Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) has filed an appeal with the Committee on Student Life (CSL) to contest its official derecognition last month based on allegedly discriminatory clauses in the student group's constitution.
The CSL is a group of faculty members and students charged with the responsibility of hearing appeals of decisions handed down by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Judiciary.
The Judiciary derecognizedTCF last month because it considered a clause in the group's constitutional bylaws, which required members in leadership positions to adhere to a list of eight tenets of Evangelical thought, to be in violation of the TCU Constitution's non-discrimination clause.
The CLS will either uphold or strike down the Judiciary's decision.
The body may also issue a recommendation that the Judiciary re-evaluate its interpretation of the TCU Constitution, or encourage the University Chaplaincy to engage the broader Tufts community in a discussion about the role of beliefs in selecting the leadership of campus religious groups.
"An appeal has been submitted, and the process is moving ahead accordingly," Philip Starks, CSL chair and associate professor in the Department of Biology, told the Daily in an email. "The CSL is looking forward to reviewing and gathering data, hearing all perspectives and identifying a solution."
Starks said the committee will be weighing the university's "dual conviction" of both supporting spiritual life on campus and maintaining "as discrimination-free an environment as possible."
Junior Jessica Laporte, a member of TCF's Vision and Planning Team, confirmed that TCF has appealed the decision and said the group asked in their appeal that the CSL consider questions of the rights of all campus religious groups to choose their leaders based on beliefs.
"We're asking them to consider what it means on a campus level to protect religious freedom and promote religious diversity," Laporte said. "There are a lot of different directions it could go."
Official derecognition means the group cannot use the Tufts name without permission, schedule meeting spaces using Tufts resources or have access to TCU Senate allocated funding.
While the appeal process is ongoing, TCF will continue to have access to these rights and funding, Laporte noted. It remains unclear how long the appeal process may take, she said.
Regardless of CSL's verdict, the group plans to retain its affiliation with the Chaplaincy and its status as a campus chapter of the national college evangelical Christian mission InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. Laporte said the group has decided to change its name to Tufts Christian Fellowship InterVarsity to emphasize its relationship with the national organization.
