Like every other student on the Madison campus, Southworth had to pay fees that were distributed to a host of groups across the campus, many of them decidedly political. And Southworth, a conservative Christian, found that a big chunk of that money went to groups he didn’t support — in fact, groups whose causes flew in the face of his deepest convictions.

In the 1995-96 academic year, the school gave $150,000 to leftist groups like the International Socialists; the Militant Student Union; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Campus Center; and the feminist Campus Women’s Center. With that money, those groups lobbied the state Legislature against informed-consent abortion laws and for gay marriage, held homosexual rallies and film festivals, and demonstrated loudly outside local churches.

Of course, at least it could be said that some of Southworth’s money also went to groups he did support. Except it didn’t — hardly any of it, anyway.

Christian and conservative campus groups received less than $1,000 from the student association that year — less than 1 percent of what leftists groups got. When the Christian group Chi Alpha applied for funds, not only was it turned down outright, but stripped of its status as a registered student organization (after the homosexual Ten Percent Society said its biblical position against homosexuality promoted “hate”).

The whole thing seemed unfair to Southworth — both the fact that his funds were taken for political causes at all and the one-sided way they were parceled out. But instead of just grumbling about it, he did something about it.

Southworth joined forces with two other law students, contacted the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) — a legal group specializing in religious-liberty cases — and took their college to court. Before all was said and done, they would have at least a partial victory from the United States Supreme Court. Universities could continue to direct mandatory fees to political groups, the court said, but the fees must be distributed fairly among campus groups.

But a partial victory isn’t enough to completely protect students from being compelled to financially support groups they object to on moral or religious grounds. And legal loopholes in the Supreme Court decision mean abuses like the ones Southworth encountered could still occur.

“College administrators understand that if they sent a letter to every student saying they will be forced to fund organizations that are lobbying Congress for radical environmental causes and transgender associations that promote sexual deviancy, they wouldn’t pay the fee. They’d object to it,” said Southworth, now 30. “The only way they can make this work is to funnel money to these organizations, then surreptitiously hide it. By the time most students figure out what’s happening, if they ever do, they’re in their third or fourth year and ready to move on.

“It’s only a few dollars per student, but it’s the principle [that’s important].”

Moral Victories

Southworth might have been a law student, but he wasn’t eager to go to court. Before taking that step, he tried to get university officials to change things on their own. But the administration missed the point he was trying to make: that students have constitutional rights and should be able to choose which groups their fees support. On the UW Madison campus, candidates for student government campaigned on promises to fund certain groups and defund others — and the groups that received funding were controlled entirely by the students elected to office.

So Southworth contacted the ADF, and found that they were already on the lookout for students sick of the way their schools distribute mandatory fees. A 1995 Supreme Court case, Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of University of Virginia, suggested that students might have constitutional rights to opt out of funding ideological groups with which they disagree.

In 1996, the case was filed in federal district court. ADF attorney Jordan Lorence argued on two fronts: that a university cannot compel students to financially support advocacy groups they oppose, and that students should have to take the initiative to choose which groups their fees will support.

Judge John Shabaz agreed. “To compel a man to [contribute to causes] which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical,” he opined, quoting Thomas Jefferson. He ordered the university to develop a system allowing students to opt out of paying parts of the fees.

All of a sudden, the opposition was taking Southworth’s case seriously. The school appealed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel ruled unanimously to uphold the decision.

So the university appealed again, this time to the U.S. Supreme Court. All indications going into the November 1999 arguments were that the high court’s nine justices would uphold the decision as well.

“Legal scholars across the nation were with us,” Southworth said. “Everyone thought we were going to win this case — even people on the other side at the university.”

Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy appeared to be the key swing votes — and both had made public statements in the past questioning the constitutionality of colleges forcing students to fund groups whose viewpoints they unequivocally oppose.

But when the court ruled in March 2000, that proved not to be the case.

Win Some, Lose Some

The court’s 9-0 decision to reverse the 7th Circuit ruling was a mixed bag. On the face of it, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents won. However, the six justices writing the majority opinion said students have the right to object, and fees must be distributed in a “viewpoint neutral” manner.

Southworth is far from satisfied. He abides by the Jeffersonian notion that forcing students to subsidize groups against their will is "sinful and tyrannical." As for the notion that university funds for Christian groups somehow justifies forcing Christian students to contribute to (say) Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist groups "ridiculous.”

Since Southworth’s case was filed, similar cases have surfaced at a number of schools, including the University of Minnesota, Miami University - Ohio, Oregon State University and Florida State University. And since the Supreme Court kicked Southworth’s case back to lower courts to be considered on viewpoint-neutrality arguments, Lorence has stayed busy with that as well.

The UW Madison board of regents made some changes to the political structure of student government after Southworth took them to court, but only because they were forced to do so. Allowing ideologues to channel funding to their pet causes, courts have agreed, is unconstitutional. That’s no longer allowed at UW. But Lorence and Southworth continue to say it’s not enough — and the university maintains that it should never have had to do even that much.

Last October, a federal appeals court split the difference, saying the new restrictions were constitutionally required. The school didn’t have to go further, but it couldn’t abandon the new rules, either.

The Next Step

That leaves Lorence uneasy. “The opportunity for abuse is significant,” he said, leaving universities chances to “steer the money toward groups they like and away from groups they don’t.” With that in mind, he plans to stay on the lookout for specific cases “where we can show a pattern that any Christian, conservative or pro-life group always has a problem with their application, but the liberal groups are being allowed to waive requirements. Then we will argue that students need to opt out.”

So Southworth’s battle has a ways to go yet. But for him, the lack of a clear-cut win isn’t defeat.

“Our definition of success isn’t necessarily God’s definition of success,” he said. “Where we think we’ve won or lost may be just the opposite of what God sees. God’s plan for this is awesome, and I don’t know all of the ramifications, repercussions or details of the plan. What’s the ultimate purpose of a Christian on earth? It’s not to win legal battles. It’s to get out there and open venues where the gospel of Jesus Christ can be spread.

“I will hopefully one day know all the things that came out of this, but I just look at it now as I was called to be faithful. I fought the good fight, and won a few victories.”

Think student fees are being unfairly distributed on your campus? Call the Alliance Defense Fund at (480) 444-0020, or log onto www.alliancedefensefund.org.