Principled pluralism requires that the university encourage communities with conflicting narratives and ideologies to be authentically represented on campus as equal parties. It calls the university to create a “neutral zone” amidst the cultural battles around gender, religion, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. It challenges the university to develop new paradigms and tools to resolve the tension between pursuing anti-discrimination values and protecting diversity-enhancing group distinctiveness. A truly inclusive university should reject anti-discrimination policies which flatten differences and reduce true diversity. The Committee on Student Life at Tufts University agonized over these tensions when it created a pathway for student religious groups to preserve their religious leadership requirements.

The way the university resolves these controversies foreshadows the way our culture will engage these issues in the future. Tomorrow’s leaders in government, business, and culture are college students today. The conversations and resolutions they experience in the present will provide the templates and practices they pursue in the future.

Campus access challenges represent more than a roadblock to campus ministry. For InterVarsity students, they create a potent training ground in discipleship, evangelism, and cultural engagement.