Pro-lifers Offensive at Wright State University

Source: Citizens for Community Values

Fairborn, OH - September 22, 2017  (The Ponder News) -- University administrators at Wright State University have a problem.
A student group put up images and a display in the Quad that was so offensive, vile, and dangerous in the minds of these administrators that they had to send a warning out to all students.

“Members of our community who are uncomfortable with viewing these images may want to avoid the Quad area during this time. Furthermore, if you need support or wish to talk with someone, you are encouraged to visit our Counseling and Wellness Center” wrote Dr. Gary Dickstein, Interim Vice President of Student Affairs. “The staff in the Women’s Center will also be available.”

Anyone who spends time on a college campus today knows that offensive and graphic displays aren’t necessarily unusual. But a campus-wide warning like is something I’ve never seen before.
So what was happening that is so offensive and traumatizing that it called for such a dire warning?

Pro-life students were handing out literature on abortion.

As Dr. Dickstein wrote “Wright State University has received notification that a group of approximately 10 individuals from the organization Create Equality will erect an anti-abortion display and hand out literature on the Dayton Campus on Wednesday, September 20. The display is scheduled to be on the Quad from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They have informed the university that they plan to bring large 4X3 placards that contain very graphic images.” (emphasis from Dickstein)
Apparently to Dr. Dickstein, at a school of more than 12,000 students, 10 students wanting to discuss the realities of abortion requires the student body be put on notice.

This is one of the most embarrassing messages I’ve ever seen from a university. Only an institution that is steeped in liberal ideology would think that a pro-life display would cause such serious trauma to the student body.

Thankfully we have leaders in Ohio calling out this absurd move by the University, like Rep. Niraj Antani who called out Dr. Dickstein in the Dayton Daily News.
It’s wrong for a university to send a message like this out to students, singling out pro-life speech. It’s insidious and coercive. Do they send out similar messages when pro-abortion students walk around with uterus hats on their heads? Do they send out messages like this during Pride parades that often have people walking around naked? I highly doubt it.

Yet students merely trying to show the realities of abortion warrant putting the campus on alert.

Ohio students deserve better.

CCV SUPPORTS GOODMAN/BRENNER CAMPUS FREE SPEECH ACT

Source: Citizens for Community Values

Columbus, OH - September 3, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Citizens for Community Values, an Ohio Christian advocacy group that defends free speech and religious freedom, participated in a press conference held by Ohio State Representatives Wesley Goodman & Andrew Brenner today announcing their intention to introduce the Campus Free Speech Act. The proposal will protect the free speech rights of students on public universities throughout Ohio.

According to research conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which maintains an exhaustive list of incidents of free speech violations on campus, “freedom of speech is under continuous threat at many of America’s campuses, pushed aside in favor of politics, comfort, or simply a desire to avoid controversy.”

“Colleges and universities are supposed to be the marketplace for ideas,” said Aaron Baer, President of Citizens for Community Values. “Unfortunately, throughout the country, many students and student organizations are not given the opportunity to participate in open and honest discussion. The Campus Free Speech Act ensures all university speech codes respect the first amendment rights of Ohio students.”

According to FIRE’s ratings, 11 universities in Ohio have speech codes that restrict protected expression or, by virtue of their vague wording, could too easily be used to restrict protected expression. One university has codes that clearly and substantially restrict freedom of speech.

The Campus Free Speech Act restates and codifies a student’s right to “engage in free expression.” It guarantees to members of the campus community, “clear, content neutral rules for conduct of expression.” The bill requires public universities to adopt and promulgate a policy saying, “it is not the proper role of a state institution of higher education to shield individuals from expression.”

The Campus Free Speech act also codifies current Constitutional free speech law by limiting the university’s authority to segregate expression from certain places and audiences. It specifically states that “Offense or irritation taken to the content of speech shall not be considered an actionable harm under any circumstances.”