Virginia State University is being sued in federal court by two Christian student organizations that allege the school revoked their official recognition and placed them under the control of a university-appointed minister.
The case reflects a broader concern about whether colleges are still fostering open debate, according to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, who spoke with Fox News Digital.
“Higher education has really broken from its long-standing desire to promote intellectual diversity and actually seek truth,” Langhofer said. He argued that universities increasingly characterize disagreement as harmful and discourage students from hearing opposing views on significant issues.
ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit on behalf of Women of Victory and Bethel Campus Fellowship, two Christian groups operating at VSU.
The complaint challenges Virginia State’s revised Campus Ministries Policy. The organizations contend that the policy violates the First Amendment by putting Christian student ministries under university supervision while exempting non-Christian religious groups from the same requirements.
Under the policy, Christian ministries led by students must function under the “governance and influence” of VSU Campus Minister Thomas Wynn and an advisory panel composed of faculty members and other university personnel. The policy also prohibits the ministries from maintaining affiliations with their national parent organizations.
Langhofer said the policy imposes an unconstitutional burden on students because of their religious beliefs.
“The message that it would send is that the First Amendment means what it says: You can’t treat secular groups better than religious groups,” Langhofer told Fox News Digital. “You can’t treat one religious group worse than another religious group, regardless of your motives.”
He added that the university cannot place every Christian organization under the authority of one campus pastor while allowing a Muslim group to operate independently and retain access to all available benefits, regardless of whether officials cite unity or another justification.
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The legal filing states that non-Christian and Muslim student organizations are not subject to the same mandate.
According to the lawsuit, the policy directly affects Women of Victory and Bethel Campus Fellowship. Both are local chapters of national organizations that provide Bible studies, leadership programs and spiritual-development activities for students both on and off campus.
The groups continue to appear on VSU’s official website, but ADF said the university’s online directory does not accurately show their current ability to operate as recognized campus organizations.
The plaintiffs are asking a federal court to order Virginia State to restore their standing as fully recognized registered student organizations, or RSOs.
Langhofer said the university’s policy has created a conflict in part because of theological differences between the campus minister and the student groups.
“I don’t know whether that’s the fruit of this or not,” Langhofer said when discussing how the policy came about.
Ultimately, he said, the dispute centers on whether the university can control the groups’ activities rather than allowing them to continue operating as they have for years.
Langhofer also cited decades of legal precedent holding that public universities may not target student organizations because of their religious viewpoints.
“The Supreme Court has held for a very long time that all student groups on campus must be treated equally, and you can’t single some out simply because of what they believe,” Langhofer told Fox News Digital.
Virginia State University did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.