The Court’s decision to reject ASU’s lawsuit confirms the importance of holding open organizations responsible for actions that violate legal rights, according to the attorney.
A traditional professor’s lawsuit challenging Arizona State University’s” Diverse Communities” faculty training may resume, a judge recently ruled, prompting school officials to then get relief from the country’s court of appeals in an attempt to dismiss the case.
ASU’s vocal Christian conservative doctor Owen Anderson filed the lawsuit last spring, alleging that the school’s mandated diversity, equity, and inclusion training violates a 2022 state laws prohibiting people from undergoing training that “presents any form of blame or view on the basis of…
The Arizona Board of Regents responded by arguing in court documents that the training is not required and does not blame white men for their actions. However, Anderson has screenshots that show that the teaching is described as necessary and includes concepts like white privilege and white power.
The College Fix repeatedly contacted ASU’s media relations division, but they refused to respond.
The University claims in a court filing that “employees are encouraged to discuss and openly question the concepts and ideas contained within” and are permitted to object to them. The university claims that the training does not violate the law.
Campus leaders also claim the training is not mandatory, arguing it is a “request” and” ASU has not disciplined any faculty, staff, or other employee ( including Anderson ) for failing to view or complete any aspect of the Inclusive Communities training”.
ASU’s defense resulted in a loss in its effort to have the case dismissed. According to the Phoenix New Times, in late December, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian denied a motion to dismiss the case.
The Goldwater Institute, which represents Anderson, is represented by an attorney named Stacy Skankey, who stated to The College Fix that the” court’s decision rejecting ASU’s attempt to dismiss the case affirms the importance of holding public institutions accountable for policies that violate constitutional rights.”
“…This is a crucial step forward in our fight against ASU’s discriminatory DEI regime and vindicating Owen Anderson’s rights”, she said via email. We can now proceed with our case to make sure that all ASU faculty and staff are exempt from requiring training that would impose ideological conformity.
She added that she disagrees with the Arizona Board of Regents ‘ decision to challenge the ruling.
” ABOR’s motion to stay is improper at this time”, Skankey told The Fix. This appears to be a delay in avoiding the discovery phase of litigation, which also deprives Professor Anderson of additional details about the Inclusive Communities training that he is entitled to. We intend to move this case forward and oppose the motion.
Anderson claims that the training would require him to accept that white heterosexuals are inherently racist. The” Inclusive Communities” module also includes an exam at the end, with” correct” answers, of which Anderson said he believes he should not have to agree with.
In response to ASU’s defense, Anderson claimed that campus leaders are basically saying they did not break any laws because it is not their intention to hold anyone accountable for injustices, and they do this right right away at the start of the training.
Anderson expressed his disapproval of this as absurd and illogical in his Substack, adding that he could picture attorneys brainstorming a solution for a room full of lawyers.
” Well, after discussing different approaches, one of them says,’ How about this? How about stating that we can say whatever we want in the training because we started the DEI training with a disclaimer telling employees not to feel blamable? The room’s consultants nod their heads. I like it!’ one of them says”.
The Arizona Board of Regents assert in their response to Anderson’s complaint that ASU’s goal is to create a welcoming environment for students from all walks of life, not to make anyone feel unwelcome as a result of who they are or what they believe.
An ASU spokesperson told KJZZ Phoenix,” The lawsuit brought by the Goldwater Institute is false and without merit.” ASU trains all faculty members in its stead of promoting diversity and student success across all levels. The Goldwater Institute lawsuit deceives the court and makes false statements about the training’s content and requirements in an attempt to make an argument that doesn’t fall under the law.
In addition, ASU requests employees to confirm their review of the required materials for each section in the response.
Additionally, the response denies that any of the exam’s answers are” correct” in any way other than the most accurate reflection of the training material among other answer choices.
Overall, the main defenses against the allegations are that” ASU neither treats, nor advances education or training that encourages treating, individual persons or groups of people differently from each other based on their demographic or immutable characteristics, such as race or national origin, nor does the training for Inclusive Communities present, encourage, or require any form of “blame or judgment.”
MORE: Conservative professor sues ASU over its mandatory DEI training
IMAGE: Owen Anderson
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