Goward rules in favor of Insurgent
ASUO Programs Administrator and Bureaucrat David Goward today announced that he has ruled against the “Students of Faith,” a group created “in response to the recent escalation of religious intolerance at the” UO. Their basic contention is that the Student Insurgent published images and articles which slandered Jesus Christ and that this somehow violates school policy. Goward rightly points out that the publication of offensive images does not affect any student’s educational or professional access:
The Student Insurgent did not practice discrimination. Although students may have been offended by the content, no privileges or opportunities were denied to any incidental fee paying student through the publication of the Student Insurgent. Nor did publication affect a student’s ability to practice her or his religion.
Goward also touches on Southworth:
Decisions regarding awarding incidental fee revenues to and use of incidental fees by student groups must be viewpoint neutral as cited in Soutworth v. University of Wisconsin “We conclude that the University of Wisconsin may sustain the extracurricular dimensions of its programs by using mandatory student fees with viewpoint neutrality as the operational principle.” Except to determine if the publication contributes the physical and cultural development of students, decisions regarding award of incidental fee revenues may not be based on content.
Overall it’s a good, well-written decision. (A 42k .pdf of the ruling can be found here)
