Service learning restriction challenged
ACLJ reprimands university for considering ban on religious projects
Erik Borg
Issue date: 11/4/04 Section: Campus News
A recent development in the issue of religious proselytization and service learning has revived controversy just in time for the University Senate meeting on Tuesday, when it will address the issue.
The American Center for Law and Justice, a national non-profit organization that is known as a "watchdog" for First Amendment violations officially weighed in on the matter last week.
ACLJ received the information from outspoken dissenter of the ban and Academic Policies Committee Chairman Geology Professor Kent Syverson after the APC ruled in favor of the ban to prohibit religious proselytization for service learning credit two weeks ago.
Syverson said there was a lack of legal justification for the UW System legal department's approval of the ban.
"I requested written legal justification because it seems completely contrary to judicial precedent," Syverson said.
"But they're acting like a mother saying, 'Eat this, it's good for you,' but refusing to say why it's good for us," he said.
In response to Syverson's complaint, ACLJ submitted a five-page brief in which they reprimanded the university for the proposed ban.
In doing so, it cited numerous U.S. Supreme Court case precedents, including ACLJ's own victory, Locke v. Davey that corroborates Syverson's long-time belief that allowing such projects would not interfere with the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
Constitutional attorney Geoffrey R. Surtees argued in the brief that if "the university takes a religion-neutral stance with respect to the types of community service students may engage in, the university is not violating the Establishment Clause, but complying with it."
"Supreme Court case law is clear that religious instruction is constitutionally protected speech," he said.
The issue was also presented to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which advised that "any students impacted by the proposed policy should collect documentation and submit a case to them," Syverson said.
The American Center for Law and Justice, a national non-profit organization that is known as a "watchdog" for First Amendment violations officially weighed in on the matter last week.
ACLJ received the information from outspoken dissenter of the ban and Academic Policies Committee Chairman Geology Professor Kent Syverson after the APC ruled in favor of the ban to prohibit religious proselytization for service learning credit two weeks ago.
Syverson said there was a lack of legal justification for the UW System legal department's approval of the ban.
"I requested written legal justification because it seems completely contrary to judicial precedent," Syverson said.
"But they're acting like a mother saying, 'Eat this, it's good for you,' but refusing to say why it's good for us," he said.
In response to Syverson's complaint, ACLJ submitted a five-page brief in which they reprimanded the university for the proposed ban.
In doing so, it cited numerous U.S. Supreme Court case precedents, including ACLJ's own victory, Locke v. Davey that corroborates Syverson's long-time belief that allowing such projects would not interfere with the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
Constitutional attorney Geoffrey R. Surtees argued in the brief that if "the university takes a religion-neutral stance with respect to the types of community service students may engage in, the university is not violating the Establishment Clause, but complying with it."
"Supreme Court case law is clear that religious instruction is constitutionally protected speech," he said.
The issue was also presented to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which advised that "any students impacted by the proposed policy should collect documentation and submit a case to them," Syverson said.