Posted on 02/01/2018 5:31:30 AM PST by MarvinStinson
Kellogg Community College (KCC) has agreed to pay $55,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by two students who were arrested for handing out pocket Constitutions on campus.
According to a press release from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the students, KCC agreed to pay damages and attorneys’ fees, but will not admit to any wrongdoing.
As Campus Reform reported just over one year ago, a KCC student and two other conservative activists were arrested by campus police after spending two to three hours recruiting for the school’s Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) chapter, during which they handed out pocket Constitutions to passersby.
KCC originally accused the activists—Leadership Institute employee and Stanford student Nathan Berning; Issac Edikauskas, vice president of Michigan State YAL; and Shelly Gregoire, president of Kellogg YAL—of failing to fill out the proper forms needed to “solicit” on campus.
KCC will only pay $15,000 of the settlement, while the rest will be covered by the college’s insurance policy. Gregoire will receive $7,000, with the remaining $48,000 going toward ADF attorneys’ fees.
In addition to the monetary awards, KCC also agreed to grant “provisional recognition” to the KCC YAL chapter for 12 months, and to revise its “Freedom of Expression Policy” to clarify that demonstrations such as the one that led to this case are permissible.
Eric Greene, KCC’s director of Public Information & Marketing, told Campus Reform that the settlement is not to be construed as an admission of any wrongdoing, adding that the school has already made some revisions to its policies regarding free speech.
According to the school’s website, the KCC Board of Trustees decided in August 2017 to adopt a new Freedom of Expression policy, which “makes it clear that any individual or group can engage in non-commercial expressive activities, including speeches, demonstrations, vigils, and the distribution of informational materials, in common areas on the campus during periods that the College facilities are open to the general public.”
The Board subsequently adopted “minor revisions” to that policy on January 17 as part of the settlement agreement.
“Once again, Alliance Defending Freedom successfully represented student victims of outrageous leftist abuses on campus,” said Morton Blackwell, President of the Leadership Institute. “This battle should not have had to be fought, but perhaps now fewer school administrators will try to trample free speech rights on campus.”
“It’s astounding that college officials would arrest people for distributing the Constitution, the very document that protects their right to free expression,” remarked ADF Legal Counsel Travis Barham.
“All public colleges have a duty to protect and promote the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech,” he noted. “It’s a shame that it took this much time and a federal court’s rebuke for Kellogg Community College to come to its senses, realize that these arrests were wrong, and finally agree to respect students’ constitutionally protected freedoms.”
They should have refused to settle until the college ‘admitted wrongdoing’...$55k is a pittance to them, what’s to prevent them from doing it again, or worse, since they didn’t do anything wrong?
No do it again tomorrow.
Students arrested for passing out US Constitutions on Kellogg Community College Campus
YOUTUBE Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OnIuRetVb4
Where is this college ?
They should hand them out on Capitol Hill.
Battle Creek, Michigan.
Michigan
Later
Things are heating up...
As part of the settlement, all liberal arts professors associated with the community college should be required to write “Make America Great Again” 1000 times.
Kellogg Community College
Battle Creek, Michigan
We develop students who can think critically, communicate effectively, and demonstrate global awareness.
We advocate lifelong learning, providing educational and cultural opportunities that result in personal growth and development.
Vision
Kellogg Community College will be recognized as a premier institution of higher education, having achieved excellence through innovation, quality instruction, a culture of continuous improvement, and learner-centered decision making.
We support an environment that values:
Positive relationships with students, employers, our staff, and the community
Diversity
Personal and professional integrity, and accountability
Kellog Community College is truly run by Corny Flakes. LOL.
Kellogg Community College (KCC)=new logo=(KKK)
“Diversity”
I hate what the Loonie Left has done to the meaning of words in the English language.
Things that are kryptonite to despicable leftists. The Bible, US flag, Trump MAGA hats and the US Constitution. We need more of these things in a yuuuuge way.
Not an admission of “wrongdoing” - right - heck, I want to be around the next time they’re handing out 5 figure checks just for hoots and grins.
The college got off cheap. Blacks resisting arrest have gotten wealthy off of sweetheart lawsuits.2
Lawyers got $48,000 out of the $55,000?!
Like slave owners of the past the collage forbids “unguided” study of these documents by their subjects for fear it might actual cause them to think something their leaders don’t want thought about the true spectrum of their freedom.
Leftist totaltarian intolerant never changes they just create new plantation to dominate and enslave the population to themselves.
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