The conservative Alliance Defending Freedom is suing Virginia State University in federal court over its new campus ministries policy.
The ADF is representing two Christian student groups on the Ettrick campus: Bethel Campus Fellowship and Women of Victory.
At issue is VSU’s decision to implement a new policy this year that the lawsuit claims treats Christian student groups differently than other faith-based groups.
The new policy places Christian groups under the governance and control of the campus ministry — while it exempts the Muslim Student Association and the VSU Community Faith Alliance.
That means, according to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Muslim student group and the Faith Alliance can independently plan and host events; receive and manage funding from external sources; and gather without permission from the ministry, while Christian groups cannot.
The policy states that the Muslim Student Association’s governance and funding “remain independent from VSU Campus Ministries,” and adds that the organization “maintains its status as a separate officially registered student organization.”
It also states that the Faith Alliance’s “activities should align with the mission and values of Virginia State University and VSU Campus Ministries,” but doesn’t explicitly say whether the group is independent or under the purview of campus ministries.
ADF senior counsel Tyson Langhofer told VPM News that VSU’s new rules require his clients to disaffiliate with their national organizations.
“That’s a real burden, because the national groups provide all kinds of support — whether it be pastors or curriculum or training, that kind of stuff,” he said.
Langhofer told VPM News that he plans to request a preliminary injunction to block the policy. He said he’d be willing to drop the lawsuit if the university were to scrap the policy “and go back to the policy they had last semester, which just treats all [faith-based] groups the same,” he said.
A conversation between on-campus faith groups and VSU’s campus minister, the Rev. Thomas Wynn, was included in court documents filed by ADF.
In the transcript of the conversation, Wynn said: “Students from all faith traditions are welcomed and respected. This is not Virginia Christian University, it is Virginia State University.”
He added that the campus ministry serves Muslim students, but doesn’t offer direct spiritual advisory.
The HBCU enrolled over 5,700 students in fall 2025, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
‘Almost certainly unconstitutional’
Multiple legal experts VPM News spoke with found the policy problematic.
“The school can’t treat student groups differently on the basis of their religion,” said Nathan Oman, a William & Mary Law professor. “You can’t have one set of policies for Muslim student groups and one set of policies for Christian student groups and one for interfaith groups. That’s just a no-no.”
Douglas Laycock, emeritus professor of law at the University of Virginia, agreed that imposing restrictions on one set of groups and not on other student groups is discriminatory and violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution: “That’s almost certainly unconstitutional.”
Charles Haynes, a senior scholar for religious freedom at the Freedom Forum, told VPM News the policy is also in violation of Virginia law.
Walter Weber, senior legal counsel with the conservative American Center for Law and Justice, echoed what the others said, adding that it’s not the business of Virginia colleges — especially public colleges and universities — to manage religious student organizations.
“I’m surprised to the point where I’m wondering what they were thinking at Virginia State,” he told VPM News.
A spokesperson for VSU has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the lawsuit or the policy. When VPM News reached VSU’s campus minister by phone, he declined to comment. Attempts were also made to reach the student groups.
As of Friday afternoon, VSU had also not filed a response to the lawsuit with the district court.
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