‘A Win for All Viewpoints’: Georgia Tech Will No Longer Deny Funds for Events Based on Speakers’ Views
Dr. Alveda King speaks during a rally for the Little Sisters of The Poor outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2016.
Georgia Institute of Technology’s student government will no longer deny funds for events based on speakers’ views, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom.
The Students For Life chapter at the school and others filed a lawsuit after The Student Government Association rejected their funds request for an event with Dr. Alveda King, according to an Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) news release from April 1.
The university agreed to amend its funding policies as part of a settlement, according to another ADF news release from Thursday. The school also agreed to pay $50,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees.
“The First Amendment guarantees of free expression are an essential cornerstone to the advancement of knowledge. Georgia Tech is pleased with the policies, as they reflect our commitment to upholding these important principles,” according to a Georgia Tech statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
BREAKING: Georgia Tech student group’s lawsuit prompts end to discrimination against MLK’s niece
ADF attorneys represent Students for Life club denied funding to sponsor Alveda King event because she is ‘inherently religious’ like her uncle
Read more: https://t.co/P0wEWfKYMo pic.twitter.com/LBD41qTacZ
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) September 10, 2020
ADF Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton said, “Georgia Tech’s previous policy allowed discrimination against Ms. King because she was accused of leading an ‘inherently religious’ life. Under such a standard, MLK himself would not be welcome on campus,” according to the release.
He told the DCNF, “We are happy with the result. The students should never have had to go through this in the first place. These policies should never have been implemented that were used to deny our clients funding, but Students For Life is happy that the policy’s now been changed.”
“This is a win for free speech for everybody on campus, this is a win for all viewpoints,” he added. “Universities should be the marketplace of ideas and they should be encouraging more speech, not shutting down minority viewpoints.”
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