Tag Archives: ADF: David Hacker

One News Now: ADF attorney David Hacker says Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) was barring student Jacob Dagel from freely handing out flyers protesting the use of college funds to subsidize a governor’s lesbian, “gay,” bisexual and transgender youth conference. “They required student to get permission ten days in advance of doing anything on campus, and then once they got that permission, they could only speak or hand out flyers or papers to their peers if they sat at a table in the student center,” Hacker details. “It’s a really restrictive policy and one that was clearly unconstitutional.”

Des Moines Register (AP): “It was a non-issue the day after,” said Denson. “There was no need for a lawsuit in the first place.” Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dagel in April. A motion followed shortly for a preliminary injunction to stop the policy from being enforced. “That’s news to me,” said David Hacker, a senior legal counsel at Alliance, about Denson’s comments that the policy has not been enforced since late March. “As far as we know, when we filed the lawsuit and we filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, the policy was still in the books.”

David Hacker appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Iowa college limits free speech to one table. | MP3 audio 12:08 mins

David Hacker appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 8:10 mins

LifeSiteNews: Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker in a statement. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

Fox News: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

Desert Sun (source: Detroit Free Press): Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona group that says it works to defend the civil rights of Christians and conservatives, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit . . . “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, attorney with the alliance.

LifeNews: Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

David Hacker at Speak Up Movement: Most people think student fees pay things like services in the student union, the gym, and occasional funding of student groups conducting a service project. But universities have turned these mandatory fees in campus slush funds for the left . . . What can you do? It’s unlikely mandatory student fees will go away anytime soon. But the best answer to bad speech is good speech. If you’re part of a student group on campus, apply to get student fees for your own events that promote decency and respect life.

David Hacker at Speak Up Movement: We get a number of calls from students asking if we can do anything to help change a bad grade.

One News Now: “The military unfortunately has been yielding to a radical agenda to the point of even allowing same-sex marriage at the historic West Point Chapel,” Col. Crews laments. “But yet they are unsure, it appears, that allowing prayers at official events can be continued.” David Hacker, senior legal counsel for ADF, cites the Constitution. “The First Amendment allows public officials to acknowledge our nation’s religious heritage,” he notes. “Anti-religious groups with misguided ideas about the First Amendment should not be allowed to destroy a time-honored, perfectly constitutional American custom.”

David Hacker at the Speak Up Movement Blog: We have a lot to be thankful for this year at Alliance Defending Freedom as our clients prevailed time and again in cases across the country. Here’s a recap of the top university victories in 2012 . . .

Texas A&M University has agreed to revise its student organization funding policy in the wake of an Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit filed after officials denied funds to a conservative student group while approving funds for other groups.

David Hacker at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: Last month, the California Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights issued a report on Equal Educational Opportunity and Free Speech on Public College and University Campuses in California. The focus of the report was whether harassment policies at these institutions intrude too much on student free speech. As we’ve written about before on these pages, overbroad and vague harassment policies are major contributors to the national speech code problem. Alliance Defending Freedom has represented students who challenged these policies in California (multiple times), Washington, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

David Hacker appeared on 570 KVI with John Carlson to discuss the situation at Evergreen College in Washington State. | MP3 audio 10:52 mins

David Hacker at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: Several of Harris’ posts include examples from Alliance Defending Freedom cases, like College Republicans at San Francisco State University v. Reed (a speech code case) and Roberts v. Haragan (a speech zone case).  Here are links to each part of the series . . .

Seattle Weekly: Evergreen officials say the school’s policy of allowing transgender individuals access to locker rooms based on their stated gender – in this case, Francis identifies as a female – is in accordance with state law . . . Despite this stance, the Alliance Defending Freedom is mad as hell. “Little girls should not be exposed to naked men, period. A college’s notions about ‘non-discrimination’ don’t change that,” says Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker in a press release distributed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which says it is acting on behalf of parents concerned for their children’s safety . . . “The idea that the college and the local district attorney will not act to protect young girls is appalling,” Hacker continues in the Alliance Defending Freedom press release. “What Americans are seeing here is the poisoned fruit of so-called ‘non-discrimination’ laws and policies. Placing this man’s proclivities ahead of protecting little girls is beyond unacceptable.” . . . If the question comes down to bowing to the Alliance Defending Freedom and the organization’s claims of “emotional distress and harm” being inflicted on youth swimmers encountering transgender genitalia in the sauna, or protecting the civil rights of people like Colleen Francis, the Evergreen State College, predictably, sides with the civil rights and state law. “Frankly, the issue has been addressed,” Wettstein says of the installation of privacy screens. [more]

David J. Hacker at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: Alliance Defending Freedom received an outstanding First Amendment victory Tuesday when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against Oregon State University in OSU Student Alliance v. Ray, a case brought by The Liberty, an independent student newspaper at OSU.

David Hacker at Speak Up Movement University: FIRE has released its second annual survey of America’s Best Colleges for Free Speech. This year, seven colleges receive the rare distinction of being ivory towers that welcome free expression.

CNA: David Hacker, senior counsel with the religious liberty group Alliance Defending Freedom, praised the inquiry’s outcome. “America’s universities should always serve as truth-seeking, free marketplaces of ideas,” he said Aug. 29. “Disagreeing with a study’s conclusions is not grounds for allegations of scientific misconduct; therefore, we are not surprised that those accusations were found to be baseless.”

David Hacker apeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: ADF: Calif. student free of disciplinary hearing, but not of unconstitutional speech policy. | MP3 audio 8:30 mins

David J. Hacker at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: Four current and former Alliance Defending Freedom clients were named to Red Alert’s “30 Under 30” list this week: Orit Sklar, Ruth Malhotra, Justin Pulliam, and Lila Rose. The list honors the thirty most inspiring young conservatives in the country and seeks to inspire other young conservatives by showing how much can be done “with hard work and a can-do attitude.”

Christian Post: The university is supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, not a place where free speech is a punishable offense,” said Legal Counsel David Hacker of Alliance Defending Freedom. A letter from ADF to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District prompted the withdrawal of the hearing for the Grossmont College student, according to the legal ministry. “We commend Grossmont College for dropping the unjustified disciplinary hearing against our client, but as the Constitution requires, the college still needs to take prompt action and change its vague distribution policy to prevent any future discrimination against faith-based groups and activities. We’ll be monitoring the situation to ensure that the necessary changes are made,” Hacker stated Wednesday.

Letter prompts Grossmont College to drop unfounded hearing against student,
but policy change slow in coming

LoanSafe.org: “The laws are well established in this area,” said ADF legal counsel David Hacker. “When a university or government opens up a forum for speech, it has to provide essentially equal access. You can’t exclude a speaker because of their viewpoint . . . ”

TheEagle.com: “The laws are well established in this area,” said ADF legal counsel David Hacker. “When a university or government opens up a forum for speech, it has to provide essentially equal access. You can’t exclude a speaker because of their viewpoint.”

Christian Post: “Student groups should not be singled out for discrimination because of their political or religious views,” said ADF Legal Counsel David Hacker. “Universities are supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, not a place where funding earmarked for student groups only goes to the ones the university prefers. ADF has successfully litigated similar cases because the Constitution requires that political and faith-based student organizations not be targeted for discrimination based upon their viewpoints.”

OneNewsNow: ADF attorney David Hacker says that is unconstitutional, especially since the university approved similar requests made by the NAACP, the Muslim Student Association and the Black Student Alliance Council, among others. “From Texas A&M comes a wide variety of student groups and activities and events,” the attorney notes, “and so, to exclude political and religious views from campus is really unfortunate and violates the First Amendment.”

LifeNews: Student groups should not be singled out for discrimination because of their political or religious views,” said ADF Legal Counsel David Hacker. “Universities are supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, not a place where funding earmarked for student groups only goes to the ones the university prefers. ADF has successfully litigated similar cases because the Constitution requires that political and faith-based student organizations not be targeted for discrimination based upon their viewpoints.”

Citizen Link: “Student groups should not be singled out for discrimination because of their political or religious views,” said ADF Legal Counsel David Hacker. “Universities are supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, not a place where funding earmarked for student groups only go to the ones the university prefers. ADF has successfully litigated similar cases because the Constitution requires that political and faith-based student organizations not be targeted for discrimination based upon their viewpoints.”

David J. Hacker at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: A federal court in Ohio has struck down a speech zone and advanced notice requirement at the University of Cincinnati.

The Republic: The Alliance Defense Fund contends the university “can resolve this problem by simply adopting an exemption from its non-discrimination policy for religious student groups that select their members and leaders on the basis of their religious beliefs,” attorney David Hacker said in his letter. “Failing to take this action would unnecessarily make the university vulnerable to a federal lawsuit.” [more]

Catholic Sentinel: “Pro-life students shouldn’t have to get a permission slip to share their beliefs on campus,” says David Hacker, legal counsel of Alliance Defense Fund. “Making free speech the exception rather than the norm and then corralling it to a limited area is unconstitutional and contrary to the marketplace of ideas that a university is supposed to be.”

Free speech now allowed campus-wide (OneNewsNow.com): ADF legal counsel David Hacker says that was reasonable . . . “Universities across the country are censoring Christian and pro-life speech on really a rapid scale,” he laments. “But we’re really pleased that Chemeketa was willing to work with us and change its policies to open up the campus to more speech.” [more]

LifeNews.com: “Pro-life students shouldn’t have to get a permission slip to share their beliefs on campus,” said ADF Legal Counsel David Hacker. “Making free speech the exception rather than the norm and then corralling it to a limited area is unconstitutional and contrary to the ‘marketplace of ideas’ that a university is supposed to be. We appreciate the college’s efforts in working with us to revise its policies and rectify this problem.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker appeared on the Victoria Taft Show to discuss the situation at Chemeketa Community College in Oregon. | MP3 audio 5:20 mins

One News Now: David Hacker of the Alliance Defense Fund describes the discrimination that the educator faces. “Despite a stellar academic record, this professor has found himself exiled from participating in the instruction of any department students simply because he holds views that some university officials don’t favor,” Hacker explains.

ADF Attorney David Hacker at Speak Up Movement University: The ADF Center for Academic Freedom joined a broad coalition of organizations today calling on the U.S. Department of Education to clarify when colleges may and may not investigate and punish student “harassment.” The letter, written by our friends at FIRE, is available here.

ADF Attorney David Hacker on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss this: UL-Lafayette censors internationally acclaimed professor for politically incorrect views. | MP3 audio 5:25 mins

ADF Attorney David Hacker at Speak Up Movement University Blog: Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Widmar v. Vincent. Perhaps you’ve never heard of this case, or perhaps you don’t really care. But you should. For Widmar is the cornerstone of modern religious liberty jurisprudence.

ADF attorney David Hacker at the Speak Up Movement University: Perhaps the real reason we need robust academic freedom is not to protect American society from itself, as the AAUP believes, but to protect the “unpopular” or “politically incorrect” faculty from an academy in ideological lockstep.

David Hacker at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: In other words, the federal appeals court that has jurisdiction over Sen. Lautenberg’s home state of New Jersey, has already ruled that much of the language in his bill violates the First Amendment. Universities have enough trouble writing harassment policies that comply with the First Amendment. The Tyler Clementi Act doesn’t help.

ADF attorney David Hacker at the Speak Up Movement Blog: According to FIRE’s report, a paralegal student distributed literature linking abortion and breast cancer to her fellow students after her Probate Law I class in October 2010. (October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.) She gave some flyers to students directly and placed other flyers on the desks of students who had left their seats. A couple weeks later, Sinclair’s Paralegal Program Chair met with the student about the flyers. (Here’s where the story follows the usual university plot line.) The Program Chair told the student that another student complained that the flyers were…drum roll please: “offensive.

One News Now: David Hacker serves as legal counsel with ADF. “The rulings from the courts in Maryland and California essentially conflict with other federal courts which have held for many years that…if a student is subject to a code of conduct on campus, he or she can challenge that if it stifles or chills their speech.”

Indiana Daily Student: Impact has applied and received IUSA funding before, McDowell said. But IUSA eventually refused to fund the Impact movement because they said there would be religious proselytizing and sectarian activities at the conference, ADF Legal Counsel David Hacker said. “We sent a letter to the University saying this is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment,” he said. “Thankfully, the University responded in a positive fashion by removing the ban on funding religious activities. They’ve since asked Impact Movement to resubmit their application for funding.”

One News Now: “With a little nudge from the Alliance Defense Fund, Indiana University has changed a policy that banned a student group from receiving school funding because of its Christian beliefs . . . We’re very pleased that Indiana University changed its policy and is now actually requesting that the Impact Movement, the student group, reapply for the funding so that it can reimburse the group and its members for the costs they incurred in going to this national conference,” reports David Hacker, legal counsel for ADF.”

After receiving a letter from the Alliance Defense Fund, Indiana University-Bloomington officials have eliminated a policy that excluded funding for student group activities that involve “religious proselytizing” or “sectarian events (ceremonies, services, and religious rites).”

ADF attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “This week Stanford gave me another reason to pause when Rev. Scotty McLennan (author of Jesus Was a Liberal) from Stanford’s Office of Religious Life, announced that Stanford intends to interfere with the leadership decisions of its religious student organizations on campus. The Stanford Review reports that, to the surprise of most students, Stanford has an all-comers policy that requires student organizations to open their membership roles to all students.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “Perhaps emboldened by its #5 ranked football team, the University of Wisconsin is asking the United States Supreme Court to review a case involving the allocation of student activity fees to religious organizations . . . Last week, the University filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari at the Supreme Court in Badger Catholic v. Walsh, asking the high court to take the case and reverse the well-reasoned decision by Chief Judge Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit . . . The University contends in Badger Catholic, that allowing the students to use student activity fees for student-led prayer, worship, proselytizing, and religious instruction violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “The U.S. Department of Education issued a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter Tuesday which reportedly reinforces the Department’s commitment to curb bullying through federal harassment laws. However, the letter confuses earlier Department policy, provides harassment examples that run into protected speech, and fails to adequately remind administrators of their First Amendment obligations.”

Daily Illini: “After [Robert McKim, head of the religion department] firmly indicated that [Professor Kenneth Howell] would not be returning in the Fall, Howell sought legal advice from the Alliance Defense Fund, ADF, a legal alliance that specializes in defending first amendment rights . . . The University responded [to ADF's letter] with a letter that seemed to be backtracking on their original claims against Howell, said [David Hacker], legal counsel for Howell . . . Following [a second] letter, Veazie responded by saying the University would reinstate Howell for the Fall semester, and that his salary would now be paid for by the University and not the Newman Foundation.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “On Tuesday, two national legal organizations filed amicus briefs in the Ninth Circuit supporting The Liberty’s case against Oregon State University. The Student Press Law Center and the National Legal Foundation both filed amicus briefs arguing that a federal district court should not have dismissed The Liberty’s case.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “On Columbus Day, UW-Madison launched its ‘Stop the Silence’ campaign, which is designed to curb harassment on campus . . . As a university that likes to think of itself as an epicenter of the 1960s student free speech movement, Madison needs a short history lesson before it tramples students’ free speech . . . Given the tenacity with which students have challenged UW-Madison policies in court over the years, the administration would do well by treading carefully with their new campaign.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “I’ve taken a particular interest in the pro-life activities of Canadian students in recent years because of the bravery and commitment these students display in the face of unbearable restrictions on their speech. I’ve also warned that if we do not zealously protect our freedom of speech in America, then pro-life students here will begin to encounter the same restrictions as their friends north of the boarder. But only recently have I realized how similar we’ve become. Events this month at Carleton University in Ontario are strikingly similar not only to our video series about Hanna, but also to our case involving Rock for Life at University of Maryland, Baltimore County.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “Last night, the ADF Center for Academic Freedom filed a Petition for Rehearing or Rehearing En Banc with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Jonathan Lopez’s case against the Los Angeles Community College District. (The ADF press release is here.) On September 17, 2010, a panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that Mr. Lopez did not have legal standing to challenge LACCD’s speech code, even though a professor, administrator and two students threatened Lopez with punishment under the code.”

OneNewsNow: “A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a California college student who claims a professor violated his free-speech rights when he stopped him from finishing his speech defining marriage as between one man and one woman . . . ‘Jonathan went through all of this; [he] experienced all these deprivations of his First Amendment right to speak freely when given the opportunity to do so, yet the Ninth Circuit is saying he can’t challenge the policies under which the college acted to suppress his speech,’ laments Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney [David Hacker].”

ADF Attorney David J. Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “In a disappointing setback for college student free speech, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled late Friday that Jonathan Lopez does not have standing to challenge the Los Angeles Community College District’s speech code on its face (ADF represents Mr. Lopez) . . . Despite the fact that Lopez must comply with the harassment policy at all times on campus, the Ninth Circuit ruled that he did not have legal standing to pursue his challenge to the facial overbreadth of the policy. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling creates a circuit split with the Third Circuit, which ruled in McCauley v. University of the Virgin Islands (August 2010) that a college student could challenge the facial validity of his university’s speech code even though the code was never applied to silence his speech and even though the student admitted he did not want to engage in the speech restricted by code.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education: “A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a case brought by a Los Angeles City College student whose Speech 101 professor shouted him down and called him a ‘fascist bastard’ while he was giving a presentation about his Christian faith . . . [David J. Hacker], a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which helped bring the lawsuit, said the decision could have chilling effects on student speech nationwide. Policies like the one Mr. Lopez challenged, which apply to students any time they are on the institution’s campus, “lead to students’ believing they can speak less,” he said.”

Daily Illini: “‘We’re extremely pleased that Dr. Howell is back in the classroom and will be teaching this fall,’ said David Hacker, litigation staff counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which has been providing support for Howell since his dismissal.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “[A] Lopez ruling may give us some insight into the Ninth Circuit’s view of the Prop 8 decision, which has been appealed to that court. After all, the cases bear several similarities . . . In defending the professor’s actions, the College argued that some speech and beliefs do not merit constitutional protection. Similarly, in Perry, the plaintiffs argued that the votes or speech of 7 million Californians should not count because their beliefs are rooted in prejudice . . . Second, in Lopez, the professor silenced the student’s ability to speak. In Perry, the plaintiffs argued and the court ruled that the People of California cannot exercise their rights to speak and vote by supporting a definition of marriage that is millennia old . . . If the Ninth Circuit properly rejects the College’s argument and holds that Lopez has the right to speak freely on campus about his religious beliefs, no matter how much some may disagree with them, then the court might – and should – extend that logic to Perry and hold that citizens of a state have a right to define marriage as they wish, no matter who disagrees with it.”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “Susan Herbst posits in Inside Higher Education that colleges can do a better job of managing student incivility through education about civil discourse and the creation of new civility policies . . . Colleges can do a better job of encouraging students to engage in civil discourse. But civility codes are not the answer.”

The News-Gazette: “[David Hacker], a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Foundation representing the professor, said he didn’t know the status of the Newman negotiations. ‘He hasn’t made a decision yet on the University of Illinois offer, but we fully expect he’ll teaching in the classroom in the fall,’ Hacker said.”

ADF attorney David Hacker appeared on Relevant Radio, the Drew Mariani Show, to discuss this: Fired U of I professor vindicated, will again be allowed to teach Catholicism class. | MP3 16:44 mins

The News Gazette: “‘We’re extremely pleased that Dr. Howell is back in the classroom,’ said [David Hacker], an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘But we’ll be watching carefully to make sure his academic freedom is protected through this ongoing process.’”

Chicago Sun-Times: “‘We’re extremely pleased that Dr. Howell is back in the classroom,’ [David Hacker] said. ‘But we’ll be watching carefully to make sure his academic freedom is protected through this ongoing process.’”

California Watch: “The Los Angeles Community College District is trying to use the Hastings ruling to bolster its defense in a speech code case, in which a college professor mocked a student who was speaking about his Christian faith in class . . . [David Hacker], an attorney for Alliance Defense Fund who is representing Jonathan Lopez, responded with a letter of his own, saying the college district had misinterpreted the Hastings ruling.”

Daily Illini: “‘We’re extremely pleased that Dr. Howell is back in the classroom and will be teaching this fall,’ said [David Hacker], litigation staff counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which has been providing support for Howell since his dismissal.”

ADF Attorney David J. Hacker, writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “The University’s letter warns that Dr. Howell may not ‘violate the Constitutional principles precluding the “establishment of religion” in a public university context.’ It seems the University has not yet learned its lesson. No one alleged that Dr. Howell violated that principle or ever intended to. Yet the University’s warning invites viewpoint discrimination and further violations of academic freedom. The University must respect the right of faculty to speak freely in the classroom. Further, the University’s Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure intends to review the University’s actions to determine if it violated Dr. Howell’s academic freedom. We are confident the Committee will find in favor of Dr. Howell.”

Bryan Berry writes at the National Catholic Register: “Some of the professors teaching Islam are practicing Muslims. But unlike the Muslims, who also believe that homosexual sex is wrong, Howell was ‘penalized for believing in what he’s teaching,’ said [David Hacker], litigation staff counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom, which is defending Howell . . . Although the issue that led to Howell’s dismissal was Church teaching on homosexual sex and Howell’s belief in that teaching, Howell, the Alliance Defense Fund and many of Howell’s supporters have been taking their stand on another principle: freedom of speech, protected by the First Amendment, and academic freedom.”

OneNewsNow: “‘Here we have a student trying to silence a professor under the guise of being — quote — “offended,” whatever that means, and the professor was simply doing her job,’ notes attorney [David Hacker] of the Alliance Defense fund (ADF), the legal alliance representing Sheldon.” | ADF News Release

Evangelical Examiner: “‘Professors shouldn’t be fired simply for doing their jobs as educators. Professionally addressing both sides of an academic issue according to the class curriculum is not grounds for dismissal; it’s what a professor is supposed to do,’ said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel [David J. Hacker].”

ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “So while the District promised freedom, it still wanted the right to censor and punish faculty for speech it disliked. This is a dangerous position that all faculty should be concerned about, lest they fall into the same trap as Professor Sheldon. The court rejected the District’s Garcetti arguments, refused to dismiss the case, and held that ‘a teacher’s instructional speech is protected by the First Amendment.’ This is one of a handful of rulings nationwide that addresses Garcetti in the classroom and will provide protection to many faculty in the future. Professor Sheldon stood courageously to protect her First Amendment rights in the college classroom. The settlement pays her $100,000 and exonerates her teaching record. But the District’s unwillingness to embrace its proclamations of academic freedom is yet another example of the underlying hostility to free speech in the Academy.” | ADF News Release

San Francisco Chronicle: “A San Jose community college district has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a free-speech lawsuit by a professor who was fired after allegedly telling students that male homosexuality is caused by stress during pregnancy and that true lesbians don’t exist. … ‘Professors shouldn’t be fired simply for doing their jobs,’ said attorney [David Hacker] of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian conservative organization that represented Sheldon.” | ADF News Release

Mercury News: “A San Jose City College professor fired for classroom comments about the origins of homosexuality will get $100,000 from the school in a legal settlement announced Thursday. … ‘Professors shouldn’t be fired simply for doing their jobs as educators,’ ADF litigation staff counsel [David J. Hacker] said Thursday. ‘Professionally addressing both sides of an academic issue according to the class curriculum is not grounds for dismissal; it’s what a professor is supposed to do.’” | ADFmedia.org Sheldon v. Dhillon resource page

LifeSiteNews: “‘While he continues to hold his appointment as adjunct professor, that title is virtually meaningless if he has no classes to teach,’ wrote ADF attorney David Hacker in a letter to UIUC. The attorney also expressed suspicion that the promised ‘review’ of Howell’s censure could be skewed by prejudice among UIUC administration: according to correspondence published by the Champaign News-Gazette, Ann Mester, associate dean for UIUC’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, told the head of UIUC’s Religion Department that she believed Howell’s emails ‘violate university standards of inclusivity, which would then entitle us to have him discontinue his teaching arrangement with us.’”