Something New - A Lawsuit Against Our Campus

This month I have something heavier on my mind, and I want to ask for your help and support.

Some of you may have caught this in the news, but the FOCUS student organization at UTD (which is led by student officers and is legally separate from FOCUS, Inc. that I work for) has decided to join a group of plaintiffs (including journalistic, religious, musical, and political student groups) in a lawsuit against our campus and the UT System. At issue is the enforcement of a new Texas law that leaves the university very little wiggle room in cracking down on first amendment rights on campus. Many news outlets have covered this, but you can read what the Student Newspaper at UTD (also a plaintiff) has to say here: "We're Suing the UT System. Here's Why."

The Campus Protection Act (also known as SB2972) is a response by our legislature to the disruptive pro-Palestinian protests on campuses in late 2023 and early 2024. I believe this bill is an overreaction that takes away the fundamental rights of conservative and Christian students far more than it would prevent rare protests that may get out of hand. 

While there are some commonsense provisions included, the law ultimately removes First Amendment rights on campus from anyone who isn't a student or employee (even from those auditing classes or working on a contract basis), even though the campuses are publicly funded areas. It takes away First Amendment rights from 10pm to 8am every day from everyone--one of its biggest problems, especially on college campuses where students often finish classes at 9:45pm and then start their extracurricular activities! It further takes those rights away for two full weeks at the end of every semester, six weeks per year total. This includes forbidding student groups and even professors from having guest speakers of any kind on campus during those weeks. The Bill of Rights was not designed in such a way that the government can take our rights away for long, arbitrary lengths of time when they aren't infringing on anyone else's rights in any discernible way.

This law was also rushed through at the end of the legislative session, cancelling all opportunities for public comment, so we didn't even hear about it until it had already passed the Senate and was a day or two away from passing in the House. 

Public universities and colleges are not known for protecting the free speech rights of conservative or Christian students--quite the opposite! And this law, while it may have been well-intended, gives campus administrators many new tools to silence or end Christian communities on campus as well as the power to block all pastors from campus. How far they will go in enforcing it remains to be seen.

Will you join me in praying for the protection of our Christian students' rights on campus as this lawsuit proceeds?

Additionally, if this concerns you as much as it does me and you live in Texas, will you consider contacting your state senator and representative about how this law could be used to hinder the Christian message on campuses? You can find out who they are here.