictions on political groups. Like U.Va.'s old rules, ODU's declare religious groups ineligible. But Vice President Dana D. Burnett said that clause wouldn't shut out a magazine like Wide Awake.
``We tend to look at the activities as much as we do the categories,'' he said. ``If the Baptist Student Union wants to put out a paper and form an organization just to do that, under the court's ruling we would be obliged to fund it. But we wouldn't be obliged to fund just the Baptist student group.''
Despite the changes at U.Va., Ron Rosenberger, the former student who filed the suit, says the university hasn't gone far enough.
``Instead of getting rid of the problem of not funding religious groups, they made an exception for religious publications,'' he said.
He noted that the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, which remodels homes for low-income families, was denied funds last semester because the national charter states the Christian beliefs of the founder. ODU, in contrast, gave Habitat $300 this year.
KEYWORDS: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
U.S. SUPREME COURT
by CNB