Berkley Center

In Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia, the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of a public university using mandatory student activity fees to fund student activities that were religious in nature. This case was filed after the University of Virginia denied a student newspaper funds to cover printing costs because the paper had a Christian editorial viewpoint. The paper contended that the university’s denial constituted discrimination, but the school contended that using the funds to print the paper would violate the Establishment Clause. The Court held that the use of the mandatory fees to fund religious activities would not violate the Establishment Clause because the program at issue was neutral toward religion. The university’s program was designed to open a forum for speech and to support student activities like newspapers that contributed to the diversity of student life. The fees were not used to fund only the Christian newspaper, but were used to give the paper the same access to printing facilities that all other student publications received. Because the funds were used in a neutral manner for all student activities, use of the mandatory student fees did not violate the Establishment Clause.