Last week, the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit against Arizona State University on behalf of the university’s chapter of Students for Life (SFL).
The suit alleges that ASU acted in a discriminatory manner when they insisted that SFL purchase liability insurance for a pro-life exhibit because “there is not evidence this requirement was ever imposed on any other student expression.”
Speaking about the lawsuit, ADF Litigation Counsel Heather Gebelin Hacker said, “Colleges and universities cannot treat pro-life students differently than they treat other students. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Arizona State did…”
The stated purpose of the SFL chapter is to “educate the student body about pro-life issues, from conception until natural death, with emphasis on beginning of life issues.”
According to the lawsuit, Christopher White, the director of Public Relations for the SFL chapter, submitted an “Outdoor Event and Sales Request Form” in December of 2005 in order to exhibit Justice For All’s pro-life panels. In their request, SFL asked for the use of multiple zones on campus, but White was told by Judy Schroeder, Senior Program Manager at ASU’s Memorial Union, they would be limited to only one zone per day.
White said he asked to be shown the policy preventing the group from reserving multiple zones and was referred to the “Outdoor Event and Sales Request Form” and to the statement “Zones 3, 6, and 30 are only available once per month per student organization and a list of activities must be submitted before space will be confirmed.”
Not comprehending the relevance of this passage, White asked Schroeder to put her interpretation of the policy in writing.
The next day, White received an email from Schroeder stating, “[a]s a matter of practice we allow registered student orgs [sic] and campus departments one space per day and the amplified zones once per month per student org [sic],” according to the lawsuit.
It was at this time, the SFL chapter sought legal counsel.
Then, according to the suit, the club was notified by email that Justice for All would have to submit a certificate of insurance and pay $300 to come onto campus. After SFL’s legal counsel informed ASU that Justice for All was a nonprofit organization engaging in First Amendment activities, the school granted the club the usage of 14 zones with a reservation fee of $50 and proof of insurance.
The policy requiring insurance was a new one that became effective January 2, 2006, according to Schroeder’s email to White.
Later the school waived the reservation fee, but still required the insurance. The lawsuit states that “documentation provided by Defendants [ASU] to justify the insurance requirement referred only to vendors, contractors, or lessees, and not to student organizations.”
According to the lawsuit, SFL encountered other problems reserving space in the following months and were required to pay for insurance, which they had not been required to do before December 2005.
Leah Hardesty, Media Relations Officer for ASU, said in an official statement that the lawsuit is without merit because SFL’s exhibit was put on display for four days at different locations on the Tempe campus.
“Pursuant to university guidelines, any use of university property that imposes risks to the community may be required to provide automobile and/or general liability insurance. Student organizations conducting activities on campus can purchase this insurance at a reduced cost through certain programs and we can guide them through this process,” said Hardesty.
When asked what risks the pro-life display imposed on the community, Hardesty could not comment.
SFL was referred by the university to purchase reduced cost insurance, but the costs were still too high for them to afford, according to the lawsuit. They did obtain insurance through other means and under protest.
“Free speech should not have a price tag,” said Hacker.
Hardesty also said. “All individuals and groups on campus have the right to express their opinions, whatever those opinions may be, as set forth in the First Amendment Guidelines of the ASU Campus Environment Team.”
Hardesty also could not provide any further information regarding other student groups who have been required to show proof of insurance before this year, what prompted the new policy requiring liability insurance, or whether or not ASU can prove that they did not discriminate against the SFL chapter.
Rema Nasaredden, president of the Muslim Student Association at ASU, said that MSA has never requested [and therefore was never denied] the use of multiple zones for an exhibit, but that the group has held exhibits and was not required to purchase liability insurance.
Editor’s note: In addition to the Muslim Student Association, several other students groups were contacted to determine whether or not they had ever requested multiple zones for an exhibit and if there were required to purchase liability insurance for an exhibit prior to this year. Unfortunately, no other clubs were able to respond to The Campus Report before publication.
Julia A. Seymour is a staff writer for Accuracy in Academia.
