Federal Judge Issues Mixed Ruling in Georgia Religion Case

In 2006 two students at the Georgia Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit challenging a number of university policies, including a prohibition on using student-activity funds for “religious activities” (The Chronicle, July 6, 2007). A federal judge issued a mixed ruling in the case this week, siding with the students on some issues and with the university on others. In particular, the judge said the students had failed to prove that the ban on using student-activity money for religious activities was unconstitutional. However, the judge did order the university to remove material that criticized particular religions from a Safe Space training manual. Safe Space, a student-run organization with branches on many campuses, promotes tolerance toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students.