October 6, 2009 Sad, that in their hurry to stop "hate," so many campus officials become a little obsessed with stopping truth and love and anything else that might actually bring hate to its knees.
Last January, the anniversary of
Roe v. Wade was at hand, and a Christian student group at Spokane Falls Community College in Washington planned to mark the occasion by distributing some flyers and posting some materials in a display case at the student center. However, college officials nixed the students' polite request, saying the school didn't allow one-sided events and expressive displays, pointing out that the Christian students weren't presenting any
pro-abortion viewpoints.
Another administrator seemed a little more lenient, telling the group that—having heard the administration's concerns — they could vote on whether or not to continue with the event. The students voted yes, but their faculty advisor then stepped up to veto the idea, citing a whole new batch of reasons: the advisor found the flyer "offensive," and said the event as planned would violate state law, as well as the school district's
"Stop the Hate" policy.
What's more, the advisor said that any student participating in such an event would risk being punished or expelled. For the students, that was one obstacle too many. The event was cancelled.
One of the students, though, Beth Sheeran, decided to enlist the help of the Alliance Defense Fund. On her behalf, ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit,
Sheeran v. Shea, et al., against college officials in March. A month later, Litigation Staff Counsel Heather Gebelin Hacker, with the ADF Center for Academic Freedom,
presented an oral argument in a hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. (ADF-allied attorney Jeffrey Smith of The Smith Law Group in Spokane served as local counsel.) Subsequently, the parties reached a settlement agreement, and on September 24, the court issued an
order formalizing that agreement.
The order requires Spokane Falls Community College and the Community Colleges of Spokane to bring all of the policies challenged in the lawsuit in conformity with the U.S. Constitution and modify unconstitutional provisions of the "Stop the Hate" program.
"
Christian pro-life students shouldn't be silenced, discriminated against, and threatened with expulsion for attempting to share their beliefs on public college campuses," Hacker says. "
We are pleased that the college officials have agreed to change their unconstitutional policies and programs so that pro-life students can voice their viewpoints, just like any other group of students on campus."
Christian students like Beth Sheeran and her friends are not trying to stage sit-ins or spark riots; they are respectfully asserting their constitutionally protected right to express their opinions on the events and issues of our time. They want to "speak the truth in love," as Saint Paul directs, and I hope you will join me in praying for their continuing courage to do so.