Posted on 07/25/2008 2:09:23 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A student group is suing Wayne State University over the denial of money for a week of anti-abortion events, saying its free-speech rights were violated last spring.
Students for Life said it is a registered campus organization. And like other groups, it believes it should be entitled to a portion of student fees.
The group said it sought $4,000 from Wayne State's Student Council for snacks, T-shirts, fliers and publicity, but the request was rejected. A smaller budget also was turned down.
A lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Detroit said the initial request was rejected because of "spiritual and religious" references. But the anti-abortion group said it doesn't have a specific religious affiliation.
"Access for these groups to funding and facilities must be provided without regard to the group's viewpoint. When a public university enforces a viewpoint-discriminatory policy, the school violates the Constitution," attorney Joseph Martins said in a statement Thursday.
A message seeking comment was left with Wayne State's public relations staff.
The events included an opportunity for students to have their picture taken with a model of a fetus.
The group wanted to hold a "pro-life trivia game" on a stage at Student Center North Commons, a busy area, but was told by campus officials to use another area, according to the lawsuit.
"Some people would no doubt likely find it difficult to eat lunch if they have strong opinions either for or against your group," Christina Basso of the Student Center staff said in an e-mail attached to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit said events didn't draw as many people as anticipated because of location and a lack of money.
Students for Life and members Juliegha Norus and Mark Robertson are asking a judge to declare that Wayne State's policy on how student fees are spent is illegal. The lawsuit also seeks an unspecified monetary award for the group.
We're not going to pay AP's extortion fees and we're not going to allow them to control free speech!
There were four versions of this article, the other three were AP, or Detroit Free Press, so I thought one from a TV station would be okay. Can we post it without the content and just a link? I don’t know if there is a non-AP version of the story.
What about this link?http://www.lifenews.com/state3409.html
Thanks. I’ll post that version. I guess there is nothing available in the “mainstream media.”
Please do not post any AP material to FR excerpted or not."
We're not going to pay AP's extortion fees and we're not going to allow them to control free speech!
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