Larinda J. King

Larinda J. King

Commissioned II Love was one of the most popular clubs at Savannah State University, until administrators banned the club from campus following charges that the group’s leaders were hazing the other members. In reality, this “hazing” was nothing more than a foot-washing ceremony, in which Christians follow Jesus’ example of showing humility and an attitude of service by symbolically (and voluntarily) washing each other’s feet.

Larinda King, the student president of Commissioned II Love, engaged Alliance Defending Freedom and the National Litigation Foundation to sue Savannah State on her behalf, citing their violation of her group’s First Amendment-protected right to assemble and express religious faith. The school eventually agreed to a settlement that restored the club to its former place on campus and asserted the right of Christian organizations at any university to meet and act in accordance with their religious beliefs.

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