InterVarsity officials say they fully support TCF's position.

Steve Haynor, president of InterVarsity, said the Tufts chapter acted wisely.

"Students at Tufts have really concluded that organizations, particularly religious organizations, have a right to exercise their beliefs in a way that is consummate with the campus setting," Haynor said. "Academic pluralism requires that people not be silenced."

Curtis Chang, who is an area director for InterVarsity, said the student government should distinguish between judging people and judging their ideas.

"Julie Catalano was denied leadership because of her religious beliefs, not her orientation," he said. "Any heterosexual who rejects the view that sexual activity should take place in the context of a marriage covenant between husband and wife would also be ineligible for leadership."

Because the Changs are not students, the Committee on Student Life questioned their prominent role in TCF's decision to exclude heterodox students--that is, students whose beliefs contradict the orthodox perspective--from the group's leadership team.

Ohene Asare and Jin Park, Tufts seniors who are members of the Senior Leaders' Team, said the team's decision not to consider Catalano for a leadership position was a shared one, however.