Volume 127, No. 12 Thursday, August 24 2017
OPINION
SPORTS
PARKING POLICIES TARGET FRESHMEN
WOMEN’S SOCCER FINDS LEADERSHIP
PAGE 6
PAGE 10
A&C
NEW REC CENTER CLASSES PAGE 18
(Left) Stop and Think, an exhibit by Justice For All, an anti-abortion group, discusses issues of abortion and feminism on the CSU Plaza annually. PHOTO BY LETA MCWILLIAMS COLLEGIAN
(Above) Protesters march through downtown Denver in front of a Planned Parenthood chanting “Her body, her choice” holding signs during the Defend our Constitution March earlier this year.
CSU settles after students sue PHOTO BY TONY VILLALOBOS MAY COLLEGIAN
Students for Life awarded $600 following free speech suit By Seth Bodine @sbodine120
Colorado State University settled a federal free speech lawsuit this summer filed by an anti-abortion student group for not funding an anti-abortion speaker event through a diversity grant. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of CSU Students for Life by attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian nonprofit organization. CSU settled May 30, giving the group $600 to compensate for funding the speaker. CSU had a diversity grant
meant to fund events that enhance the educational and cultural aspects of university and raise awareness of differing perspectives. Student for Life’s proposal was denied because the event did not seem unbiased, and the committee worried attendees from various sides of the issues “won’t necessarily feel affirmed while attending the event.” The grant was indefinitely suspended in February to review grant processes. Now it is discontinued, Tyrell Allen, program coordinator of campus activities said. Students for Life viewed the
grant as being an unconstitutional policy held by CSU. “Colorado State University has agreed to drop unconstitutional policies that enabled university officials to deny a student organization’s funding request strictly because of the group’s pro-life views,” ADF wrote in a news release. Emily Faulkner, the former president of Students for life, decided to file the lawsuit because she believed the grant was subjective and did not truly promote diverse perspectives. While the group was allowed to bring the speaker to campus, they could not use the diversity grant as a
means of funding. “The title is the ‘diversity grant,’ but it really did not promote true diversity like it said,” Faulkner said. “It was extremely subjective to the people who chose who the grant goes to, so it’s really all their opinion.” The lawsuit, Students for Life at Colorado State University v. Mosher, states public universities cannot discriminate against student speech in a public forum on the basis of content or viewpoint. The complaint asked the court to halt the University from applying a double-standard by funding other groups’ speaker events on similar topics.
The complaint also argues CSU has funded other events like the one the students applied for in the past. Since Students for Life pays the same mandatory activity fees as other students in order to fund grants, the lawsuit states the students are entitled to viewpoint neutral access to student fees allocated by the University. “University officials shouldn’t use mandatory student fees to favor some views while shutting out others,” ADF senior counsel Tyson Langhofer said. “We commend Colorado State for making the necessary see LAWSUIT on page 5 >>