Chapter Affairs

Affected by Injustice?

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Regina Wang

Affected by Injustice?

“Have you been affected?” I asked students walking by our display of injustice issues at the University of the Pacific (UOP) in Stockton, CA. I was surprised by how many students were personally affected by abuse, racism or poverty. And I was amazed at the many open doors to discuss spiritual solutions to these painful issues.

I’m a student at UC Davis, but I jumped at the chance to join my UOP brothers and sisters to engage their campus in evangelism from Feb. 21-23, 2007. They planned a variety of ways to share God’s love for humanity and justice through creative interactions, cleaning the dorms and hosting a hunger project.

I went to partner with the UOP chapter when they invited other ��ñ�� students in the region to participate in this three-day event, which is why it was called the UOP Invitational. We recently had a similar event on my campus at UC Davis, and also at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Six of us drove two hours on I-80 from Davis to Stockton: Mari, Katye, Zach, Erin, Christie and me. Though I looked forward to meeting students, I was nervous from the beginning. I knew I should not worry, but how would they respond to our message? How do I explain to them that I don’t even go to UOP?

Read the rest of this story at StudentSoul.org, ��ñ��’s website for students.

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Chapter Affairs

Witnessing

Evangelism

Chapter Loses a Leader, UNC Loses a Mascot

webteam@intervarsity.org — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

News

Chapter Loses a Leader, UNC Loses a Mascot

Jason Ray, an ��ñ�� leader at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, died Monday from injuries received from a Friday traffic accident. While Jason had a number of roles in the chapter, including worship team musician and Bible study leader, he was known more widely to UNC students and North Carolina residents as Ramses the Ram, the UNC mascot.

The accident happened in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as the Tar Heels prepared to play in the NCAA Men’s Basketball East Regional. Jason had gone out to get a bite to eat when he was struck while walking alongside the highway.

Jason was a senior and was preparing for May graduation with a degree in business administration and a minor in religion. He was an Eagle Scout, active in his home church and also the lead singer in a band called Nine P.M. Traffic. “He’s probably accomplished more in his 21 years than I have in my 40,” a member of his home church told one reporter.

The mascot costume barely contained his 6-foot-5 frame and its matching exuberant personality. Brian Humphries, a junior who led a Bible study with Jason last year, remembered his hearty laugh. “It was just like pure joy,” he told the Charlotte Observor. “I think we can fake laughter sometimes. Jason couldn’t.”

UNC cheerleading coach Brown Walters said “Jason gave Rameses an energy that was unique. He embodied all of the qualities you would want in a team member. He was a tremendous ambassador of the University of North Carolina.”

Sports writers Adam Lucas and Steve Politi captured more of Jason’s personality in their accounts. But the best testimony of Jason’s life may have been posted by an anonymous UNC student who wrote a tribute on Bill Simmons’ Page 2 Sports Blog on ESPN.com:

He was the very first person I met at UNC. He was helping freshmen move into the dorms as a part of ��ñ�� (a Christian ministry on campus). The elevators were all jammed up, so he helped me cart a refrigerator, futon, and all my other stuff (and girls have a lot of stuff) up NINE floors in the 100-degree heat. And he did it happily. We became friends, and I spent a lot of time around him. He let me wear the ram head one time because I thought it’d be funny (even though I’m sure he wasn’t supposed to). He was such a good person. A true friend. What every Tar Heel should aspire to be.

��ñ�� president Alec Hill is sending message of condolence to Jason’s family. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Jason Kendall Ray Memorial Fund at Concord Christian Church, 3101 Davidson Highway, Concord NC 28027. Plans for an on-campus memorial service will be posted on the ��ñ�� chapter website when available. The previously-planned topic for this week’s UNC large group meeting on Thursday evening is “The Resurrection.”

Campus Memorial Service, April 10

2011 follow-up story by The New York Times

_{Photo courtesy of The Daily Tar Heel}

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Chapter Affairs

University of Wisconsin Approves Policy Change

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 06:00:00 +0000

News

University of Wisconsin Approves Policy Change

��ñ�� president Alec Hill released the following statement in reaction to recent action by the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents:

On Friday, December 8, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents adopted a policy change that directly impacts student organizations such as ��ñ��. We are thankful that the regents recognized a change was necessary. We hope that their action will allow our chapters at UW-Superior and UW-Madison to be fully recognized soon.

The policy states:

Student organizations that select their members or officers on the basis of commitment to a set of beliefs (e.g. religious or political beliefs) may limit membership, officers positions, or participation in the organization to students who affirm that they support the organization’s goals and agree with its beliefs, so long as no student is excluded from membership, officer positions, or participation on the basis of his or her race, color, creed other than commitment to the beliefs of the organization, religion, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status or parental status, or, unless exempt under Title IX, sex.

This policy is in addition to other requirements for the official recognition of student organizations set forth in UW System or institutional policy documents, except that, to the extent that such UW System or institutional policy documents are inconsistent with this policy statement, they are superseded.

��ñ��’s federal lawsuit against UW-Superior remains open due to past harm (the de-recognition of the chapter ). This will allow for judicial oversight of the implementation of the new policy. We remain concerned about how the policy will be applied on the campuses of the University of Wisconsin.

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Legal Issues

��ñ�� Chapter Restored to Legal Status

webteam@intervarsity.org — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 06:00:00 +0000

Press Room

��ñ�� Chapter Restored to Legal Status

News Release
For Immediate Release

(Madison, WI)—Alec Hill, president of ��ñ��, today announced that ��ñ�� and the University of Wisconsin (UW) have reached a stipulated agreement that at least temporarily restores official recognition to ��ñ��’s chapter at the UW-Superior.

In October, ��ñ�� sued the UW-Superior and other UW officials to win back recognition rights for its chapter. The chapter had been notified last February that it was being stripped of its official recognition because it required chapter leaders to affirm ��ñ��’s Basis of Faith. The UW-Superior claimed that requirement violated its non-discrimination policy. ��ñ�� maintains that a student religious organization should be able to require reasonable religious standards for its student leadership.

The stipulated agreement says that ��ñ�� Christian Fellowship at UW Superior (IVCF-UWS) will enjoy all the benefits of recognized status while the case is pending before federal court. Those benefits are:

the right to use the university’s name in its title
the use of the university’s facilities for its activities
the right to campus advertising privileges
the use of the university’s administrative services
the opportunity to apply for student segregated funds

“This is a positive step towards the goal we seek, which is the treatment of ��ñ�� chapters and all Christian student organizations equally with other student organizations,” said Hill. “We are hopeful that this foreshadows a final agreement that restores the rights of ��ñ�� students on the University of Wisconsin campus.”

For more information contact:
Gordon Govier
Media Relations
(608) 443-3688

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Legal Issues

Press Release

Chapter Affairs

Chapter Affairs

Affected by Injustice?

Affected by Injustice?

Chapter Loses a Leader, UNC Loses a Mascot

Chapter Loses a Leader, UNC Loses a Mascot

University of Wisconsin Approves Policy Change

University of Wisconsin Approves Policy Change

��ñ���� Chapter Restored to Legal Status

��ñ���� Chapter Restored to Legal Status

��ñ�� Chapter Restored to Legal Status

��ñ�� Chapter Restored to Legal Status