For the past seven years, I have been the faculty adviser for the Christian Legal Society (CLS) at Vanderbilt University.  CLS has been on the Vanderbilt campus for more than 20 years.  During this time, it has operated in the same way as have other campus ministries. CLS has always been a positive force on campus, actively participating in the law school community by hosting weekly meetings, guest speakers, and… [Continue Reading]

Mark Pody Takes Vanderbilt Police Bill (HB1150) Off Notice (LEBANON, TN) – After much debate and input from constituents, State Representative Mark Pody (R- Lebanon) has taken HB­­1150 off notice in the House.  The intent of this legislation was to protect students against discrimination on the basis of religion.  Private institutions enjoy special privileges granted to them by the state.  Some receive millions of taxpayer dollars and they have been… [Continue Reading]

Please read Kim Colby’s February 8, 2012 Open Letter to Vanderbilt’s Leaders: The purpose of this letter is to identify a solution to the current impasse between the religious students and the Administration. The letter will also touch upon four key points. First, as explained below, the Administration now acknowledges that no federal or state law, regulation, or court ruling requires it to adopt a policy prohibiting religious groups from… [Continue Reading]

Please take a few minutes to watch the highlights from the Town Hall meeting between University officials and students.  Chancellor Nick Zeppos called the meeting to discuss the University’s “anti-discrimination” policy for student organizations. The first video is 6 minutes.   The second one is 45 minutes of a three hour meeting.  We also have a 45-minute version. In addition, this brief video contains excellent material about Greek Life and the “all-comers”policy.  (Greek Life-2:20)        … [Continue Reading]

Vanderbilt officials have denied a request from the student president of the Christian Legal Society (CLS) to allow a spokesperson to speak 5-10 minutes at next Tuesday’s town hall meeting (January 31st).  Justin Gunter had hoped for an opportunity for the University community to hear both sides of the religious freedom argument in a public setting.  Instead, attendees will be limited to asking questions about the University’s controversial new ”anti-discrimination” policy.  Here’s the link to Gunter’s letter and the University’s response:  http://www.clsnet.org/document.doc?id=319

Please Read and Circulate to Interested Parties January 27, 2012 Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos Vanderbilt University 211 Kirkland Hall Nashville, Tennessee 37240 Sent via U.S. Mail and Facsimile (615-322-6060) Dear Chancellor Zeppos: The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE, thefire.org) was disappointed to learn via your January 20 statement that Vanderbilt is abandoning America’s pluralistic tradition by banning religious and political student groups from making leadership decisions based on their religious or… [Continue Reading]