The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty late last month filed a lawsuit against SUNY Broome Community College on behalf of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship after the school declined to recognize the student group.
Tensions rose when the Christian student ministry InterVarsity was not officially recognized on SUNY Broome’s campus due to the condition that “it may operate on campus only if it is willing to let non-Christians lead its prayer, worship, and Bible teaching,” according to a Becket press release.
Colten Stanberry, counsel at Becket and lead attorney for InterVarsity, told the Deseret News they intervened when they “heard about this case from InterVarsity.” He said, “We felt like InterVarsity’s religious beliefs were being violated; it aligns with our mission, and we wanted to step in.”
InterVarsity has over 1,000 chapters nationwide and welcomes members from all faith backgrounds. “Everyone is welcome. You don’t have to be a Christian to walk through our door. We just ask that students who lead our prayers and worship actually share the faith they are helping others live out. A public college shouldn’t exclude us for that,” said Jake Sonner, InterVarsity Broome member.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is a group that focuses on reaching people of all faiths on campuses. Its purpose is to grow, “in love for God, God’s Word, God’s people of every ethnicity and culture, and God’s purposes in the world.”
In April 2024, a chapter was started on SUNY Broome’s campus as more students began to gather for Bible studies and prayer. It was then they decided to receive official recognition from the school.
According to Becket, “InterVarsity repeatedly asked SUNY Broome to reconsider and pointed to federal court cases around the country — including two in favor of InterVarsity — ruling that religious student groups can have religious leaders. But the college refused to budge.”
Stanberry said InterVarsity needed to proceed with litigation.
SUNY Broome declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Stanberry described the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty as “a nonprofit law firm. We represent peoples of all faiths with the aim of promoting religious liberty for all people.”
This will be the third InterVarsity case Becket has taken to court this year regarding leadership standards.