Making Room at the Inn: Implications of "Christian Legal Society v. Martinez" for Public College and University Housing Professionals

The supreme court's ruling in "Christian Legal Society v. Martinez", its most important case to date on student associational activities, upheld a policy at a public law school in California that required recognized student organizations (or clubs) to admit "all-comers" even if they disagreed with organizational goals and values. Rather than retracing the work of Moran and her colleagues, who examined related issues such as religious expression in public areas of residence halls, this article analyzes the potential impact of "CLS", since membership in campus organizations clearly overlaps with the kinds of issues that students and housing professionals deal with in their residences. The article then reviews the facts and the Supreme Court's rationale in "CLS" before suggesting alternative views on its implications for housing professionals in public institutions. The focus here is on officials in public institutions because the constitutional principles involved in "CLS" are generally inapplicable in private colleges and universities, where the rights of their students (and staff) are typically contractual in nature.