Students for Life sues Ball State University

Seth Slabaugh | The Star Press

MUNCIE, Ind. — Students for Life announced that a federal lawsuit was filed on Wednesday against Ball State University for denying the group $300 from student activity fees to cover the costs of "Pregnant on Campus" materials to assist pregnant and parenting students.

"Officials denied Students for Life’s request because the organization advocates for pro-life views; however, the Student Activity Fee Committee distributed funding from the same pool to organizations that advocate for viewpoints administrators prefer, including Feminists for Action, Secular Student Alliance and Spectrum (a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning-lifestyles student group)," the news release said.

The Secular Student Alliance hosts events like "God is Dead: Life Without Religion," while Feminists for Action hosted a "Stand With Planned Parenthood Rally," which included lobbying Congress to fund Planned Parenthood.

The nonprofit, pro-life, Students for Life at BSU organization seeks to end abortion, euthanasia and infanticide by educating students.

The lawsuit identifies the plaintiffs as full-time BSU students Julia Weis and Renee Harding as well as Nora Hopf, who was a full-time student at BSU 2014-18 and served as president of Students for Life at BSU when the events of the lawsuit occurred in February.

“Ball State University says it pledges to ‘value the intrinsic worth of every member of the community,’ but its student government is playing favorites and stifling free speech,” Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins said in the news release. “If BSU wants to respect every member of its community, it will give Students for Life, along with other groups, equal footing. We support the free-speech rights of all students, encourage the open exchange of ideas, and ask that the rights of pro-life students be respected as their peers’ rights are.”

Ball State declined comment on the litigation.

The lawsuit claims Ball State's student activity fee policy favors 12 groups (Asian American Student Association, Black Student Association, Dance Marathon, Disabled Students in Action, Latinx Student Union, Spectrum, Student Government Association (SGA), Student Leadership Development Board, Student Legal Services, Student Voluntary Services, University Program Board, and Late Nite) and disfavors alternative viewpoints offered by organizations like Students for Life.

There are more than 400 student organizations at Ball State, the lawsuit reports.

The news release said the university gave power to the Student Activity Fee Committee to decide whether a group may be eligible to receive funding.

"This sweeping authority allows them to deny recognition and funding for any reason, including unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination," according to Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys involved in the lawsuit.

The committee is made up of the president of the SGA, a student appointed by SGA, and one representative each from Student Affairs and Enrollment Services Budget Office, Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, and Academic Affairs.

Public universities cannot refuse to approve a student group without justification and must ensure recognition and student activity funding are approved in a viewpoint-neutral manner, the Students for Life organization says.

“While Ball State University pledges to ‘respect and learn from differences in people, ideas, and opinions,’ it has failed to respect or listen to Students for Life," the plaintiffs allege. "The college’s unconstitutional actions treat these pro-life students as second-class, denying full participation in campus life while mandating every pro-life student pay more than $1,000 in student fees per year that help fund opposing viewpoints.”

The lawsuit alleges the student organization funding system is discriminatory and student organizations are treated unequally.

Ball State has not published student activity fee guidelines on any public website, and it is not even common knowledge among student organizations that the activity fee committee exists or that they may apply for funding from the committee, the lawsuit says.

The student organization handbook does not inform organizations there is any way to apply for funding, the lawsuit says, while orientation sessions for student organizations don't inform them they were eligible to apply, and no notices are posted of the committee meetings.

The lawsuit accuses Ball State of violating the plaintiff students' rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and seeks relief including $289.45 in compensatory damages (the amount Students for Life paid to fund a Pregnant on Campus event), nominal damages for violating their rights, attorney fees, and injunctions.

Indianapolis attorney Eric Bohnet submitted the lawsuit.

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834 or seths@muncie.gannett.com.