InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA v. Bd. of Governors of Wayne State Univ.
| Decision Date | 05 April 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 19-10375 |
| Parties | INTERVARSITY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP/USA and INTERVARSITY CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP WAYNE STATE CHAPTER, Plaintiffs, v. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Plaintiffs InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Wayne State Chapter, ("Intervarsity") has for 75 years operated a Christian student organization on the campus of Wayne State University, but in 2017 was denied continued official recognition or registration as a legitimate student group. Why? Because Intervarsity's leadership standards ran afoul of the college's "non-discrimination policy" in requiring that its faith leaders profess to be faithful.
Plaintiffs bring this action against Defendants Board of Governors of Wayne State University, Roy Wilson, Sandra Hughes O'Brien, Michael Busuito, Mark Gaffney, Marilyn Kelly, Dana Thompson, Bryan C. Barnhill II, Anil Kumar, Shirley Stancato, David Strauss, and Ricardo Villarosa. (ECF No. 1.) Defendants are either board members or administrators at Wayne State University.
Discovery is complete, and Defendants have moved for summary judgment. (ECF No. 45.) Plaintiffs have moved for partial summary judgment and for a permanent injunction. (ECF No. 47.) For the reasons provided below, the court will grant Plaintiffs' motion and grant in part and deny in part Defendants' motion.
The following facts are taken from the record presented by both parties, and each material fact is either agreed upon or lacks contradictory evidence.
Plaintiff InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is a religious organization that conducts outreach and religious ministry throughout the United States on over 600 college campuses. (ECF No. 59, PageID.2712.) Plaintiff InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Wayne State Chapter is a chapter of the organization. (Id.) It has been present on Wayne State's campus as a student organization since the 1930s. (Id.)
The professed purpose of Plaintiffs' organization is to "establish and advance . . . communities of students and faculty who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord." (Id.) Plaintiffs' members meet weekly for services and bible study; they also run outreach programs and prayer vigils, and host campus conferences. (Id., PageID.2713.)
Plaintiffs impose certain limitations on which students can become leaders of the campus group. Students seeking leadership positions must agree with Plaintiffs' "Doctrine and Purpose Statements," "exemplify Christ-like character, conduct and leadership," and describe their Christian beliefs. (Id.; ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2310.) Prospective leaders of the group are given training in preparation "for serious spiritual responsibilities." (ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2312; ECF No. 59, PageID.2714-15.) They must undergo an apprenticeship period where the students "work with InterVarsityministry staff to develop their skills and prepare to lead Bible studies and provide religious teaching and spiritual guidance to other members." (ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2299; ECF No. 59, PageID.2714-15.) Group leaders, also called "Christian Leaders," lead students and members in weekly prayer, Bible studies, and worship. (ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2299; ECF No. 59, PageID.2714-15.) The leaders organize and lead other spiritual activities on campus, such as outreach events, prayer vigils, and religious counsel for individual students. (ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2301; ECF No. 59, PageID.2716.)
Plaintiffs' constitution states student leadership positions are "distinct religious role[s]" which involve "significant spiritual commitment." (ECF No. 59, PageID.2715; ECF No. 47-49, PageID.2310-14.) Student leaders are the "primary means" by which Plaintiffs "minister[] on campus." (ECF No. 59, PageID.2715-16; ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2301.)
Plaintiffs operated as one of many registered student organization ("RSO") on Wayne State's campus. (ECF No. 59, PageID.2716-17.) Other RSOs included fraternities, sororities, and club sports teams. (Id., PageID.2717.) Being an RSO brings many benefits. These include the ability to reserve free or reduced-price meeting spaces on campus; access to tables in the college's main Student Center to recruit new members; the ability to apply for funding from the school; access to special lockers; the opportunity to participate in the two main campus recruiting events, FestiFall and WinterFest; inclusion on a list of official student groups posted on the school's website; and access to an online school platform used to communicate with students and post a schedule of events. (Id., PageID.2719-20; ECF No. 47-45, PageID.2138-39.)
To become an RSO, a group must submit to the university information on its members and its constitution or operating agreement. (ECF No. 59, PageID.2720-21.) An RSO must register annually; groups are required to update student information and file their current constitution. (Id., PageID.2721.)
Defendant Villarosa, Wayne State's Coordinator of Student Life, evaluates group submissions and determines if groups qualify for status as an RSO. (Id., PageID.2721-22.) Part of the evaluation is determining whether a group's leadership and membership criteria violate Wayne State's non-discrimination policy. The policy states:
[Wayne State] embraces all persons regardless of race, color, sex (including gender identity), national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, height, weight, disability, or veteran status and expressly forbids sexual harassment and discrimination in hiring, terms of employment, tenure, promotion, placement and discharge of employees, admission, training and treatment of students, extracurricular activities, the use of University services, facilities, and the awarding of contracts
(ECF No. 47-38, PageID.2072; ECF No. 59, PageID.2722-23.)
There are no written exceptions to the policy. However, the policy states that the university is not precluded "from implementing those affirmative action measures which are designed to achieve full equity for minorities and women." (ECF No. 47-38, PageID.2072; ECF No. 59, PageID.2724.)
Plaintiffs' chapter president submitted the InterVarsity constitution to Wayne State in March 2017. (ECF No. 59, PageID.2725.) The constitution was not materially different from previous InterVarsity constitutions, or constitutions InterVarsity used at other public universities such as the University of Michigan and Central Michigan University. (Id., PageID.2725-26.) It allowed all students to join the group as members,but leadership positions were limited to those who agree with Plaintiffs' statement of faith. (Id., PageID.2726.)
On March 30, 2017, Plaintiffs' president received an online message from Wayne State stating the RSO application has been complete and her position as president was accepted. (Id.) However, the next day, on March 31, 2017, Defendant Villarosa sent the group president a message stating: "Neither membership, nor officer requirements may violate the university anti-discrimination policy—please amend the officer requirements accordingly and resubmit." (Id., PageID.2726.) The online system for RSO submissions was new, and Plaintiffs' chapter president overlooked the second message. (Id., PageID.2724, 2727.) Plaintiffs continued to be treated as an RSO through the spring semester of 2017 and into the fall. (Id., PageID.2727.)
On September 14, 2017, Plaintiffs' chapter president submitted a renewed RSO application for that school year. (Id., PageID.2729.) Defendant Villarosa responded on September 15, 2017, asking the group to contact him regarding its membership and officer requirements. (Id., PageID.2729.) On October 3, 2017, Defendant Villarosa sent a second message stating that Plaintiffs' officer requirements violated the school's non-discrimination policy. (Id.) Plaintiffs' chapter president talked to Defendant Villarosa in person. (Id., PageID.2729-30; ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2304.) At the meeting, Plaintiffs' chapter president "made [the] point" that "other groups on campus ask their members or leaders to share their views" and "other groups on campus . . . seem to violate the non-discrimination policy." (ECF No. 59, PageID.2729-30; ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2304.) The chapter president followed up the meeting with an email to Defendant Villarosa on October 17, 2017, requesting that he obtain confirmation of the decision to deny RSOstatus from Wayne State's general counsel. (ECF No. 59, PageID.2729-30.) The chapter president asked Defendant Villarosa why he was "applying the non-discrimination policy in this way particularly as it seem[ed] to be a violation of [Plaintiffs'] first amendment rights of religious expression." (ECF No. 47-48, PageID.2320.)
The general counsel responded via letter on October 23, 2017, indicating the application of the non-discrimination policy was appropriate and legal. (ECF No. 59, PageID.2730-31.) On October 26, 2017, Wayne State revoked Plaintiffs' status as an RSO and cancelled its pending events on Wayne State's campus. (Id., PageID.2732-33; ECF No. 47-22, PageID.1367-68.)
There is no genuine dispute that other RSOs at Wayne State limited membership and leadership, during and after the timeframe of Plaintiffs' deregistration, based on categories included in the non-discrimination policy. Unlike Plaintiffs, those groups were not found in violation of the policy. Specifically, club sports teams on Wayne State's campus excluded members who did not fall within their prescribed sex or gender identity categories. (Id., PageID.2738-39.) Also, Greek letter fraternities and sororities excluded members and leaders based on their sex and gender identity. (Id., PageID.2740-43.) The Iraqi Student...
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