Illinois college ordered to pay Christian student $80K for silencing her conservative views

www.foxnews.com...

An Illinois college has settled with a conservative, Christian art student who claimed the school censored her speech and discriminated against her after complaints from classmates.

As part of the settlement won by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), three professors at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) will take mandatory training related to free speech on college campuses.

The settlement also stipulates that SIUE officials must revise their student handbook and policies to "ensure students with varying political, religious and ideological views are welcome in the art therapy program."

Officials also must pay $80,000 to dismiss the lawsuit successfully.

ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann said, "Public universities can’t punish students for expressing their political and religious viewpoints. Maggie, like every other student, is protected under the First Amendment to respectfully share her personal beliefs, and university officials were wrong to issue gag orders and silence her speech."

Hoffman, in a statement to Fox News Digital, said: "Universities cannot censor students because of their religious or political views. But the University did just that by issuing unconstitutional no-contact orders against Maggie. This settlement helps ensure that what happened to Maggie will not happen to any other student. We are hopeful that this free speech victory opens universities to what they should be — marketplaces of ideas, not echo chambers for one ideology."

Universities are places where free speech must be protected under all costs. They should not attempt to censor/silence political, religious, or philosophical views, just because the woke crowd gets 'offended', demanding the cancellation of everyone else who doesn't subscribe to their ideology. It's more of a daily occurrence now when we see legal proceedings against a number of Universities and Companies on the basis of violations of free speech and of the first amendment, many of them are successful, and this is another win for free speech.

originally posted by: AlienBorg
www.foxnews.com...

An Illinois college has settled with a conservative, Christian art student who claimed the school censored her speech and discriminated against her after complaints from classmates.

As part of the settlement won by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), three professors at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) will take mandatory training related to free speech on college campuses.

The settlement also stipulates that SIUE officials must revise their student handbook and policies to "ensure students with varying political, religious and ideological views are welcome in the art therapy program."

Officials also must pay $80,000 to dismiss the lawsuit successfully.

ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann said, "Public universities can’t punish students for expressing their political and religious viewpoints. Maggie, like every other student, is protected under the First Amendment to respectfully share her personal beliefs, and university officials were wrong to issue gag orders and silence her speech."

Hoffman, in a statement to Fox News Digital, said: "Universities cannot censor students because of their religious or political views. But the University did just that by issuing unconstitutional no-contact orders against Maggie. This settlement helps ensure that what happened to Maggie will not happen to any other student. We are hopeful that this free speech victory opens universities to what they should be — marketplaces of ideas, not echo chambers for one ideology."

Universities are places where free speech must be protected under all costs. They should not attempt to censor/silence political, religious, or philosophical views, just because the woke crowd gets 'offended', demanding the cancellation of everyone else who doesn't subscribe to their ideology. It's more of a daily occurrence now when we see legal proceedings against a number of Universities and Companies on the basis of violations of free speech and of the first amendment, many of them are successful, and this is another win for free speech.

Good, it's a start at least. MSM lies should be tackled as well , it's what keeps the division/agenda going.
She was trying to straighten out lies with facts after all

originally posted by: ancientlight

originally posted by: AlienBorg
www.foxnews.com...

An Illinois college has settled with a conservative, Christian art student who claimed the school censored her speech and discriminated against her after complaints from classmates.

As part of the settlement won by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), three professors at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) will take mandatory training related to free speech on college campuses.

The settlement also stipulates that SIUE officials must revise their student handbook and policies to "ensure students with varying political, religious and ideological views are welcome in the art therapy program."

Officials also must pay $80,000 to dismiss the lawsuit successfully.

ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann said, "Public universities can’t punish students for expressing their political and religious viewpoints. Maggie, like every other student, is protected under the First Amendment to respectfully share her personal beliefs, and university officials were wrong to issue gag orders and silence her speech."

Hoffman, in a statement to Fox News Digital, said: "Universities cannot censor students because of their religious or political views. But the University did just that by issuing unconstitutional no-contact orders against Maggie. This settlement helps ensure that what happened to Maggie will not happen to any other student. We are hopeful that this free speech victory opens universities to what they should be — marketplaces of ideas, not echo chambers for one ideology."

Universities are places where free speech must be protected under all costs. They should not attempt to censor/silence political, religious, or philosophical views, just because the woke crowd gets 'offended', demanding the cancellation of everyone else who doesn't subscribe to their ideology. It's more of a daily occurrence now when we see legal proceedings against a number of Universities and Companies on the basis of violations of free speech and of the first amendment, many of them are successful, and this is another win for free speech.

Good, it's a start at least. MSM lies should be tackled as well , it's what keeps the division/agenda going.
She was trying to straighten out lies with facts after all

It's more of a daily occurrence in our days. There are so many cases that are very similar when students or workers criticise a number of ideologies, literally imposed in colleges/universities and work places.

As her three-year graduate program drew to a close, DeJong received the no-contact order after her classmates had objected to social media posts she had made on abortion and defunding the police.

ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhoffer said DeJong upset classmates by defending Kyle Rittenhouse and denouncing critical race theory, eventually leading to the university-imposed orders that prohibited her from fully participating in class discussions.

(...)
The university also asked her peers to report her for "harmful rhetoric" and issued the orders without first allowing DeJong to defend her position, according to ADF.

Full blown authoritarian WW2 NAZI block wart style, telling the other students to report her for harmful rhetoric.

First of all, this is leveraging their position to leash out on someone way beyond reasonable borders. I am sure they too reported her already but asking students to do it, too, is influencing.

Something is Ill in ois.

originally posted by: TDDAgain

As her three-year graduate program drew to a close, DeJong received the no-contact order after her classmates had objected to social media posts she had made on abortion and defunding the police.

ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhoffer said DeJong upset classmates by defending Kyle Rittenhouse and denouncing critical race theory, eventually leading to the university-imposed orders that prohibited her from fully participating in class discussions.

(...)
The university also asked her peers to report her for "harmful rhetoric" and issued the orders without first allowing DeJong to defend her position, according to ADF.

Full blown authoritarian WW2 NAZI block wart style, telling the other students to report her for harmful rhetoric.

First of all, this is leveraging their position to leash out on someone way beyond reasonable borders. I am sure they too reported her already but asking students to do it, too, is influencing.

Something is Ill in ois.

Telling the others to report her and asking them to be informers in a few words. By the book East Germany tactics...

a reply to: AlienBorg

Yea, whatever. I'm beginning to think Universities should be "no speech" zones. The Leftists, (majority) don't want to hear the "Conservatives" and vica versa. No one's ever changed another person's mind about "values". Speech is highly over rated if not altogether a waste of time and energy.

Maybe all these "students" should be told to keep their mouths shut while on campus.

a reply to: AlienBorg

Good to hear.

Religious rights aren't free. I'm an agnostic but I have fought for and will fight again for another's' right to practice whatever religion they want to. There is nothing more American than being able to believe in whatever you want to, as long as you don't harm others.

And as a community, as a society, it is our duty to uphold those rights. These professors were obviously wrong and have done damage by setting a bad example to others. Impressionable others. They are in a position where kids look up to them and learn from them. They should have known better. I hope the shame of having to undergo additional training will be enough for them to do better.

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: AlienBorg

Yea, whatever. I'm beginning to think Universities should be "no speech" zones. The Leftists, (majority) don't want to hear the "Conservatives" and vica versa. No one's ever changed another person's mind about "values". Speech is highly over rated if not altogether a waste of time and energy.

Maybe all these "students" should be told to keep their mouths shut while on campus.

I don't think it's a good idea btw

originally posted by: Mahogany
a reply to: AlienBorg

Good to hear.

Religious rights aren't free. I'm an agnostic but I have fought for and will fight again for another's' right to practice whatever religion they want to. There is nothing more American than being able to believe in whatever you want to, as long as you don't harm others.

And as a community, as a society, it is our duty to uphold those rights. These professors were obviously wrong and have done damage by setting a bad example to others. Impressionable others. They are in a position where kids look up to them and learn from them. They should have known better. I hope the shame of having to undergo additional training will be enough for them to do better.

Yep, these were woke professors or at the very least professors who conform to 'authority' and the new 'fashions'.

a reply to: AlienBorg

It was done by the SS in WW2 to the German people, too. They were called a "Blockwart". A warden for a block of housings.

a reply to: AlienBorg

People are fully responsible for their own beliefs. Rather than having one false authority attempting to dictate what is true and false, people can use their own senses to decide for them self. Its not okay to spread misinformation, but its even more offensive to blindly believe misinformation. The neoliberal position is that people have little responsibility to filter out false information and its instead up to the neoliberal authorities to decide the truth. The truth can stand up to any level of disagreement and scrutiny if it really is the truth.

originally posted by: rootseeker
a reply to: AlienBorg

People are fully responsible for their own beliefs. Rather than having one false authority attempting to dictate what is true and false, people can use their own senses to decide for them self. Its not okay to spread misinformation, but its even more offensive to blindly believe misinformation. The neoliberal position is that people have little responsibility to filter out false information and its instead up to the neoliberal authorities to decide the truth. The truth can stand up to any level of disagreement and scrutiny if it really is the truth.

A political authority can never decide what is true or what is false or to dictate to citizens what to believe, how to think, what they're allowed to think, and so on.

The truth doesn't come from authority but authority comes from the truth.

If we were to believe the 'authorities' we would have stayed lockdowned forever and we would have kept injecting ourselves with some bogus vaccines. Even worse, we would have believed men can become women just by declaring they're women and that electoral fraud can never happen in the universe.

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: AlienBorg

Yea, whatever. I'm beginning to think Universities should be "no speech" zones. The Leftists, (majority) don't want to hear the "Conservatives" and vica versa. No one's ever changed another person's mind about "values". Speech is highly over rated if not altogether a waste of time and energy.

Maybe all these "students" should be told to keep their mouths shut while on campus.

What? Maybe no one should be allowed to talk about anything anywhere????

What an odd thought you have there sir.

originally posted by: greendust

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: AlienBorg

Yea, whatever. I'm beginning to think Universities should be "no speech" zones. The Leftists, (majority) don't want to hear the "Conservatives" and vica versa. No one's ever changed another person's mind about "values". Speech is highly over rated if not altogether a waste of time and energy.

Maybe all these "students" should be told to keep their mouths shut while on campus.

What? Maybe no one should be allowed to talk about anything anywhere????

What an odd thought you have there sir.

It could have been sarcasm...

originally posted by: AlienBorg

originally posted by: greendust

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: AlienBorg

Yea, whatever. I'm beginning to think Universities should be "no speech" zones. The Leftists, (majority) don't want to hear the "Conservatives" and vica versa. No one's ever changed another person's mind about "values". Speech is highly over rated if not altogether a waste of time and energy.

Maybe all these "students" should be told to keep their mouths shut while on campus.

What? Maybe no one should be allowed to talk about anything anywhere????

What an odd thought you have there sir.

It could have been sarcasm...

Dont ask me, I don't know. If so, that is pretty funny.

a reply to: AlienBorg
Should have taken more money.
And made them show the freshman the constitution.

originally posted by: shooterbrody
a reply to: AlienBorg
Should have taken more money.
And made them show the freshman the constitution.

One can argue the sum of money awarded isn't enough and she should have been given more.