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04/08/2004: "Brits adopting dumb ideas from us"
My alma mater, Rutgers University, was embroiled last year in a debate over the status of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship chapter, which refused to give in to PC diversity doctrine and allow for non-Christians to be officers. The controversy was finally resolved when the university gave in and admitted that it had acted like a petty tyrant (well, it didn't really, but it did essentially back down).
Well, just to show that sometimes brilliant ideas flow eastward across the Atlantic, here is what's happening at a couple of British universities:
Christian Unions are being threatened with bans by their Student Unions because they do no not allow non-believers to run their organisations.
At Hull and University College London, Student Union Councils have told the CUs that they will lose their status as a Union society unless they become more inclusive, open to the possibility of having atheists in positions of leadership.
In January, a meeting of the Council of Hull University’s Student Union passed a motion refusing to ratify the constitution of the Christian Union on the grounds that it contravened the equal opportunities policy of the Union. They said that it was "discriminatory" and required the CU to change its constitution to ensure that people who are not Christians can hold executive posts.
Students at Hull are refusing to give in to demands and have taken legal advice. Simon Livesey, CU President, said: "We felt that we needed to take a stand. We like the idea of setting a precedent in fighting it and hopefully winning and encouraging others to be bold."
To understand how dumb this really is, ask this: what do you think the response of the Muslim Student Association would be to the idea that they had to allow Jews to be officers?
