Student Groups Are in Danger -- Help FIRE Defend Them!

Last week, I e-mailed FIRE's supporters about the obstacles FIRE faces following the Supreme Court's misguided decision in CLS v. Martinez. Today, I want to share the same message with you, our loyal Torch readers:

Hopefully by now you have received my letter from last month explaining the considerable obstacle the Supreme Court placed in the way of FIRE's mission. (If you haven't, you can listen to me talk about these recent developments with Ben Boychuk of the Heartland Institute in this podcast.) On June 28, the Court delivered a severe blow to freedom of association and religious liberty on America's college campuses with its ruling in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. Now, right in time for the start of the academic year, colleges and universities can mandate that all student groups accept all students as voting members and leaders regardless of whether they support-or are even hostile to-the group's mission. At such schools, Muslim students could join Jewish groups and change their missions or even shut them down (and, of course, vice versa). Democrat students could join the College Republicans and vote to change the group's political positions (and, again, vice versa). Yes, this is as ridiculous as it sounds.

Since the Constitution has now been interpreted to allow college administrators to put political correctness above free association in some instances, students will now need FIRE's steadfast advocacy more than ever before. With your help, FIRE will redouble its efforts this fall to defend the right of students of all viewpoints to join together with others of like mind and to promote a truly liberal education where your friends and family members in college can learn from different groups with distinct identities and opinions.

You can show your support for FIRE and send a strong message to university leadership and future courts by donating today.

We are the only group working to foster real ideological and political diversity on campus and to combat the majority-approved homogeneity that has now been endorsed by five justices on the Supreme Court. FIRE is embarking on a long-term campaign to ensure that diverse and unique viewpoints continue to flourish on campuses nationwide, and we need you by our side if we are to succeed.

In our mission, we promise that we will protect the unprotected and defend individual rights at America's colleges and universities. That will not change. Thanks to the Court's unwise decision in CLS v. Martinez, our road to success is longer. But with your help, FIRE will fight back, strengthen its arsenal, defend more students than ever in its history and, hopefully, reverse the great harm done by this opinion.

Please give to FIRE today by visiting us online at www.thefire.org/donate.

America's current and future college students need FIRE, and we need you.