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)
May 16th, 2006 at 7:34 am
“If you start suspending publications because you don’t like what they said, then that leads to the dictatorship and kind of things Russia used to do that we hated so much, supposedly.”
So says collective member Don Goldman, whom you may remember from such controversies as “Let’s Defund The Commentator ‘05!”
For some reason, he seems to have had a change of heart since then. Oh well: you live and learn, I suppose.
May 16th, 2006 at 8:35 am
The Collective: Squandering teachable moments since 1984!
May 16th, 2006 at 9:29 am
This is completely different, Olly. I mean c’mon man.
May 16th, 2006 at 11:13 am
As an aside: what is up with the ODE’s new website? I like it even less than I liked the other one.
May 16th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
When will they learn that to really get results, they need to riot?
May 16th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
Christians!
You have nothing to lose but your chains!
May 19th, 2006 at 8:41 am
[…] And just yesterday, the ASUO once against ruled in favor of the Insurgent, by turning down the “Students of Faith” group’s grievance. […]
May 19th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
What I would love to see is the insurgent would have some ‘fun’ with Mohammed or Budda. That would just be a blast. You wouldn’t be pissed off, you’d wet your undies.
May 19th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Get it through your thick, neanderthal skulls: The Commentator is not, has never been, and will never be, The Insurgent.
Are you dumb because you watch “The Factor” or do you watch “The Factor” because you’re dumb?
May 22nd, 2006 at 9:34 pm
Intolerance is a two way street. The insurgent is obviously run by pinheads who similar to young children, relish attention from nervous adults who snicker at profanity oozing out of innocent mouths. Pitiful, sad, dangerous, and an insult to the Veterans who died so these jerks can rape civility and decency under the guise of freedom of speech. Let’s see them denigrate Allah with impunity. Their day is definitely coming.