(ConservativeFreePress.com) – On Wednesday, a conservative student won in an important case against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) where she claimed the professors had discriminated against her.
During a press release, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) announced that their attorneys are going to be providing the three professors from the university First Amendment training sessions that have been agreed upon as part of the settlement.
Maggie DeJong had filed the lawsuit against the university a year ago. According to her filing, some of the university officials and professors had issued a “no-contact” order forbidding her from having any communication with other students in February 2022. DeJong then proceeded to file a lawsuit against the professors claiming that it was a violation of her constitutional and civil rights to block her from engaging with other students because of her views.
The settlement included a $80,000 payment, and a revision of the policies handbook in order to ensure that all students regardless of their religious, political, or ideological views would be accepted in the art therapy program that DeJong had been a part of.
According to the ADF’s press release, DeJong’s views often differed from those held by other students who were in the art therapy program as they were more conservative and informed by her Christian beliefs. This led to some students reporting her to university officials.
Mathew Hoffmann, ADF legal counsel, told Newsweek that universities did not have the right to censor the religious and political views of students and that the university’s actions towards DeJong were unconstitutional.
Copyright 2023, ConservativeFreePress.com
