Gay Lib v. University of Missouri

• Citation: 416 F. Supp. 1350
• Decision Date: 29 June 1976
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 74 CV 53 C.
• Parties: GAY LIB et al., Plaintiffs, v. The UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri

416 F. Supp. 1350

GAY LIB et al., Plaintiffs, v. The UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 74 CV 53 C.

United States District Court, W. D. Missouri, C. D.

June 29, 1976.

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Lawrence P. Kaplan, Clayton, Mo., for plaintiffs.

James S. Newberry, Columbia, Mo., for defendants.

FINDINGS AND OPINION

ELMO B. HUNTER, District Judge.

Presented to the Court in the context of this case is the question of the legal right of homosexuals to form a student organization and obtain University recognition of it as a campus organization.

History and Facts of the Case

February 25, 1971, marks the beginning of an attempt on the part of a small group calling itself Gay Lib to gain formal recognition as a student organization at the University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri. On that date, Gay Lib submitted three documents to the Missouri Students Association (hereinafter referred to as the MSA): (1) a petition for recognition on the forms provided for that purpose by the MSA, (2) a proposed constitution and by-laws, and (3) a statement of the purposes of the proposed organization.¹ Gay Lib's application for recognition was given initial consideration by the Rules Committee of the MSA Senate, which approved it and recommended that the MSA Senate also grant approval. The MSA Senate did so and forwarded the petition and accompanying documents to the Committee on Student Organizations, Government and Activities (hereinafter referred to as SOGA), made up of both faculty members of the University and students.

For reasons not pertinent to this litigation SOGA did not take immediate action on the Gay Lib petition. On November 22, 1971, during the period that its petition was before SOGA but not yet under active consideration, Gay Lib submitted a revised statement of purposes² which added detail to the initial brief statement.

On December 22, 1971, SOGA voted 8-5 in favor of recommending approval of Gay Lib as a recognized student organization.³ A subcommittee of SOGA members was appointed to assist the Dean of Student Affairs, who was responsible for the next step in the recognition procedure, in implementing the SOGA recommendation.

Edwin Hutchins, then Dean of Student Affairs, vetoed SOGA's recommendation of approval on February 1, 1972, in a letter to Dr. Ray Lansford, SOGA Chairman. Dean Hutchins' letter was the initial step in what became a continuing refusal by the University to recognize Gay Lib as a student organization. Subsequent decisions at higher levels in the University not to recognize Gay Lib were based largely on Dean Hutchins' veto and its reasoning. The clear significance of this letter, therefore, requires that its lengthy text be fully set forth.

"Dear Dr. Lansford:

"On December 22, 1971, the University Committee on Student Organizations, Government and Activities, meeting in regular session, passed and submitted to me a motion calling for the approval of Gay Lib as a recognized student organization. While I did respond to this resolution at that time, I indicated that at the next regular meeting I would like to present a formal statement regarding my administrative response to this recommendation. There are a number of considerations which I feel should be stated and made a part of the record of the Committee on Student Organizations, Government and Activities.

"The statement of purpose and the organizational structure of the Gay Lib organization are a matter of record in the minutes of the SOGA committee. When recognition of this organization was first requested, after having received a positive recommendation from the Missouri Students Association, the SOGA Committee then undertook to consider the implications of recognition for the general University community and addressed itself to three areas; legal considerations, a concern for the psychological impact on individual students, and a concern for the impact of recognition on the general relationship of the University to the public at large. In my opinion, sufficient time and energy of the concerned parties, members of the committee, and the committee as a whole, were addressed to the first two issues.

"With regard to concerns for the legality of such an organization, no evidence was presented to the committee nor has any come to my attention that would indicate that legal grounds exist for not recognizing the group based upon its stated purpose and objectives. The very essence of the group in their stated purpose is to study the legal and social position of the state vis-a-vis the issue of homosexuality, an issue considered to be of vital concern to a small proportion of our student body and of concern generally in terms of social attitudes and social response. Study of social issues in a manner which will bring light to bear in areas where society has heretofore been poorly informed is compatible with the general objectives of a University. Nevertheless, simply because we are not legally precluded from taking a specific action does not, to my thinking, represent sufficient grounds for doing so. I, therefore, set aside questions of legality as a basis for my response to this recommendation.

"In my opinion, the committee appropriately raised issues concerning the impact on our campus of such a group as a formally recognized entity. In this regard we must maintain a vital concern for the psychological well being of all our students and specifically those students who, during this period of their growth and development, may, from time to time, be concerned about their own psychosexual problems. On the one hand, recognition of a formal group could conceivably exacerbate such problems and lead to personal and psychological stress for individual students who may be concerned about their sexual identity. On the other hand, the existence of such an organization could conceivably contribute in a productive manner to the development of an atmosphere which would allow students to seek help in dealing with what are, for many, relatively normal kinds of concerns. It is equally conceivable that a forthright and open examination of social response to such individual concerns could be helpful and productive. Having been privileged to hear the discussion between the committee and qualified experts in the fields of medicine and psychology, I am convinced that the issues revolving around the concern for the psychological well being of our students were thoroughly developed and that an enlightened rationale for addressing ourselves to the issue was presented. This has not always been the case in this University with its unique and difficult history in this problem area. If we do not wish to move backward in time, we must be sensitive to the history of our response to this issue and the reasons for it. This, too, was well developed in committee discussion. Since the statement of purpose of the group seeking recognition should be a basis for committee consideration and the purposes and intent of the group are well stated relative to this issue, the psychological issues which were explored did not appear to form grounds for rejection of the request.

"While we must always keep before us the ideal of a university as an independent, rational, and deliberative body within society, we must recognize as well that the University does not operate independent of the social system that supports it. It is simultaneously cast in the role of a leader in the development of social thought and values and is at the same time an instrument for the transmission of social mores. When we are to determine recognition as a part of the formal university family of an organization whose basic purpose is the study and advocacy of social change in an area of high social sensitivity, we find these two themes in conflict. How we resolve this conflict, what the appropriate University role is, and how we can best develop a positive position are matters that I feel were not thoroughly dealt with in the generation of the recommendation for action on this group.

"In addition to the above major concerns, there are secondary considerations which demand attention. First, the specific history relative to the problems of homosexuality that is unique to this University represents a point of departure for any specific discussion. We cannot in our collaborative decision making ignore in this, or any other issue, the fact that there are certain unique characteristics of our own institution. This is especially important with regard to the questions raised here because the University has not had a comfortable history in this area. A second concern on any issue so complex and sensitive that it raises questions about extreme costs to the institution, has to do with our total decision making process. Unless I am willing as chief student personnel officer to assume decision making responsibility in areas of student concern, we can expect that time and time again the decision making process will drift from a level close to students and their welfare to an abstract level where day to day student concerns cannot have the appropriate attention that those of us who interact directly with the students might hope to render. For this reason, I did undertake to assume direct responsibility relative to this matter. While such assumption of responsibility is not necessarily palatable to me a concern for the development of our total decision processes made it imperative that I do this. A third consideration deals with the time-table for committee deliberations and decisions. I do not feel that all of the basic issues were sufficiently discussed by the committee. I am concerned that the committee resolution was passed under a time press not compatible with deliberate development of such a complex issue.

"All of the above considerations were thoroughly manipulated in seeking a basis for decision on the matter at hand. Two matters were of primary concern in the

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