How about a Buddhist organization with a Catholic president,
a Jewish organization headed by a Muslim, a Black Students  Organization
with a white president, a woman's organization led by a man ?
The un spoken logic of empire, precisely since it is unspoken and
we cannot talk about it, can result in dysfunctional absurdities
of every imaginable kind.

Billy

-------------------------------------------------------

Vanderbilt Says It Respects Religious Tolerance With 'All-Comers'  Policy

By _Michael Gryboski_
(http://www.christianpost.com/author/michael-gryboski/)   , Christian Post Reporter
February 21, 2012|9:34 pm
Vanderbilt University, which stirred controversy over  deciding to adopt an
"all-comers" policy to membership and _leadership_
(http://www.christianpost.com/topics/leadership/)  in campus student organizations,  maintains that
it shows tolerance for religious organizations.
In a statement given to The Christian Post by Vanderbilt Senior Public  
Affairs Officer Amy Wolf, the university does not believe its policy infringes  
on religious organizations' rights.
"We appreciate the value of religious organizations for our students. A few
 of our religious organizations maintain that their beliefs prevent them
from  complying with Vanderbilt's nondiscrimination policy," read the
statement.
"We believe all members of a registered student organization should be  
eligible to compete for leadership positions, but it is up to each student  
organization to select its own leaders."
The controversy began in November 2010 when it began to implement rules
that  would force religious student organizations to allow all people to run
for  leadership positions, regardless of whether or not the student
organizations'  rules allowed it.
Many groups spoke out against the measures and continued their opposition  
through legal means as well as student protests. According to Vanderbilt,
"we  have more than 30 religious organizations that comply with Vanderbilt's  
nondiscrimination policy."

Mir Isaamullah, president of Vanderbilt's Muslim Students Association, told
 CP that his group already allowed for non-Muslim students to serve as  
leaders.
"The new policy has no real effect on our membership requirements. Our  
membership requirements have always been fully open to all students, and the  
all-comers policy is in line with what we had," said Isaamullah.
"The Muslim Students Association has not had any issues with this policy,
nor  do we anticipate having any issues with it. We have a number of students
of  other faiths who come and sit in on our meetings and a few who have
even come to  see our prayers."
According to Isaamullah, if problems did arise for the MSA or other groups  
"they will be dealt with on a case by case basis in conjunction with the  
administration."
"As a university student, I can safely say that no one has enough time for  
vindictive and disruptive activities against organizations, and if they do,
we  will work with the administration to alleviate the situation," said  
Isaamullah.
Bill Choate, collegiate ministries coordinator for the Tennessee Baptist  
Convention, has been wary of the policy and its implementation. In an
interview  with the Baptist Press, Choate explained his concerns.
"If faith can't be one of the criteria [for leadership], we have a major  
crisis," said Choate.
"For months we thought the university would back away from this ridiculous  
position, but now it looks like they may not."
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, an evangelical campus ministry with over
 700 chapters throughout the nation, has expressed its opposition and has
asked  the university to allow InterVarsity to require those in leadership
positions to  be practicing Christians.
University officials, however, reaffirmed its stance earlier this month and
 said that it would not change the policy. Organizations that violate the
policy  risk losing official status on campus. Unrecognized clubs cannot
reserve meeting  space on campus, recruit members on campus and are ineligible
to receive school  funding.
Baptist Collegiate Ministry of Vanderbilt University, an organization whose
 leadership rules were affected by the "all-comers" policy, declined to
comment  on the matter.