Court axes lawsuit
over Seton Hall refusal
to recognize gay
group
By JEFFREY GOLD, AP
from Newsday.com on the Web, June 22, 2005
NEWARK, N.J. -- A student's
efforts to establish a gay and lesbian group at Seton Hall University, a Roman
Catholic institution, suffered a setback Wednesday when a state appeals court
dismissed his lawsuit.
Anthony Romeo charged that the university's refusal to recognize the group
violated the state Law Against Discrimination, which bars bias based on sexual
orientation.
A three-judge panel, however, found that the law's exemption for religiously
affiliated institutions applies to Seton Hall, and that the school did not waive
the exemption with its anti-discrimination policy.
Romeo lawyer Marianne F. Auriemma said they had hoped the court would limit the
religious exemption.
"Seton Hall is so secular in its nature, that it is hiding behind that
exemption," Auriemma said, noting the school receives state and federal funds
and is part of the NCAA.
"As a taxpayer, I find it ridiculous that they say they are a religious
institution," she said, adding that the exemption is better applied to a
seminary or parochial high school.
They will consider whether to have the case heard by the state Supreme Court,
since the decision "relegates gay and lesbian students to second-class status,
and that's unconscionable."
Seton Hall spokesman Thomas White said the decision "affirms that religious
organizations are legally permitted to act in accordance with their doctrines."
Romeo's suit, filed in March 2004 when he was a sophomore, had initially been
dismissed by a lower court judge, but was later reinstated, bringing the appeal
from the South Orange-based school, which is operated by the Archdiocese of
Newark.
In an interview last year, Romeo, of Walton, N.Y., said it was unfair for Seton
Hall to permit his group to sponsor educational events but not religious
services or social activities.
"Rosa Parks never sat in the middle of the bus," he said, in a nod to the civil
rights figure. "It's not the same treatment that any other group gets."
Romeo submitted an application Nov. 13, 2003, for TRUTH (Trust, Respect, Unity
at The Hall), listing himself and 17 others as members. The group aim was
to oppose discrimination and serve as a support group for gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender and heterosexual students, the application said.
It was denied on Dec. 18, 2003, with Laura A. Wankel, vice president for student
affairs, writing, "No organization based solely upon sexual orientation may
receive formal university recognition," even though the Student Organization
Activities Committee recommended approval.
Wankel in her decision wrote that the church directs us to care for the human
person whose fundamental identity is as a `child of God' -- not as a
`heterosexual' or a `homosexual."'
She added a "memorandum of understanding" that would allow the group to operate
on campus, but with the stipulation that the administration would have to agree
to the group's name. Accepting the guidelines meant the group "will
neither seek nor expect formal recognition by the University or elsewhere," the
memo said.
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