Vanderbilt University’s controversial ‘all-comers’ rule remains under fire in Tennessee’s House of Representatives. The policy says campus groups must include members regardless of their beliefs – for example a religious group would have to let atheists join, and be eligible for leadership.
The House is poised for a vote to bar public universities from adopting ‘all-comers’ rules of their own. Now a proposed add-on would specifically target Vanderbilt – a private school – by threatening to cut off money from lottery scholarships. Knoxville Republican Bill Dunn complains the all-comers rule isn’t applied evenly, exempting greek organizations.
“Fraternities and sororities have some power. And they don’t want to make certain groups mad, and so they’re willing to go ahead and do things that will hurt some little religious organizations.”
The House hasn’t yet approved the amendment targeting Vanderbilt, but a vote failed to kill it outright. While Governor Bill Haslam says he’s not a fan the all-comers policy, he told reporters he’s not sure the legislature should be telling a private university what to do.
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EARLIER – WPLN’s Blake Farmer via NPR:
Vanderbilt Rule Rankles Faith-Based Student Groups
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