A California community college student will not have to face a disciplinary hearing after all for distributing religious fliers in the same location used by other students to promote non-religious activities on campus. However, the college district said it is not planning to revise the policy that led to the problem for another six months.
"The university is supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, not a place where free speech is a punishable offense," said Legal Counsel David Hacker of Alliance Defending Freedom. A letter from ADF to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District prompted the withdrawal of the hearing for the Grossmont College student, according to the legal ministry."We commend Grossmont College for dropping the unjustified disciplinary hearing against our client, but as the Constitution requires, the college still needs to take prompt action and change its vague distribution policy to prevent any future discrimination against faith-based groups and activities. We'll be monitoring the situation to ensure that the necessary changes are made," Hacker stated Wednesday.
In May, a student was denied the use of tables and chairs for the National Day of Prayer event a Christian club on campus was organizing, even though the club had made reservations in advance as stipulated by the school's policy, ADF stated.
"When the student later distributed fliers for the event in front of the student center, the same location where other groups promoted non-religious activities, the associate dean instructed her to stop, citing college district policy," according to ADF. "The college then took punitive action against the student by initiating a formal disciplinary hearing and placing an academic hold on the student's account."
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