Student: College Denied Me Entry Over Religion

A prospective student at a community college in Baltimore says his outspoken religious beliefs ruined his application—so he's suing the school and its president, Opposing Views reports. Brandon Jenkins interviewed for the Community College of Baltimore County's radiation therapy program, and was asked, "What is the most important thing to you?" His answer: "My God." According to his lawsuit, filed by the American Center for Law and Justice, the program's director later told him that his answer didn't help his application.

"This field is not the place for religion," she allegedly said, and advised him against emphasizing religion in future applications because school patients come from various faiths or "believe in nothing at all." A senior counsel at ACLJ tells the Christian Post that Jenkins' rejection is "every bit as unlawful as singling out his race, or singling out his gender," but a school spokeswoman denies the accusations, the Baltimore Sun reports. A letter from the school's attorney, included in the lawsuit, says Jenkins' comment about God "was not a good answer" because the school seeks people driven by a "passion in the field"—but adds that Jenkins has a criminal record and would have struggled to find work in Maryland. (More religion stories.)