Yesterday, a Wisconsin federal district judge ruled that the UW-Madison Roman Catholic Foundation was not entitled to recognition as a student organization by the University of Wisconsin because University rules require recognized groups to be directed and controlled by students. Only 3 of the Foundation 's 12 board members are students. This means that the group cannot get $250,000 in student fees that were to be used for prayer gatherings, events and classes in theology. According to a report published yesterday in The Chippewa, group spokesman Tim Kruse said the Foundation would consider adding more students to its board and continue seeking university recognition.
However, the Foundation did win a substantial victory in the lawsuit. Judge John Shabaz, in a ruling from the bench, ordered the University to stop applying its non-discrimination rules to religious groups. He ruled that the right to free association outweighs the state interest in non-discrimination, and that forcing a Catholic group to admit non-Catholics undermines the group's mission. (See prior related postings 1, 2, 3, 4.)
