Catholic Exchange

Illinois U Professor Caves to Legal Pressure

Written by

Peter J. Smith

in

A professor at the Southern Illinois University has backed down from her refusal to grade a Christian graduate student's paper on post-abortion syndrome in women, allowing the student to complete the course and graduate, an SIU official told LifeSiteNews.com today.

The response comes just two days after attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom sent a letter Wednesday protesting to SIU officials that Christine Mize, a Christian graduate student in social work, was wrongly given an "incomplete" by her professor, Dr. Laura Dreuth Zeman, who was punishing her for her Christian views.

"To the best of my knowledge, Christine Mize's paper has been graded by Dr. Zeman today and the grade is being posted to the university's Records office," Dr. Mizan R. Miah, the director of the School of Social Work at SIU told LifeSiteNews. "The student surely will be notified soon."

The controversy began when Dr. Zeman told graduate student Christine Mize that she would downgrade her paper on a therapy plan for women suffering from post-abortion syndrome if Mize went through with her intention to include a faith-based section in the recovery plan. Mize chose her topic as part of an assignment to create an eight-week therapy program based on a topic of her own choosing and supported by independent research.

Although Mize decided to write her paper without the faith-based section rather than have the paper downgraded, she provided Dr. Zeman with legal information on her constitutional right to include religion in her assignments when it is appropriate to the topic. Dr. Zeman then refused to grade the paper giving Mize an "incomplete" for the course putting Mize's graduation in jeopardy.

After filing repeated unsuccessful appeals to school administrators, including an official grievance letter with SIU, Mize turned to the ADF Center for Academic Freedom for assistance.

"Christian students do not forsake their constitutional right to express their faith-based views the minute they step on a university campus," said ADF Litigation Counsel Amy Smith. Smith described Mize's experience as "just another example of how Christian students are being punished at our nation's public universities for expressing viewpoints that are not ‘politically correct'."

Comments

  1. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    This is very true.  I graduated from college 16 years ago, and the school I attended was "conservative" by mainstream standards.  However, the anti-Christian bias was unmistakable.  "Pro-choice" was the mainstream mentality at the college that I attended.

  2. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    My son speaks of students in his classes who exposed their Christian beliefs being treated as lepers, set aside and debased. He also speaks of having to come to their aide against the Prof as he was an older student. The Prof would have the students in tears. What manner of teaching is this?

  3. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    I kept a low profile for the most part in college. But I did have a couple of professors who prompted me to stand up and commence knock-down, drag-out battles.

     

    "There is a small minority of extremely arrogant people who are waging spiritual warfare on the country."

  4. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    When you say a small minority of extremely arrogant people. Actually it

    is more than 90% of college professors who are. It is small it you include

    the entire USA Pop. but not if you only include the colleges. And it doesnt make much difference if they are Catholic either, although there is improvement

  5. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    I am currently an instructor at a Midwestern university, in a very conservative state, and it is so true.  Even in conservative, mostly Christian states, the public universities are the bulwark of the Enemy. It does not affect only students. The few tenured, Christian faculty members in my department get the raw end of the deal, as non-Christians can pressure them without consequence. The politics at the university level are such that Christian students, if they are not already solid and determined to retain their faith, often leave indoctrinated that only the pro-choice, humanistic view is the rational, compassionate world view.

    Let's pray for all college students that they can withstand the onslaught to their faith.

  6. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Bryan B

    Christian college students should be encouraged to read G.K. Chesterton.  It could possibly help them understand that the batttle they face is not new, and he can help them find words to express what they believe and why.

Leave a Reply

More posts