- A federal judge has ruledthe University of Iowa

violated the law when it kicked

InterVarsity ChristianFellowship off the campus.

The university expelled the group

along with other religious groups in 2018

for insisting that anyone in leadership

must affirm its Christian beliefs.

The university called therequirement discrimination.

The Becket Fund for ReligiousLiberty defended InterVarsity.

It reported the courtsaid the discrimination

was so bad the officers involved

and possibly even theuniversity's president

would be personallyaccountable for any money

InterVarsity lost fightingto stay on campus.

Eric Baxter is an attorneywith Becket Law Firm

and he joins us now.

Eric, tell us briefly a little more

about the background of this case.

What happened initially?

- Well, initially theuniversity, you know,

InterVarsity's been on itscampus for over 25 years.

It's been an award-winning part of campus

recognized for the contributions it makes

to a diverse campus life.

A couple of years agothe university decided

that when religious groupsrequire their leaders

to be religious that wassomehow discrimination

in violation of the university'santi-discrimination policy

and so the university kicked 12 or more

religious groups off campus.

This included Sikhs,Christian groups, Catholic,

Latter-day Saint, Muslim groups,

kicked all of them off campus

because they require theirleaders to share their faith.

And our client, InterVarsity,brought a lawsuit

noting that this was actuallyreligious discrimination

against groups because of their beliefs.

- This was a big win for InterVarsity.

What can you tell us about how they

and the university areresponding to the ruling?

- Unfortunately, the universityjust continues to dig

itself deeper and deeper.

The judge ruled in another case

where we represented a group

called Business Leaders in Christ

and the court ruled back in January

that it was a violation oftheir First Amendment rights

for the university to pressure them

to give up their leaderswho shared their faith.

The university went ahead

and kicked other groups offcampus including InterVarsity

and so the judge's most recent opinion

said no reasonableperson could have reacted

to that first order byhoming in on religious groups

more broadly and kickingthem off campus too.

And even after this latest ruling

the university has issued a press release

saying well, we were compelledto do what we were doing

by federal law, which is just false.

In fact, the judge warned the university.

She said, "I don't think any of you know

"what the First Amendment means

"and you need to get your act in order

"if you want to avoid liability."

So unfortunately theuniversity doesn't seem

to get the message still

but hopefully the judge's latest order

will eventually sink in.

- What comes next, I meanwhat does InterVarsity

have planned for theirfuture on the campus?

- Well, InterVarsity's thrilled

to have full recognizedstatus back on campus.

They want to continue their ministry.

The hardest part of this whole experience

has been the interferencethat it's created

with their ability toreach out to students

and help them live their faith.

And so InterVarsity's justthrilled to be back on campus.

The judge has setdeadlines for the parties

to consider a trial on the damages

and whether the universitypresident should himself

be personally liable for allowingthis to happen on campus.

- InterVarsity faces a similar case

at Wayne State University, Michigan.

Do you think this rulingwill affect that case

or others going forward?

- Absolutely, I think this ruling

sends a very strong message

that what the universities are doing

when they target religious organizations

because of their faith standards,

that is unconstitutional andthat university officials

will feel it in the pocketbook

if they keep pressuring students

who want to live out their faith

while they go to school.

- All right, thank you, Eric Baxter

of Becket Law Firm, that is.

Thanks so much for yourtime and your insights.

- My pleasure.