After an 18-month legal battle with a Christian student group, UF will allow student organizations registered with the university to choose members and award leadership positions based on religion.
Beta Upsilon Chi, or BYX, which bills itself as a Christian fraternity, filed suit in July of 2007 because it wanted to limit membership to Christians, which violated UF's nondiscrimination policy for registered student groups.
However, On Jan. 15, UF changed the policy and sent letters to three student groups that had been denied the ability to register.
In addition to BYX, UF addressed Gator Christian Life and Kappa Upsilon Chi, another Christian fraternity that hasn't registered this semester, according to UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes. UF also filed a motion to dismiss the suit brought by BYX, Sikes said.
The last action in the case occurred in December, when it went before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A ruling has not been issued yet.
Student organizations that register with UF can request Student Government funding and have better access to university facilities.
