Troy University, a public university located in Troy, Ala., created a ruckus when it announced plans to create a special dorm for Christians. Back on Jul. 23, it was announced that the university would open an $11.8 million dorm for students looking for a "faith-based collegiate experience." University officials told AL.com that the new housing facility, known as the Newman Center, was the fruit of both national and internal survey data which revealed that religion was more important to the Troy University student body compared to other schools.
According to AL.com, students would have to participate in service-learning or community service activities with church connections, refrain from using drugs and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA to be eligible for housing in the dorms. AL.com also said that the new dorms would give preference to Christians, which is strange considering Troy has a large number of international students who are not Christians. This news drew the ire of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which said that this exclusion conflicted with the First Amendment's separation of church and state.
On Jul. 30, a university spokesman came forward and said that non-Christians would not be excluded from the new complex. Still, the FFRF sent the university a letter smearing them for potentially violating the Alabama Fair Housing Law and certain provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act. Inside Higher Ed says that the university has yet to address the letter.
[via Inside Higher Ed and AL.com]
