Georgia’s Kennesaw State University is not exactly the first school that you would think of when you think of the state. It is not a high-flying sports power, nor is it a huge intellectual powerhouse. It is, however, an example. Two lawsuits that have been levied against the school are beginning to make waves around the industry of education. Is the university discriminating against conservative students?
The two lawsuits, which are both political in scope, have caused quite a stir at KSU and in the Georgia education system. The University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley has requested that KSU conduct an internal audit of its student affairs department. This review is meant to have a certain outcome, because the chancellor also requested that a corrective plan be implemented concerning that department.
Chancellor Wrigley wrote a letter to KSU demanding action on March 8. In the letter, he stated an expectation to see corrective action by March 16.
The Georgia legislature seems to be backing up the University System of Georgia. Rep. Earl Ehrhart, serving as the chairman of the state House of Representatives higher education appropriations subcommittee, used similar language concerning an audit of KSU’s student affairs department. Rep. Ehrhart went farther than Chancellor Wrigley, stating directly that the KSU student affairs department “was biased against conservative groups on campus.”
Rep. Ehrhart is a longstanding Republican who has also brought down the hammer on how KSU investigates sexual assault charges, and even gone to bat for the flag when some KSU cheerleaders took a knee during athletic games last year, obsequiously copying disgraced professional quarterback Colin Kapernick.
KSU is being sued twice by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which specializes in cases that concern freedom of religion, although it does branch out into other areas of the law when warranted. Its first case against KSU was on behalf of Radio Christi, a fully legal KSU club that is based around sharing the Word of God on campus. KSU allegedly refused the club a preferential space for a pro-life display on campus, even after repeated requests. KSU finally relented and gave the group a space in a less conspicuous location. KSU officials are also on record as referring to the pro-life display as “controversial.”
Aren’t college kids old enough to make their own decisions about what is controversial to them? This is not to even touch on the subject that life is now considered a controversial topic. I wonder if KSU staffers would call an R-rated movie showcasing murder “controversial.” Probably not, seeing as they play them quite openly in student common areas on a nearly daily basis.
Two weeks after the ADF brought this case, they had reason to sue KSU again. This time, the lawsuit was brought on behalf of a student organization known as the Young Americans for Freedom. This student group, which also leans conservative, wanted to bring Katie Pavlich, a well known Fox News commentator, to a speaking event on campus. KSU allegely levied extra security fees on the club for the license to hold the event, charging the cash strapped club an extra $320 for questionable reasons.
Rep. Ehrhart and the University System of Georgia are not the only entities that have noticed something afoul when it comes to conservative student groups and university administrators. Senate Bill 339, which has already passed the Senate, directly addresses many recent events of conservative speakers being interrupted on college campuses by rowdy, disruptive liberal student activists.
KSU found inconsistencies in the way that it staffs its student affairs division, and it also found bias within its RSO ranking system. The RSO ranking system classifies students groups into four tiers. Those in the higher tiers receive more privileges on campus. One group, the LGBTQ group, is esteemed so highly on campus that it actually has a presence on the official KSU website. The LGBTQ is funded by liberals. The university also officially funded pamplets instructing students and visitors on campus on how to properly use gender neutral pronouns. This was done from the liberal-funded LGBTQ Resource Center on campus.
~ Conservative Zone
All of this PC stuff has gotten out of control, and my best guess is that students, like the ones at this school, would be the ones who were coddled as children, and given everything their little hearts desired, while they were growing up, so once they graduated High School, they felt they were “entitled” to make the rules for these “click groups” at College, and everyone else should listen to them, or else!! Just like David Hogg!! What they all need is a good whack up the sides of their heads, or perhaps to be taken behind the shed for a good beating that they missed growing up!! When that’s done, then the Parents need to be taken behind the shed as well, for raising such idiots for kids!! These Parents don’t realize what fools they have raised, and the Teachers, although having a small part in it, are not paid to raise your kids for you. That’s YOUR job!! Even though many of you both work to survive, you should have thought about that before you brought kids into this world. Kids are work, and you can’t just let them loose to fend for themselves — especially when they hit about 9 or 10. Our Country is in BIG trouble if you don’t start talking to them NOW and straighten things out, unless you’re that far gone yourself!!!!
We need more groups willing to stand up to the Universities and colleges. The bias is replacing actual learning. If there were more watchdog groups and lawsuits, you would start to see the academic climate change back to being a learning institution and not just a place to pamper these so-called students.
How sad that any university that receives federal and state funds will not allow all possible political points of view to be shared without prejudice. Speaking of that, would a Liberterian be allowed to speak on campus? Just wonderin’.
I Keep forgetting that students are still teenagers and our universities still don’t get what life liberty and the pursuit of happiness means. Those three words are not one sided.
In a nutshell our founding fathers ended the document with this one sentence. “And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Our education institution should not behave like a video game and see how we/they can destroy one another.
Its time for all colleges and universities that take any amount of tax $ to be stringently required to follow equal opportunity for Conservatives as well as Liberals and those professors who down grade any student based on political views must be made to compoly fully or be discharged !
Don’t sue them withdraw from that college – colleges like all businesses need money to operate cut their money off.
And KSU is a state supported university managed by unbiased administrators? If I had students at KSU I would pull them out and choose a better institution of higher education that respects all its students and understands human anatomy and the Bible, not oppose both.
It’s about time these KSU libs are getting their due. They need to be fined big dollars so this kind of bias never happens again. If I read this correctly, the LGBTQ community is being promoted on their website and school funds are paying for pamplets. Once again, the few are being rewarded and the many are being demonized. KSU needs to be hit where it hurts – in their pocketbooks!
Nothing new here. I believe to this day I was penalized a letter grade in a course at Chapel Hill in about 1961 because I expressed my conservative ideas, objecting to the liberal rants of the professor.
It’s time the Conservative Students stood up and fought for their rights. The left has pushed their agenda, have bullied and attacked anyone who doesn’t agree with them. Time to deal strongly with this mob rule and put the leftist Universities on notice that their biased and left leaning behavior will NOT BE TOLERATED!!
Parents are part of the problem. What have they taught their children? These leftist young adults don’t get this way overnight. We need to know what they have been taught in grades 1 through 12. They are being taught today that they can change their sex!
The first effective step is to get rid of all liberal, communist judges and politicians.
It is good to read that a State is actually cracking down on these communist and perverted university officials. Our tax dollars should never be spent to support these anti-American traitors and their political agendas, so public universities need to either be reformed or defunded. Let the communist professors and their supporters pay for their activism and their America hating agenda. Not one dime of tax money should go to these traitors and the institutions that they control. Not one decent American parent should send their children to one of these perverted universities.
Right. Lawsuits. So the Lawyers get richer, and we all get poorer. Why not simply withdraw from the school, and ask for a refund?
John, yours is a fair question. I thought about it too, because I have no love for lawyers either. But I think a re-balancing is essential. Our universities and colleges are training Marxist social justice warriors, who were just children a couple of years ago.
The main problem is that virtually all colleges (with some major exceptions) are highly liberal and in my opinion “deformed” by it. If you don’t have much of a choice, than that must flavor the discussion here. Enter the lawyers. It finally gets their attention. I support the suit, even though I usually detest lawyers.
sanjosemike (no longer in CA)
Sometimes lawyers and lawsuits are necessary to “get their attention.” This is one of those circumstances. Aside from a few luminaries, most colleges and universities (with the exception of their stem programs) are training kids to be Marxist social justice warriors, and charging us a FORTUNE to undermine this County.
It’s not so easy to pick another college, as nearly all have been infected with this virus.
sanjosemike (no longer in CA)
I don’t understand why KSU gave either group problems.
The only thing I agree with is the university charging an appropriate security fee, to all groups, based on reasonable cause, past experience, and other similar events elsewhere.
No view should be restricted, much less prohibited.