An American university has been sued for punishing a Christian student over her beliefs.
This from thelibertyloft.com.
It is the Alliance Defending Freedom that has brought the case on behalf of graduate student Maggie DeJong against officials at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for violating her civil and constitutional rights.
The facts are that the university, when other students complained about her Christian faith and her expression of those beliefs, ordered her not to have “any contact” or even “indirect communication” with those other students who were complaining about her.
Her lawyer, Gregg Walters, said:
Rather than accept and embrace diverse ideological perspectives, SIUE officials are determined to force their graduate students to think and speak exactly the same – or stay silent – and they will punish anyone who steps out of line.
Maggie has always respectfully shared her religious or political views, which every student is entitled to do under the First Amendment. It is a sad day for civil dialogue and freedom of speech when universities can issue gag orders like those issued against Maggie for nothing more than expressing her beliefs—beliefs held by millions of Americans.
DeJong, in the school’s Art Therapy program, had used social media to express her thoughts as many students do
She also engaged in class discussions on topics including religion, politics, critical race theory, COVID-19 rules and more.
Her legal team explained:
But because DeJong’s views often differed from those of other students in the Art Therapy program, views informed by her Christian faith and political stance, several of her fellow students reported her speech to university officials.
The school responded with a “no-contact order” against DeJong.
That came, the ADF said:
[W]ithout giving DeJong the chance to defend herself, without telling her of the allegations against her, and without identifying any policy or rule that DeJong violated.
Further, those school officials threatened her with “disciplinary consequences.”
Then on top of that, the head of the Art Therapy program informed dozens of students in an email that she was under investigation, and accusing her of “misconduct” and “oppressive acts.”
That move, the case charges, further violated DeJong’s rights, this time under school policies requiring officials to:
[T]ake all reasonable steps to ensure confidentiality during investigations.
WND News reported in April that the school had suddenly moved to close down their “investigation.”
Apparently, other students had raised complaints to the school. Specifically, that the school was not tolerant of DeJong’s religious beliefs.
The ADF at that time reported a school letter rescinding the “no contact” orders came within days of the organization’s letter to the school informing officials there of the legal jeopardy the school faced.
In its letter, the legal team demanded that the university produce “all correspondence” and “all documents” related to students’ complaints and any investigation into DeJong.
Final thought, an observation: As the expression goes ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ At face value in America of the 2020s, Maggie DeJong is of the wrong race and the wrong religious faith to be eligible for First Amendment rights.
As a result of ADF’s involvement on Ms. DeJong’s behalf, may heads at the university soon roll and may their also soon be an Art Therapy building on the SIUE campus named the Maggie DeJong Building.
The ADF and Maggie DeJong’s fight is one element of our fight to return the United States to a true Constitutional Republic.
God speed to Maggie DeJong and her legal defense team.
