ADF - News Release

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ward v. Wilbanks resource page

Additional media resources available at right. To book an interview, click on the "Book an Interview" button.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010

News releases: 7/27/2010 | 6/23/2010 | 4/3/2009

ADF to appeal ruling that allows Eastern Michigan U. to expel Christian students for holding to beliefs

University banished graduate counseling student for not affirming homosexual behavior
Tuesday, July 27, 2010

DETROIT — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys will appeal a problematic federal court decision issued Monday in a lawsuit filed on behalf of student Julea Ward against Eastern Michigan University after it kicked out the Christian student for holding to her beliefs. EMU dismissed Ward from its graduate counseling program in March 2009 for not affirming homosexual behavior as morally acceptable. Ward would not agree to change her religious beliefs about homosexual behavior or express a message contrary to them during counseling sessions as a condition to receiving a degree.

“Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel David French, who argued before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan last month. “To reach its decision, the court had to do something that’s never been done in federal court: uphold an extremely broad and vague university speech code.”

EMU initiated its disciplinary process against Ward shortly after she enrolled in a counseling practicum course in January 2009, when she was assigned a potential client seeking assistance regarding a homosexual relationship. Recognizing the potential conscience issue with the client, and knowing she could not affirm the client’s homosexual relationship without violating her religious beliefs, Ward asked her supervisor how to handle the matter. Ward was advised to reassign the potential client to a different counselor. EMU then informed Ward that she could only stay in the counseling program if she agreed to undergo a “remediation” program. Its purpose was to help her “see the error of her ways” and change her “belief system” as it relates to counseling about homosexual relationships.

At a subsequent formal review meeting, EMU faculty denigrated Ward’s Christian views and asked several inappropriate and intrusive questions about her religious beliefs. A faculty committee then dismissed her from the counseling program. Ward appealed, but the dean of EMU College of Education upheld the dismissal.

“Julea merely followed her supervising professor’s advice by referring a potential client to a counselor who had no conscience issue with the particular matter to be discussed,” said French. “She would have gladly counseled the client herself had the topic focused on any other matter. We trust the 6th Circuit will understand the constitutional issues involved in this case.”

The EMU speech codes enabling the university’s actions were challenged as part of the ADF lawsuit, Ward v. Wilbanks. One policy prohibiting “discrimination based on…sexual orientation” adds that counselors cannot “condone” what the university defines as discrimination. Another problematic policy states that EMU’s counseling department may discipline a student who shows a “failure to tolerate different points of view.”

Steven M. Jentzen, one of nearly 1,800 attorneys in the ADF alliance, is local counsel in the case. ADF is currently litigating a similar case involving a counseling student at Augusta State University in Georgia.

ADF University Project website

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

www.adfmedia.org | twitter.com/adfmedia

Will university’s expulsion of Christian grad student stand?

Eastern Michigan University ousted student from counseling program for not affirming homosexual behavior; ADF attorney available to media after hearing
Wednesday, June 23, 2010

WHO: ADF Senior Counsel David French

WHAT: Available for media interviews after hearing in Ward v. Wilbanks

WHEN: Thursday, June 24, immediately following hearing, which begins at 9 a.m. EDT

WHERE: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd., Courtroom 236, Detroit

DETROIT — Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel David French will be available for media interviews Thursday following a summary judgment hearing in Ward v. Wilbanks, a lawsuit filed by ADF attorneys against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of student Julea Ward. EMU dismissed Ward from its graduate counseling program in March 2009 for not affirming homosexual behavior as morally acceptable. Ward would not agree to change her religious beliefs about homosexual behavior or express a message contrary to them during counseling sessions as a condition to receiving a degree. French will argue that the case should be decided in Ward’s favor without further proceedings.

“Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for abiding by their beliefs,” said French. “Affirming homosexual behavior against one’s own religious beliefs should not be a precondition at a public university for obtaining a degree.”

EMU initiated its disciplinary process against Ward shortly after she enrolled in a counseling practicum course in January 2009, when she was assigned a potential client seeking assistance regarding a homosexual relationship. Recognizing the potential conscience issue with the client, and knowing she could not affirm the client’s homosexual relationship without violating her religious beliefs, Ward asked her supervisor how to handle the matter. Ward was advised to reassign the potential client to a different counselor. Shortly thereafter, EMU informed Ward that the only way she could stay in the counseling program would be if she agreed to undergo a “remediation” program. Its purpose was to help her “see the error of her ways” and change her “belief system” as it relates to counseling about homosexual relationships. Ward did not agree to the unconstitutional conditions.

At a subsequent formal review meeting, EMU faculty denigrated Ward’s Christian views and asked several inappropriate and intrusive questions about her religious beliefs. A faculty committee then dismissed her from the counseling program. Ward appealed, but the dean of EMU College of Education upheld the dismissal.

“Julea merely followed her supervising professor’s advice by referring a potential client to a counselor who had no conscience issue with the particular matter to be discussed,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “She would have gladly counseled the client herself had the topic focused on any other matter.”

The university’s actions were enabled by EMU policies that ADF attorneys are challenging in the lawsuit as flagrantly unconstitutional. One policy that prohibits “discrimination based on…sexual orientation” problematically adds that counselors cannot “condone” what the university defines as discrimination. A second policy being challenged states that EMU’s counseling department may discipline a student who demonstrates a “failure to tolerate different points of view.”

In March, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that the professors who expelled Ward may be held personally liable for their actions. Steven M. Jentzen, one of nearly 1,700 attorneys in the ADF alliance, is serving as local counsel in the case.

Fact sheet on lawsuit

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

www.adfmedia.org | twitter.com/adfmedia

E. Mich. Univ. ousts student for not affirming homosexual behavior

ADF attorneys file suit on behalf of student expelled from graduate counseling program
Friday, April 03, 2009

DETROIT — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom filed a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University Thursday after school officials dismissed a student from the school’s counseling program for not affirming homosexual behavior as morally acceptable. The school dismissed Julea Ward from the program because she would not agree prior to a counseling session to affirm a client’s homosexual behavior and would not retract her stance in subsequent disciplinary proceedings.

"Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for holding to their beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel David French. "When a public university has a prerequisite of affirming homosexual behavior as morally good in order to obtain a degree, the school is stepping over the legal line. Julea did the responsible thing and followed her supervising professor’s advice to have the client referred to a counselor who did not have a conscience issue with the very matter to be discussed in counseling. She would have gladly counseled the client if the subject had been nearly any other matter."

EMU requires students in its program to affirm or validate homosexual behavior within the context of a counseling relationship and prohibits students from advising clients that they can change their homosexual behavior. Ward has never addressed homosexual behavior in any form during counseling sessions with clients.

EMU initiated its disciplinary process against Ward and informed her that the only way she could stay in the graduate school counseling program would be if she agreed to undergo a "remediation" program. Its purpose would be to help Ward "see the error of her ways" and change her "belief system" as it relates to counseling about homosexual relationships, conforming her beliefs to be consistent with the university’s views. When Ward did not agree with the conditions, she was given the options of either voluntarily leaving the program or asking for a formal review hearing.

Ward chose the hearing, during which EMU faculty denigrated her Christian views and asked several inappropriate and intrusive questions about her religious beliefs. The hearing committee dismissed her from the counseling program on March 12. Ward appealed the decision to the dean of the College of Education, who upheld the dismissal on March 26.

"Julea has a constitutional right not to be compelled to speak a message she disagrees with. She acted as a professional counselor should--with great concern both for her beliefs and the client," ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco explained. "The two are not incompatible, but EMU’s policies are incompatible with the Constitution."

ADF-allied attorney Steven Jentzen of Ypsilanti is serving as local counsel in the case.

Complaint in Ward v. Eastern Michigan University filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

The ADF Center for Academic Freedom defends religious freedom at America’s public universities. ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

www.telladf.org www.centerforacademicfreedom.org