College bans Passion of the Christ

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education ^ | 1/14/2005

[ArcLight]

Florida’s Indian River Community College (IRCC) is engaging in a campaign of repression against a Christian student group for attempting to show Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ on campus. In November 2004, the college banned the Christian Student Fellowship (CSF) from showing the film because it was R-rated, despite the fact that the college has hosted a live performance entitled “F**king for Jesus” that describes simulated sex with “the risen Christ.” CSF students report that after their group wrote President Edwin R. Massey in protest, administrators pulled group leaders out of class and, astoundingly, demanded an apology from them for their actions. Now, CSF is unable even to officially meet because its advisor resigned after IRCC imposed a burdensome new policy requiring that faculty advisors attend all student group meetings.

“IRCC’s assault on CSF must end immediately,” declared David French, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which wrote to IRCC on behalf of CSF. “Not only has the college adopted a breathtaking double standard for expression, but it has also abused administrative power in the worst way. As a public institution bound by the First Amendment, IRCC has no right to ban either the movie or the play, and it is shameful to demand an apology from students for trying to preserve their constitutional rights. IRCC’s arbitrary and authoritarian actions demonstrate that the college has no respect for its students or for the U.S. Constitution.”

[Hegemony Cricket]

Just when you thought the abuse of the faithful couldn't get any worse...

[sassbox]

college students can't watch R-rated movies? Could these censors at least try to come up with some excuse better than that??

[Free and Armed]

Oh no, it could get a lot worse. This is nothing compared to what's going on in China, and no country is immune from it. This is pretty asinine though.

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[austinmark]

Liberal academia is, largely, anti-God. We know it's no secret. Liberals hate Christianity and conservative Bible believing Christians. AND Groups such as CSF, are persona non grata on campus of liberal academia. Liberals are extremely intolerant of Christianity, And IT is their number one enemy above all other enemies.
Liberals speak often of tolerance, rave about it, harp about it, but they only tolerate THEIR Liberal ideas. It seems to be their life goal that Christianity must be eliminated, so as their ideology can be moved forward, unimpeded.
They need to Fight this, this is a good battle to take on.
Hopefully they will get in touch with the ACLJ .( american center for law & justice )

[Red6]

You have no right to privacy.

People should be responsible for their actions and words (Including the media).

All those in "F*&ING FOR JESUS" need their names and faces posted on the World Wide Web.

Words have meaning.

Red6

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[King Prout]

wow.

[ijcr]

The Dean of IRCC is and always has been a facilitator of improper behavior especially in the upper echelon.

However,as community colleges go IRCC is generally conservative.


In 2001 there was a report in the local press that indicates in order to boost her state pension benefits, the wife of the St. Lucie schools superintendent was placed in a "no-show" position on the payroll of Indian River Community College. Roberta Vogel took the job as a "senior associate" in June, 1997, shortly after leaving a school job near Orlando, where she had worked for 27 years.


Because Ms. Vogel was only 54 when she left her teaching job and because her new pay exceeded $70,000.00 a year, her Florida Retirement System lifetime benefit based upon a total of 30 years of creditable service rose from $17,000.00 a year to more than $35,000.00 when she retired last year.


Despite thousands of protests Governor Jeb Bush failed to have this investigated and Florida taxpayers were soaked for over $1-2 million in future benefits to the Vogels.

[Cindy]

bttt

[Born Conservative]

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Did what I could do...blogged it on my Catholic and on my political blog.

I hate this behavior for three reasons:

I love God.

I actually believe that academic freedom is good for learning.

I believe in the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights.

[RMprog]

Only in Forida...

[Hegemony Cricket]

"This is nothing compared to what's going on in China

That's very, very true, said a somewhat humbled Cricket. I know that things are much, much worse in many other parts of the world - in many cases it IS a matter of life & death, which this is not. I guess I sometimes take this wonderful gift of freedom for granted. Thanks for the wakeup call!

[mowkeka]

I just wrote President Massey an email. I would encourage everyone else to do the same. Here is the email:
emassey@ircc.cc.fl.us
Keep it clean (we are Christan after all), but be strong in getting your point across.

[Montfort]

Heck. If I remember correctly, a Republican Governor here in Virginia appointed a couple of high-ranking Democrat legislators (part-time jobs with low annual salaries) to high-paying full-time jobs. Probably Governor Gilmore, but I cannot remember for sure. The chance to dramatically raise the salary on which retirement benefits would be calculated and paid was a powerful inducement for these entrenched Democrat bigwigs to give up their legislative posts.

This particular kind of gaming of the system irks me. Perhaps I am just jealous that nothing like this will ever be done for me.