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Published: October 1, 2008
“Free speech on Tuesdays and Thursdays”
Yuba College threatens to expel student for proselytizing without a permit
News release from Alliance Defense Fund
Sept. 30, 2008
For immediate release
SACRAMENTO -- Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom filed a lawsuit Monday, Sept. 29, against Yuba Community College District officials after they threatened a student with arrest and expulsion for sharing a Christian message along a Yuba College walkway. District policies limit student free speech activities to two hours per week and require students to obtain permission two weeks in advance.
 “Christian students shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF litigation staff counsel Heather Gebelin Hacker. “Students do not need a permit to exercise their First Amendment rights on campus. When a student can be threatened with a citation and expulsion while peacefully sharing a Christian message, American colleges can no longer be considered a marketplace of ideas.”
On Feb. 27, Yuba College student Ryan Dozier arrived on campus to attend class and briefly share a Christian message with fellow students, engaging them through tracts, a sign, and conversation. Dozier was approached by a campus police officer, who told him he needed a permit for such activity and that he would be arrested and face expulsion if he continued. The college allows “free speech” only on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., with permission required two weeks in advance.
Less than three weeks later, Dozier received a certified letter from the college accusing him of assembling without a permit and violating school policy. The letter informed Dozier that his activity was the subject of a district police department crime report and that further violation of the directive and Student Code of Conduct would incur further discipline, including expulsion from college.
“A student peacefully exercising his First Amendment right to speak on campus is committing no crime,” Hacker explained. “Yuba College is the one running afoul of the law by unlawfully censoring Christian student speech on campus.”
In addition to the lawsuit, ADF attorneys are asking the court to suspend the problematic policies while the case moves forward in court.
Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 6:06 AM By Eileen
Maybe the unchaste and militant gays and lesbians at Yuba Community College in Sacramento got wind of Bishop Soto's talk!. 'Y..'ou 'U..'ngodly 'B..'unch 'A..'gain !
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 6:21 AM By Canisius
I am sure if they were sodomites in leather and chains perfomring perverted acts they would have given them a parade. Oh Lord send thy wrath....soon please
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 6:28 AM By Luke
For more info see: Freedom of choice act. If this isnt a good example of what that'll lead to, I dont know what is!
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 7:30 AM By JLS
How seldom the institutions who act illegally such as in this case are brought up on criminal charges, themselves!
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 8:11 AM By Harry
Wow. It's bad now folks, and getting progressively worse. But just think what it will be like if Obama wins the election! The strong arm tactics he is now using to win, will be unrestrained since the executive and legislative branches will be dominated by liberals who tolerate nothing they don't like. Lincoln's fear that this country could be destroyed from within may well be realized in our lifetime.
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 8:57 AM By Thomas
So much for freedom of religion!!
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 9:56 AM By John M
If you recall the story of the prodical son you experience the story so much more through it's characters. In this story focus on the campus police officer. He had to know that his action was wrong,but he was just following "orders" He's the one with the gun! Follow the dots to the gas chambers.And to think that this is all done in the name on inclusion and tolerence. God bless Allience Defence Fund
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 10:27 AM By Joseph T
Eileen and Canisius What do gay people have to do with this article? I looked hard to find anything about gays. Why don't you get over your homophobia and gay bashing. I think there are more important things to deal with!
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 2:14 PM By PAPAMAC
Get used to it, if hussien wins the election he will have his truth squads out in force aqainst Christians, take a look at his thug tactics using lawyers and demoncratic operatives to try and stop anything critical of his daily lies. Joe T..They were not bashing gays, just the dirty little things they get away with, nothing wrong with that is there.
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 2:43 PM By Candice
Actually, gay people have about as much to do with this article as Catholics have to do with it. The student Ryan Dozier is against them all. When I heard him preaching on the sidewalk, he was angrily shouting at Catholics telling them that the Catholic Church is corrupt and hateful, that she deceives people with lies. Good thing the Catholic Church supports freedom of religion.
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 5:07 PM By Luke
Joseph: "Why don't you get over your homophobia and gay bashing". By any chance, do you attend the Novus Ordo? Just curios. It seems that your a slightly more "liberal" catholic (no capital c). I suggest you read the bible, St. Paul was pretty big on "gay bashing and Homophobia". But thats beside the point these people are trying to make. Theyre pointing out the obvious liberal influence on these places by saying that if it was someone crusading for gay rights, they wouldnt have received as much attention and probably would have been ignored. If a Catholic police officer was to tell a Gay student to stop making out with his boyfriend in public, can you imagine the scandal? Never mind the indecency and the fact that he would have said it to any "straight" couple doing the same thing, the riot among not only the gay community but the media would have been immense. Oh the hypocrisy, a Christian gets in trouble for actually using his right to free speech and an entire parade of Sodomites is something to be celebrated
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 6:58 PM By Mea Culpa
So the Constitution is only in force at Yuba Community College on Tuesday and Thursdays from 12 to 1, and then only if you have a permit? That's the only time free speech is permitted? What do they teach there, if these are their administrative policies?
Like most colleges in California, I'm sure they have homosexual and communist and new age professors openly proselytizing in their classrooms, while any sign of Christianity anywhere on campus is instantly given the jackboot treatment.
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 8:13 PM By Dan
I work at a community college and was on a committee looking at our campus policies relative to free-speech. We are very much committed to keeping what happened at Yuba from happening here (Pasadena City College). My jaw dropped at the reading of this article. Yuba should be embarrassed and ashamed.
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Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 9:54 PM By Grisha
Dan. I went to PCC (AA, Social Science, 1968). If you Google Ryan Dozier, you'll find that he and his comrades are anti-Catholic bigots. The thing is that in a democracy, freedom of expression has to extend to everyone. Good luck with coming up with a fair and reasonable policy.
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Posted Thursday, October 02, 2008 7:11 AM By JLS
Hey, two hours each week adds up to 104 hours per year ... that is a lot of freedom to express things ... it's almost as much time as a movie.
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Posted Thursday, October 02, 2008 1:11 PM By Dan
Congratulations Grisha for attending the finest community college in Pasadena. I knew I liked your style. We have a policy which is quite workable. Christians can witness whenever they want provided it is not disruptive, that is, draws out the campus police to avoid conflict. This has never happened in the 19 years I have been here. Christian groups can meet outside on the lawn by the pool or inside; GLBT groups do the same. Common sense prevails here, at least so far. It matters not to me that Ryan is an anti-catholic bigot. Were he to come here and I could get away from my administrative and teaching duties I would love to take him on. He has a right to speak and I have a the right to defend the Catholic faith in his presence. I am not about to throw out the first amendment because I don't like his point of view.
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Posted Thursday, October 02, 2008 6:30 PM By JLS
Isn't PCC across the street from St Philip's Church? *** When I was at UCLA, there was a primal screaming group which met for class on the lawn, and Christian groups met on campus also. I was not Catholic then, and learned the doctrine of the Eucharist from a Jewish grad student in my medieval history course. A girl in the class later conveyed to me not to fall hook, line and sinker for what she perceived was a pitch yet to reach the close. Somehow I realized she was a Catholic and sensed that I needed to know this ... which I did.
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Posted Friday, October 03, 2008 5:24 AM By Aaron
TO:..Eileen, Casinius, Luke & PAPAMAC::::JosephT is completely correct in his comments..Thank you Joseph....Further, studies have consistently shown the most hateful, outwardly homophobic people (like E, C, L & Papamac...are the ones who are most unsure of their own sexual orientation. The fact that the 4 of you very inappropriately bring up the gays when you comment on an article that had NOTHING to do with gays would clearly put you in the "unsure of their own sexual orientation" category. Better go get counseling from your priest or a good psychiatrist to discover who you are... In the meantime, please stop dwelling dwelling dwelling on gays. Get a life....Do something worthwhile....go help a child who doesn't have a father or work with old people who are lonely and have no friends...go walk the dog...but for heaven's sake, stop finding a reason to relate everything in every news story and every ill in society to gay people... all of us already know you hate us despite Jesus instruction to love one another..
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Posted Friday, October 03, 2008 3:03 PM By Dan
JLS -- St.Phillip's is across the street from PCC but astonishingly, there is no Catholic campus ministry on our campus from that church; nor can I remember any such thing in my 19 years here. Protestant student groups abound. I just keep wondering what are the Yuba people thinking? What are they afraid of? The student evangelism I see here is low-key and respectful, as it should be. Though last year a group came on campus with signs and there was a quiet confrontation with a GLBT group on campus. It was peaceful because I think the christian evangelists had the good sense to talk individually one on one with other students. I don't think evangelism occurs with any message of hate, whether it is to say that God hates Catholics, Jews, homosexuals, or anyone else.
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Posted Friday, October 03, 2008 4:38 PM By JLS
Aaron, It does not matter the individual's "orientation"; what matters is following the Will of God. What is not to get about this, Aaron? You sound like the epitome of what St Paul called the chief priest, "a whited wall", and what Jesus called those who ruled His temple, "a whited sepulchre, wherein are dead men's bones". Aaron, your exhibition of fatalism, doom, robot-like nature is self destructive, and conflicts with the culture of life given the world by Jesus Christ. Now, your gambit about the issue of personal identity ("who you are") is another crock you've misconstrued from your narrow and half shod studies. We all take our individual identities from God; which is why the consequences of the sin of Adam and Eve do not fit into this identity ... but it is our character which is built on overcoming these faults that counts, and magnifies the greatness of God. Your giving in to defeat is the pits, Aaron. And speaking of dogs, which you brought up, that's what I will do shortly ... not quite walking though, as we are not trapped by the architectural confines of a city. If you read this carefully, and research it, then you will see your error in accusing us of hating "gays".
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Posted Friday, October 03, 2008 8:53 PM By JLS
Dan, that brings up what I believe to be an important matter, namely where is the Catholic clerical presense on college campuses? I could have used one when I was a young pagan ... the campus had a Newman Center but it was like a place for Catholics only. My guess is this, that the clergy simply does not have the ... I'm searching for a civil term ... chutzpah, the aggressiveness, the drive to get into the thick of things such as pagan running wild college campuses and bear witness to the Light in the Darkness. They even tend to fail at providing a refuge for Catholics to bring raving pagan beasts in for a talking to. What I find is a kind of custom that seems to be accepted among cradle Catholics that eshews this sort of macho evangelism. I simply do not see it prescribed in the Magisterium. I do not know when it popped up, nor why it has passively dominated and thus has fallen into the category of the wicked servant who buried his talent for fear of losing it. The punishment will come about in due time.
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Posted Saturday, October 04, 2008 3:02 AM By Aaron
JLS::: Can't let you get away with this drivell. I chastise comments that are completely off topic (i.e., blaming gays for a faulty policy at a community college) and you subsequently launch an unguided missile into outer space. You seem to be so called "Christian" who takes pride in VERY unchristian behavior using Bible scriptures as an excuse for shoddy personal attacks. Talk about a whited wall...your credibility as a christian is badly stained, but I forgive your bellicose behavior--everyone makes mistakes.
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Posted Saturday, October 04, 2008 8:26 PM By JLS
Aaron, it is your darkened soul that cannot see the connections. Homosexualism puts the soul in a place of blindness (I know from experience what this is, and thus can testify to its reality). My attacks are defensive in nature, and are no more shoddy than necessary. As for your capacity to determine anyone's credibility as a Christian, it does not exist. Only God can give that credit. You can try all you want to discern what is and what is not Christian, but the truth of it comes from God, not from anywhere else. If you do not have a relationship with God, then you have no ability and no resources to determine the fact of anyone's Christianity. It is defined by God, not by man; it is conferred by God, and not by man. I am happy for you that you have forgiven me for what you don't like, whether they are my faults or only perceived faults ... because it is a sign that you have deep within you some respect for God. That, Aaron, is all we have in this lonely existence to build upon, our respect for God. No, I don't know where it comes from, but Jesus tells a parable of the man who went out and sowed seed one day, and three conditions prevailed: some seed was not covered and got eaten by ravens, some fell among weeds and was starved, and some fell on good ground and sprouted and grew. Faith is like the tiniest mustard seed, but grows to a large size and supports a lot of living things ... I don't know where it comes from though or how it finds a place to grow. But respect for God reveals its presence. By nature, Aaron, I am more of a hunter than a gardner ... so hopefully a good one comes along and nurtures that seed of faith in your heart and soul.
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Posted Monday, October 06, 2008 5:50 AM By Aaron
TO:::JLS ...I don't understand why I am getting another sermon from you. Topic of the CA Catholic article and discussion is the fact that a Christian armed with a megaphone and sign was forced off a community college campus. For inexplicable reasons, 4 people immediately turned the discussion into an off topic gay bashing session. I called them on it, and now face your off topic sermons. So what do you think of the sequestering of free speech at the community college campus?
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Posted Monday, October 06, 2008 10:36 PM By JLS
Because, Aaron, I learned it in my introduction course of Christianity ... which consisted of street preaching on Sunset Strip and Hollywood Blvd. I am not bashing you; I understand you are gay, and I understand that gay people recoil at almost anything normal and think that they are being bashed. Hey, gay stuff feels to me like a bash ... I think you are bashing Christianity and God, and I have more to stand on than homosexualism; I have the Word of God. What do you stand on, a condom?
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