By Staff Writer

Two Christian student organizations at Virginia State University are suing the university, alleging that a new policy unfairly targets religious groups and violates students’ First Amendment rights.

The federal lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by attorneys with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal organization that advocates for religious freedom and other causes. The suit represents Women of Victory and Bethel Campus Fellowship, two Christian organizations with chapters at VSU.

The groups allege that VSU adopted a new policy in August requiring “student-led ministries” to give up their status as registered student organizations and instead operate under the university’s Campus Ministries office.

According to the lawsuit, the policy places religious activities under the authority of VSU Campus Minister Thomas Wynn and a board of faculty members and university employees. The plaintiffs allege that Wynn has discretion over religious meetings, events and guest speakers.

The lawsuit further alleges that the policy applies to Christian organizations but exempts VSU’s Muslim Students Association and Community Faith Alliance.

The university’s website currently lists both Women of Victory and Bethel Campus Fellowship among its student organizations. It also identifies Campus Ministries as part of the university’s student-support structure and lists Wynn as campus minister.

VSU’s Student Organization Handbook states that religious and political student organizations may determine their internal affairs, including leadership and membership, in furtherance of their religious or political missions. The handbook also says public institutions that recognize and provide access to student organizations may not discriminate against groups exercising those rights. Those provisions mirror state law.

What the lawsuit alleges
The lawsuit contends that university officials told student leaders the new policy was necessary because the organizations are “faith-based” and promote Christianity.

The plaintiffs also allege that the policy has affected activities beyond explicitly religious gatherings. The complaint says Christian students were prevented from gathering for activities that were not religious in nature, including an informal pajama party in a residence hall.

The lawsuit also challenges the university’s decision to end Sunday transportation that previously took students to a local church. According to the complaint, Wynn told students the university wanted to “crack down on transportation to outside churches.”

ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer said the university is treating Christian organizations differently from other student groups.

“VSU is brazenly singling out Christian clubs and treating them worse than student groups of other faiths,” Langhofer said in the group’s announcement. “The Constitution prohibits such blatant discrimination.”

Jneva Norfleet, founder and executive director of Women of Victory Ministries, said the organization has operated at VSU for years and that students should be able to practice their faith on campus.

“It is disheartening that VSU administrators have chosen to strip our chapter of its registered student organization status, rights, and benefits because of the students’ religious beliefs,” Norfleet said.

Women of Victory says its VSU chapter dates to 2018, when Norfleet was a VSU student. The organization says the group received university recognition as a student organization in 2019 and later expanded to other historically Black colleges and universities.

VSU’s campus ministry structure
VSU publicly describes Campus Ministries as an effort to support students’ spiritual and religious lives. The university’s website says Campus Ministries serves the personal and interpersonal needs of students related to spiritual and religious life.

The university also maintains a Campus Ministries program that includes several Christian groups. A 2025-26 report from the Virginia United Methodist Conference described VSU Campus Ministries as a Christ-centered community that included seven student-led ministries. The report specifically identified Women of Victory and other Christian groups as part of the campus ministry structure.

VSU’s Campus Ministries online presence similarly describes the program as a hub for “Christ-centered gatherings” and lists Women of Victory and Bethel Campus Fellowship among its groups.

The university’s current student organization listings also continue to identify Women of Victory and Bethel Campus Fellowship as student organizations, although it is unclear from the public listings whether those designations reflect the status challenged in the lawsuit or have not yet been updated.

VSU did not have a public statement responding specifically to the lawsuit available on its website as of Friday.

Broader legal questions
The case comes as Virginia law expressly protects certain rights of religious and political student organizations at public colleges and universities.

Under Virginia law, a religious or political student organization may determine its internal affairs, select leaders and members, and define its doctrines when doing so furthers the organization’s mission. The law also prohibits public institutions that recognize student organizations from discriminating against groups exercising those rights.

That does not necessarily resolve the dispute over how VSU can structure its campus ministry program. The lawsuit will require a federal court to consider whether the university’s new policy improperly discriminates against Christian student organizations or represents a permissible restructuring of religious activities on campus.

The university’s own materials indicate that it provides a range of student organizations and identifies spiritual development as one component of student life. Its website says student organizations are intended to support students’ intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical and professional development.

The lawsuit, Women of Victory at Virginia State University v. Branch, names university officials as defendants and asks the federal court to intervene over the policy.

The case is in its early stages. No ruling has been issued on the allegations, and the lawsuit’s claims have not been proven in court.