Individuals ‘ claims of stance bias are dismissed by the court.
University of Minnesota individuals may be forced to compensate for minority-only” social centers”, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled lately.
According to the court’s ruling, University of Minnesota individuals are required to pay a fee to access the student union, which houses many student companies, including nine” social locations.” These centers are reserved exclusively for students of specific demographics or ideologies, such as the Queer Student Cultural Center, Asian-American Student Union, Feminist Student Activist Collective, and the Black Student Union.
A student group is running Viewpoint Neutrality Now! sued the university for viewpoint discrimination. The organization claimed that the university preferred the viewpoints of cultural centers over other enrolled student organizations.
The lawsuit also contended the university’s process for allocating lounge space gave “unbridled discretion” to university officials, allowing them to make decisions without clear guidelines, which could lead to unconstitutional suppression of free speech.
The plaintiffs claimed that the university discriminates based on viewpoint because it does not give all registered student organizations a space in the student union. Rather,” the University affirmatively prefers the views expressed by those chosen]clubs], therefore, the logic goes, the University is engaging in viewpoint discrimination by providing the lounge space to these]clubs ] each year”, the ruling stated, summarizing the claims.
The judges decided that the university’s use of space for cultural centers was based more on status than viewpoint.
However, VNN’s lawyer Erick Kaardal, who serves as special counsel at the Thomas More Society, told Just the News status discrimination is” just as much a violation of the First Amendment” as viewpoint discrimination.
The court ultimately determined that “nothing indicates that the University chose the nine cultural centers ( or excluded other RS Os ) based on their ‘ specific motivating ideolog]ies ] or the]ir ] opinion or perspective,'” according to court documents.
In 2021, the Eighth Circuit upheld the University of Minnesota’s case after conservative students filed a lawsuit alleging viewpoint suppression.
As previously reported by The College Fix, the university required the students to host Ben Shapiro of The Daily Wire at a smaller venue than other speakers were typically permitted.
MORE: Judge concerned by’ unbridled discretion’ of university officials ,
IMAGE: Annastills/Canva Pro
Follow The College Fix on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
