Vanderbilt Students for Non-Discrimination

Dear Gentlemen:

Earlier this year, the Vanderbilt University administration, acting as the leadership body of a private institution, announced its intent to fairly administer a non-discrimination policy and to hold all student organizations accountable for their actions. While it may have seemed relatively simple in itself, the matter of non-discrimination has, as you well know, set our campus aflame. In an attempt to protect their own overly-restrictive constitutional provisions, certain religious organizations have launched an all-out attack on you and your colleagues. We believe that these attacks have been harmful, as they have ballooned past coverage just on our campus and have been more recently featured on local radio and on national cable TV. Unlike many, we will not be swayed or confused by utter falsities, like the claim that these policies would “shut down” or “discriminate against” our religious organizations. [Quotes by Rep. Randy Forbes on Fox & Friends]

Today we write to you as representatives of other side of this debate. We, the undersigned students of Vanderbilt University, wish to show our support to you and your colleagues within both the Vanderbilt professional administration and the Board of Trust. We do not believe that religious organizations should be afforded extra leniency in matters of discrimination, as such leniency would undermine the very spirit upon which this university was built.

Discrimination, as it happens, was a root cause of the American Civil War, the one event that, in itself, prompted our namesake, Cornelius Vanderbilt, to endow our now world-famous institution. Vanderbilt, of course, was also a leader in the American Civil Rights movement, admitting students of color long before even the “Little Rock Nine” and others challenged the issue at schools in similar cities across the South. We believe this university’s commitment to non-discrimination is summed up nicely by Cornelius Vanderbilt himself, his words inscribed in stone at our entrance: “To strengthening the ties which should exist between all…”

As we move forward, this issue will undoubtedly only become more contentious. Please know that, while others around us may be more vocal, a considerable constituency of students believes your actions are the right ones. Thank you for your commitment to the founding principles of our university.

In the Spirit of Gold,

The Undersigned: