University of Michigan Student Group Files Lawsuit Over Unconstitutional Funding Decisions - The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education - FIRE - Art Cohn:
December 23, 2013 - "Last Friday, a student group at the University of Michigan (UM) filed a federal lawsuit against the university, claiming that UM violated the First Amendment when it refused to grant the group student fee funding for one of its activities on the basis that it was a 'political activity.' The suit is being brought by Alliance Defending Freedom....
"On October 22, the UM Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) chapter, a recognized student organization, hosted a presentation by Jennifer Gratz, who famously won a 2003 lawsuit against the university for automatically granting admission 'points' to undergraduate applicants based on race....When YAL submitted a request for $1,000 in student fee funding, its request was denied based on a policy against allowing student fees to be used for 'political or religious activities'....
"If these were the only facts, UM would still clearly be in the wrong. As we have repeatedly explained, the law is clear that public universities are legally required to provide funding to student groups on a content- and viewpoint-neutral basis....
"Unfortunately, the allegations go even further.... Official documents summarizing funding of student groups at UM show that as recently as 2010, funding has been granted to a broad array of political and religious student groups....
"But even more galling is the allegation that only a week before Gratz’s presentation to YAL, another student group received funding to travel to Washington, D.C., to advocate a pro-affirmative action viewpoint on the steps of the United States Supreme Court."
Read more:
http://thefire.org/article/16603.html
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