OSU Students Asked to Be On Alert for 'Anti-Christian Bigotry'

by Jim Brown

(AgapePress) A pro-family legal group is sponsoring ads in campus newspapers at five state universities, asking Christian students if they have been subjected to discrimination.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) ads question students as to whether they are experiencing anti-Christian bigotry on campus. Those who are treated unfairly are urged to call an 800 number. The ads ran in newspapers in April at Ohio State University, the University of Alabama, the University of Kentucky, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Nebraska.

ADF attorney Gary McCaleb says the ads tell students they need to look for certain "red flags" that suggest content or viewpoint discrimination by the government. "Quite a number of these cases have come to light in recent months," McCaleb explains. "This is an effort to reach out to the students; explain to them what issues to look for, where the government might be going astray and [trying to] get inside their groups; and ask them to contact us so we can educate the administrators and [we hope] resolve things with a minimum amount of fuss."

The attorney says the level of discrimination against Christian students is remarkable at many institutions of higher learning.

"It can be amazing at times," he says. "It's very much an issue of 'political correctness' -- and all too often we find religious students, Christians in particular, being cast out of the mainstream and told to take their speech elsewhere."

McCaleb says the ads explain that when organizing a student group on campus, Christians need to be very aware of actions administrators may take -- such as making particular requirements or placing limitations on who can be leaders in the group.

June Home