The Crusade, Halted

By John Carty | Tuesday, December 15, 1998

The Tucker Foundation, Dartmouth's semi-autonomous organization headed by Dean Scott Brown and charged with the oversight of the campus' various religious organizations, has embroiled itself in a less-than-holy controversy over free speech.

The Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC), a Christian evangelical group, sent CS Lewis' Mere Christianity, a popular theological text, to all freshman as a Christmas present. The mailing drew an enthusiastic response (over 100 '01s thanked the Crusade for the gift) and CCC planned to repeat the gesture this year.

That mailing, however, also drew a limited objection — six Jewish students thought it offensive proselytizing — and when Scott Brown learned that CCC wanted to send Mere Christianity out to the Hinman Boxes of every member of the Class of 2002, he demanded they put a stop to it.

'Campus Crusade for Christ distributed these books last year to the entire first year class without restriction,' said Brown. 'In the wake of that distribution, a significant number of non-Christian students expressed concern that the cover letter, combined with the gift, had a distinctly solicitous tone. They were offended. Our office had a conversation with CCC and suggested several changes to the manner of distribution, and asked CCC to consult with us and the entire campus ministry group before planning a similar distribution. Our hope was that we could minimize the offense that some of our non-Christian minorities might feel from such an action.'

Brown continues: 'Campus Crusade had signed a voluntary agreement that governs the behavior and actions of all student religious organizations on campus. This agreement includes several references to distribution of literature. Although the language is ambiguous with regard to Hinman Boxes, it can be and was interpreted by several campus ministers to bar exactly the kind of distribution CCC had planned. The concern was not that CCC was acting outside its First Amendment rights, but rather that CCC was acting in a manner contrary to a policy that they, and all other recognized religious organizations, had signed as a condition of receiving recognition and the privileges associated therewith.'

The agreement that Brown cites is a stipulation by campus religious groups to refrain from direct prosyletizing. The organizers of CCC's mailing, however, argue that the mailing fell far short of direct attempts at conversion.

'Dean Brown argued that the book was a 'psychological hook' that we mailed out, implying that those students who received the book would feel as if they owed us something, because we gave them a gift of value,' said Michael Bober '02, one of the mailing's organizers. 'The problem with this argument is that the membership of Campus Crusade last year was not at all affected by the mailing. This is in no way proselytizing. We are not trying to convert anyone. We are not trying to win anyone over to Campus Crusade.'

Adds Alex Pinnell '02: 'Our intention was to give students a chance to read about the true claims of Jesus Christ so that their decisions and opinions about them can be informed ones.'

Both Brown and several leaders of the College's Jewish community have argued that the Campus Crusade has no explicit right to expect freedom of speech in the campus mail.

'Prohibiting the Campus Crusade from distributing their literature via intra-campus mail is not a violation of the First Amendment,' said Jesse Cook-Dubin '01, President of Dartmouth Hillel. 'I am certainly not suggesting that they should cease their attempts to convert others; they have a perfect right to do so. My objection is to the manner in which these materials are distributed. Nowhere in the Constitution does it even remotely imply that such a group should have access to a private list or to an independent mail system. The Campus Crusade for Christ can post flyers around campus; they can table in front of the Hop; they can advertise in campus papers. What they cannot do is misuse students' private mailboxes without permission.'

Campus Crusade for Christ claims, however, that Brown's ban indicates a double standard: other groups, from the Student Assembly to Buddhist campus organizations to Phi Tau co-educational fraternity, regularly send direct membership solicitations through the Hinman Mail.

'Our mailing was no different from a thousand other mailings we received at the beginning of the year, urging us all to join Rugby, Student Assembly, and the Dartmouth Asian Organization, because they asked us to join,' said Bober. 'Ours was a free gift, no strings attached.'

Brown called in the leaders of Campus Crusade to recount the objections to their mailing, raised, most prominently, by the College's Jewish Chaplain, Rabbi Edward Boraz. Brown told CCC, among other things, that 'if something is bound to offend someone, then we shouldn't do it.'

'Some might find the copy of Link magazine we all receive in our Hinman Boxes offensive, with two practically nude people on the cover,' said Bober. 'But free speech is free speech, whether it offends anyone or not.'

The Campus Crusade for Christ also sees Brown's decision as not only an indication of a double standard but a serious threat to freedom of speech at Dartmouth.

'Not only is it censorship, but it also shows the academic bias against Christianity,' said Bober. 'A recent cartoon in The Dartmouth pokes fun at Christians because they may believe in creationism and because they might not engage in premarital sex. Aren't we allowed a voice, too? We live in an age when we are assaulted by pornography, racial slurs, and other negative influences. We might be offended, but that's part of living in a diverse community - not everyone believes the same as everyone else.'

The Crusade, Halted

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