Omicron Chapter of Kappa etc. v. University of Southern Cal. CA2/5

I. BACKGROUND

A. Student Organizations at USC Plaintiffs, other Greek-letter organizations, and various other affinity groups are “recognized student organizations” (RSOs) at USC. Organizations with RSO status may, among other things, apply for university funding, reserve campus facilities for events, and use the university’s name and trademarks. RSOs may limit their membership to students who “demonstrate support for the purpose of th[e] organization,” and they may limit voting membership to students enrolled in a specific major, but they must otherwise be open to all USC students, staff, faculty, and alumni.

1 Plaintiffs are the Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity, the Gamma Tau Chapter of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, the Beta Sigma Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, and the Omicron Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. Another plaintiff fraternity, the Alpha Nu Chapter of Theta Xi Fraternity, withdrew from this appeal.

2 Greek-letter organizations are unique among RSOs in not being required to accept all students who demonstrate support for their purpose. They instead select members through the “rush” process, which involves a week of social events followed…