It’s a big win for free speech: A lawsuit between a pro-life student group and a university has finally been resolved after a federal judge ruled that the university had discriminated against the group, and a settlement was reached.
California State University, San Marcos, agreed to change its policies for student fees and pay more than $240,000 following the federal court’s ruling. This is a win for all student groups but especially for those that espouse traditional, conservative, or minority views.
The backstory tells a chilling tale of campus censorship. The president of the school’s chapter of Students for Life, Nathan Apodaca, wanted to host a visiting speaker on “Abortion and Human Equality” and cover the person’s travel expenses, approximately $500. Despite the fact that all students pay a fee toward student groups, Apodaca was not allowed to access these funds and was told that student fees cannot cover travel costs.
Meanwhile, the university did use the student’s fees to fund two community centers, the Gender Equity and the LGBTQA Pride Centers — at the cost of nearly $300,000.
In 2017, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Apodaca and the pro-life student group filed a lawsuit, Apodaca v. White, challenging the university’s discriminatory funding policies, which clearly funded some ideological groups but not others. In August 2019, a federal district court struck down the university’s policy. Both sides have since reached an agreement, and the case is just recently closed.
The judge’s order provides hope for all student groups that might represent minority, traditional, or otherwise “controversial” views. The order said Apodaca and the pro-life student group have “a First Amendment interest in not being compelled to contribute to an organization whose expressive activities conflict with their own personal beliefs.”
Later, the judge said, “the undisputed evidence shows Plaintiffs paid mandatory student fees, which may have amounted to compelled speech” and finally that “the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld that ‘the First Amendment generally precludes public universities from denying student organizations access to schools sponsored forums because of the groups’ viewpoints.’”
Alison Centofante, director of external affairs at Live Action, provided their perspective from the view of a pro-life group:
She makes an important point: While this decision is sound and often a settlement is preferred (and less costly) over continued litigation toward the Supreme Court, it’s unfortunate that these cases take so long and require significant legal action to resolve them, particularly when the First Amendment violations are so egregious.
Despite the victory here, this case demonstrates the unequal playing field conservative and minority students face every day on college campuses. It shouldn’t take a bevy of lawyers to protect a small pro-life group on a college campus from discrimination, all while liberal groups and causes receive preferential treatment.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist in Washington who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to accurately reflect the date on which the settlement was reached.
