Should be illegal unless it’s one of the tiny handful of US colleges that do not accept any federal financial aid, either directly or via student loans. That said, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a court upheld it, on the grounds that colleges routinely require students to do all sorts of work without compensation, under the the guise of “homework” or “projects” — all theoretically essential to learning, but often nothing more than busy work.
Is the student newspaper making any noise about this? Has any student tried to select a legitimate organization not on the approved list (especially a non-leftist/liberal organization) and been turned down? I cannot see a court upholding this requirement if there’s clear political or religious bias in what organizations are eligible.
Yes, I would guess that almost all organizations will be religious or left. Our partners so far have been the usual suspects—many of them undertake quasi-political actions.
“Should be illegal unless it’s one of the tiny handful of US colleges that do not accept any federal financial aid”
I don’t at all understand why it should be illegal if federal money is involved. Whatever the case may be, public or private, colleges are still voluntary. You are perfectly free not to take the class.