Southern Illinois U to Pay Christian Student $80K for Silencing Her Views
Court orders Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to pay as part of lawsuit settlement
BRIETBART
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) has been ordered to pay a Christian student $80,000 for silencing her conservative views as part of a lawsuit settlement. Additionally, three professors must undergo First Amendment training as a result of the lawsuit brought by Alliance Defending Freedom.
In her lawsuit, the student claimed that SIUE had censored her speech and discriminated against her after other students complained about her conservative and pro-life social media posts, according to a report by Fox News.
Man hands palm up praying and worship of cross, eucharist therapy bless god helping, hope and faith, christian religion concept on sunset background. (Getty Images)
Last year, SIUE sent three “no-contact orders” to conservative student Maggie DeJong that prevented her from having direct or indirect communication with three students who complained about her political views, the report added.
The settlement — won by the conservative Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) — mandates that three SIUE professors take free speech-related training, and that school officials pay $80,000 to DeJong.
The settlement also reportedly demands that SIUE officials revise their student handbook and policies to “ensure students with varying political, religious and ideological views are welcome in the art therapy program.”
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ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann said in a statement on Thursday that “Public universities can’t punish students for expressing their political and religious viewpoints.”
“Maggie, like every other student, is protected under the First Amendment to respectfully share her personal beliefs, and university officials were wrong to issue gag orders and silence her speech,” Hoffmann affirmed.
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