There is a revolution taking place in this country. It's not as easy to spot as a military coup or as brazen as an assault on one of our embassies. Nevertheless, certain religious elements within this nation have begun a relentless attack on our sacred distinction between church and state.
The Christian Legal Society's lawsuit against ASU to gain club status, despite its engagement in religious discrimination, is a major plank in this agenda.
This lawsuit does not hit me close to home simply because I am a Christian. I'm not writing this article in response to a feeling that my own religion has been hijacked and used against my university in the name of God.
I am speaking now because I served as chair of the Undergraduate Student Government Appropriations Committee for almost two years, and I know student government can help put a stop to this.
Aside from the opportunity to reserve a table and get sunburned outside the Memorial Union, official recognition as an ASU club gives the CLS the opportunity to apply for student government funding.
All in all, the pot for organizations this year is about $21,500. If you include the amount we dole out to college councils and their affiliated clubs, the number climbs to more than $68,000. Keep in mind this is student money. It comes from Arizona tax revenues, it comes from your tuition, and it's not exactly pocket change.
During my tenure as chair, I faced some tough decisions with respect to the fair use of this funding. One of my favorite controversies arose when we received applications from both The College Republicans and The Young Democrats.
What allowed this case to be resolved was a provision in Title IX of the USG bylaws that prohibits application of funding to "activities which are limited to a single political partisanship." As such, we reached a resolution by limiting most politically oriented funding to nonpartisan voter registration.
Here's the great thing: The policy worked.
Over a short period of time, leaders in those organizations figured out the rules and the trends. For the most part, they stopped expecting funding for partisan activities and, instead, focused on getting all ASU students involved in the political process. Because we had a consistent policy that applied to each group equally, we received relatively few angry letters or mob threats.
That's the problem with funding the CLS. If USG applies funding to support an organization that discriminates on the basis of religion, then why shouldn't they to organizations discriminating by political orientation? Why not gender or race? Fair and wise use of student money does not mean you provide $100 to the campus Ku Klux Klan and another $100 to a club that advocates for minority superiority.
Fortunately, USG is way ahead of the curve on this one. While the CLS may have duped ASU into taking the bait on a completely ambiguous policy change, student government has not agreed to follow suit (no pun intended).
ASU's decision only permits the CLS to apply for funding. Student government has not yet agreed to consider them. And given the current state of things, it doesn't appear that student leaders will back down any time soon.
Current appropriations chair, Brian Morin, said, "USG will not change its policy. USG has never subsidized clubs or organizations that discriminate, and we will not start now."
Morin is not alone in his opinion - nearly half a dozen senior senators seem to agree with him. Senator Richard Sales even went so far as to introduce legislation directly condemning the CLS for its discriminatory practices.
I don't believe retaliatory condemnation of the CLS is necessary, but I commend USG for taking a strong stance on this issue. I felt betrayed when ASU made a deal after vowing to defend its non-discrimination policy in court. I'm glad to see student government, at least, is standing its ground.
The majority of the student body should also be pleased. After all, it's their money. It's their university. And it's their right to not suffer discrimination.
Jonathan Confer is a political science and economics senior, and the USG Appropriations Committee chair. Reach him at jonathan.confer@asu.edu.
