The University of Nebraska-Lincoln said it regularly welcomes speakers with varying viewpoints to campus after it was accused of discriminating against a Christian student organization in a federal lawsuit.
On Wednesday, Ratio Christi sued the university in U.S. District Court after the Fund Allocation Committee denied its request for $1,500 in student fees to bring a speaker to campus for a lecture on Christian philosophy earlier this year.
According to the lawsuit, the committee said it could not award Event Fund monies to promote "political campaigns, or speakers of a political or ideological nature," and recommended Ratio Christi add another speaker to promote another viewpoint.
Ratio Christi, which means "the reason for Christ" in Latin, declined that recommendation, and the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian advocacy group, sued the university, the Board of Regents and several administrators to change the policy.
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News of the lawsuit drew criticism from Gov. Pete Ricketts, as well as gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen, who as a member of the Board of Regents is named individually as a defendant in the suit.
"The University of Nebraska-Lincoln should have no problem supporting speakers from a wide variety of viewpoints on campus, including Christian speakers," Ricketts said in a statement.
The governor said UNL has invited "much more controversial speakers" to campus and urged Chancellor Ronnie Green "to step in and define policies to end this kind of discrimination and to send a message that all viewpoints, including Christian values, are welcome."
Pillen said UNL must change its policy if the allegation made by Ratio Christi is true.
"If any students or student groups didn't have the opportunity to access University Program Council funds because of religious discrimination, that is unacceptable," he said.
After declining to comment earlier this week, UNL reiterated "all viewpoints are welcome," and said it has a variety of speakers on its campus "from across the ideological, religious and political spectrum."
There are several sources of funds the University Program Council uses to pay for those speakers, said Deb Fiddelke, UNL's chief communications officer.
The Fund Allocation Committee, which denied Ratio Christi's application, is a student-led process that oversees a $10,000 Event Fund, part of the $270,000 managed by the University Program Council to bring events to UNL.
Fiddelke said the University Program Council has previously approved funding for two prior Ratio Christi events that brought speakers to UNL since the group organized in 2018.
The money for those events did not go through the Fund Allocation Committee, but through other funds set up to help new registered student organizations "get up and running," Fiddelke added.
After it was denied money from the Fund Allocation Committee, Ratio Christi paid for Robert Audi, a former faculty member at UNL who now teaches at the University of Notre Dame, to come to campus in April.
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to find UNL's policy for distributing student activity fees unconstitutional, and asked that its members be exempt from paying student fees as long as the policy remains in effect.
It also seeks reimbursement for expenses paid to bring Audi to UNL in April, and damages.
Other Ratio Christi chapters have also sued their colleges and universities across the country, including this week at the University of Houston-Clear Lake for allegedly preventing the group from becoming a registered student organization.
Photos: Historic UNL buildings
University of Nebraska-Lincoln buildings; Architectural Hall
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Architectural Hall, seen here in July 1987 following a $4.38 million renovation, is the university's oldest building. It originally housed UNL's library and art gallery and served as headquarters for the Nebraska State Historical Society.
UNL CBA building
Louise Pound Hall previously housed the College of Business Administration. It opened in 1919 and was renovated in 2018.
UNL Temple Building
The Temple Building, at 12th and R streets, is home to the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. It was completed in 1908 and renovated in the 1970s.
UNL Morrill Hall
Morrill Hall is home to the State Museum of Natural History on the UNL City Campus.
Cather Hall, Pound Hall
Pound (left) and Cather dormitories were known as the Twin Towers when they opened in 1963. Closed in recent years, the dorms were imploded in 2017.
Teachers College
When the new Teachers’ College Building was constructed at the very eastern edge of the University of Nebraska it also contained the old Temple High School, whose name was then changed to Teachers’ High School. Today the building is extant and connected to the Administration Building to its south across the street west from the Student Union.
Brace Laboratory
The extant physics building on the University of Nebraska campus opened in 1906 and was dedicated to Professor DeWitt Brace though he died the year before it opened.
Brace Hall
The original cast-iron “Physical Laboratory” sign at Brace Hall was uncovered by construction crews and incorporated into the renovation design by architects Leo A Daly.
University of Nebraska astronomical observatory
The the old University of Nebraska astronomical observatory is shown about 1910 when it was located just west of today’s physics building on the UNL campus; it was allowed $500 for construction by the Board of Regents. A few years later, a new observatory was built south of Brace Laboratory, first proposed to cost $12,500 and later estimated to be double that, still far from a vast amount.
UNL Architecture Hall
Construction on Architecture Hall, originally built as a library for $110,000, started in 1892. It was renovated for $4.3 million in the mid-1980s.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln buildings; Architectural Hall
Construction underway in January 1986 renovating and linking UNL's former law building (left) and Architectural Hall.
Cather Hall, Pound Hall
UNL demolish the Cather and Pound residence halls in 2017.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln buildings; Architectural Hall
Banners tream down through the atrium gathering place which unites UNL's Architecture Hall and Architecture Hall West, the former law college building, in this November 1987 photo.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS
Chris Dunker
Higher education/statehouse reporter
A native of Beatrice, Chris Dunker has reported on higher education, state government and other issues since joining the Journal Star in 2014.
