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ALAMEDA -- Two students who were threatened with suspension at the College of Alameda after one of them prayed with an ailing teacher in a faculty office can sue the community college district for allegedly violating their freedom of speech, a federal judge has ruled.

Attorneys representing two students who have been threatened with expulsion by a California college because of a prayer for a sick professor say a federal judge has refused the school's efforts to have the case dismissed. "It's outrageous," said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which is working on the case brought by students Kandy Kyriacou and Ojoma Omaga of the College of Alameda in Alameda, near Oakland. "Since when does praying for a sick teacher to get well – with her consent – earn a suspension? This is not just a constitutional violation; it is a complete...

(03-17) 16:51 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- UC Hastings College of the Law can deny recognition and funding to a Christian student group because it excludes gays, lesbians and non-Christians, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The San Francisco law school is entitled to require official student organizations to "accept all comers as members, even if those individuals disagree with the mission of the group," the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. It said the school's policy is "viewpoint-neutral" and does not violate the rights of theChristian Legal Society. The brief ruling cited the court's decision last year allowing a...

Kudos to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, where it was recently announced that students will be allowed to use the university's off-campus firearm ranges to shoot. The two ranges, used primarily to train the university's police officers, will permit the use of rifles, shotguns, and handguns during designated shooting hours. "I am a firm believer in using all of the university's assets to benefit students and to enhance the student experience at LU," said Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. "Recently, we have had students asking for a place to target shoot, so it made perfect sense to open the range to...

A student is suing Los Angeles City College over an incident in which a professor refused to let him finish a speech against gay marriage, according to the Los Angeles Times. Student Jonathan Lopez told the Times that the professor, John Matteson, called him a "fascist bastard" and refused to let him finish his speech during a public speaking class last November, weeks after California voters approved Proposition 8 banning gay marriage. Lopez also said the teacher threatened to have him expelled when he complained to college authorities.

In November, 2008 California voters again overturned Proposition 8 which attempted to grant a legal equivalency between homosexual 'marriage' and marriage as between a man and a woman. A few weeks later, Jonathan Lopez did the same thing during a classroom presentation in his public speaking class at Los Angeles City College. He defended his opposition to homosexual "marriage" and gave reasons for his support of marriage as only properly between one man and one woman. Reportedly, Lopez’s Professor abruptly stopped him, calling him a “fascist bastard” in front of the class and then prohibited him from finishing his speech....

A college student has filed a lawsuit saying a public speaking professor berated him in class for making a speech opposing same-sex marriage. In the federal court suit filed last week, student Jonathan Lopez said that midway through his speech, when he quoted a dictionary definition of marriage and recited a pair of Bible verses, professor John Matteson cut him off and would not allow him to finish. He said Matteson also called him a "fascist bastard." A student evaluation form included with the lawsuit lacks a score for Lopez's speech, and reads "ask God what your grade is." In...

After being called a "fascist" by his professor, a Christian California student has filed suit against his college for violations of his free-speech rights.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) speaks on the floor about his amendment that would strike language permitting religious discrimination http://video.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wv

The U.S. Senate has taken action that could mean a legal battle royal over the stimulus bill. The Senate rejected an amendment offered by Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) that would have stripped language from the stimulus bill that would force colleges and universities to throw religious clubs off campus if the schools receive federal funds. (See earlier article) Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law & Justice had this reaction. "Well, not only is it disappointing, it's almost a throwback to litigation that we conducted in the 1980s that we won unanimously at the Supreme Court," he says....

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint proposed an amendment Thursday to overturn a provision in the stimulus bill that prohibits renovation funding for schools that allow religious worship in their facilities. BY CRISTINA CORBIN Republican Sen. Jim DeMint proposed an amendment Thursday to kill a provision in the Senate stimulus bill that prohibits renovation money for schools that allow religious groups to meet on campus. DeMint proposed the amendment after the provision was passed in the Democratic-controlled House despite unanimous Republican opposition. The amendment is expected to be voted on Thursday, an aide to the senator told FOXNews.com. DeMint and others who...

(CNSNews.com) – President Obama’s economic stimulus bill would forbid colleges -- both religious and secular -- from receiving stimulus funds to improve facilities that are used for religious purposes. The provision is found in the Higher Education Modernization, Renovation and Repair section (Sec. 9302) of both the House and Senate versions of the bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. According to the provision, none of funds of the $6 billion allotted to the renovation, modernization, or repair of college buildings may be used for facilities “(i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or school department of divinity;...

NCAA football star Tim Tebow helped bring the spotlight to his team and his faith Thursday night, leading No. 1 Florida to a 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma for the BCS championship. The Gators quarterback ran 22 times for 109 yards and completed 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards. Other numbers for that night? 3 and 16. John 3:16, that is. As he has done throughout the season, Tebow used his black under-eye markings Thursday night to share Scripture, this time donning the most popular Bible verse in America. For many, the reference was simply a personal form...

Tim Tebow took over for Florida and the top-ranked Gators grabbed a 14-7 lead over No. 2 Oklahoma after three quarters at the BCS national championship game Thursday night. With two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks and offenses that combined to average 99 points per game in the regular season, the Gators and Sooners were expected to trade scores most of the night at Dolphin Stadium. But the defenses came up with most of the biggest plays in the first 30 minutes, and Tebow was the show in the third and forth quarter. Florida wins 24- 14.

Tonight in Miami, the Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators will play for the American college football championship. If Florida wins, it will be due to the play of quarterback Tim Tebow. He is arguably the best player in college football, and, more than that, an important cultural phenomenon. In 2007, Tebow was the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy, awarded to the most valuable collegiate football player in the nation. He was a runner-up this year for the Heisman; the winner was Sam Bradford, the Oklahoma quarterback who will face Tebow tonight. In only three years of college...

Critics of America's public school system have launched a new effort highlighting the need for Christians to exit the system. The initiative -- dubbed The Call to Dunkirk was launched by Dr. Bruce Shortt, author of The Harsh Truth About Public Schools; Rev. Voddie Baucham, author of Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God; and the founder and director of the Exodus Mandate Project, retired U.S. Army Chaplain Lt. Col. E. Ray Moore. Moore explains the proposal. "The Call to Dunkirk is a special emergency effort to try to get other...

Seven Christian students in Quebec have been handed suspensions in the last few days – and could face expulsions – for refusing to participate in a new mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture course that, according to a critic, is a "superficial mishmash of trendy theoretical platitudes" with the goal of convincing children that "all religions – including pagan animism and cults – are equally 'true.'"

A New York man is linking the suicide of his 22-year-old son, a military veteran who had bright prospects in college, to the anti-Christian book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins after a college professor challenged the son to read it. "Three people told us he had taken a biology class and was doing well in it, but other students and the professor were really challenging my son, his faith. They didn't like him as a Republican, as a Christian, and as a conservative who believed in intelligent design," the grief-stricken father, Keith Kilgore, told WND about his son, Jesse....

FORT MYERS – Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa Claus is allowed back at Florida Gulf Coast University. FGCU’s president reversed his decision to ban Christmas decorations. In an e-mail message sent to the campus Wednesday, university president Wilson Bradshaw, Ph.D. acknowledged the “overwhelming negative response” to his original letter banning all holiday and seasonal decorations from the school’s common areas, citing “legal limitations.” “It is now clear to me that we have erred in our attempt to find a balance between how best to observe the season in ways that honor all traditions – while also allowing employees to express their...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – After a student council at California's largest two-year college endorsed a ban on "gay" marriage, critics were infuriated and called for the members to be removed – but support for traditional marriage ultimately prevailed. The American River College Student Council, facing fierce opposition and curses from peers Sept. 30, voted 8-3 with three abstentions to support Proposition 8, known as the Marriage Protection Amendment. Students who support "gay" marriage were furious and collected more than 200 signatures to recall the students who voted for the resolution. The resulting turnout broke statewide records for college campus elections. With...