Court Hands Defeat to Liberal Activist Groups at U of M
Appeals Court Says Left-Wing Groups Have No 'Constitutional Right' to Student Fees

Do liberal activist groups at the University of Minnesota have a right to receive financial support from unwilling students?

In a decision that could determine the outcome of an ongoing lawsuit against the University, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that such groups do not have a right to student fees.

The decision came in a lawsuit being brought against the University of Minnesota by several students who object to the school's mandatory student fee program.

The students filing the lawsuit say their fees should not be used to finance groups that advocate homosexuality, abortion and Marxism.

The Queer Student Cultural Center, LaRaza Student Cultural Center and University Young Women argued that they should be allowed to join the lawsuit, since their future funding may be affected by the outcome. But a three-judge panel for the federal appeals court ruled that the groups "have no constitutional or legal right to compel unwilling students to provide financial support for their activities."

"We believe this is a significant decision," said Jordan Lorence, general counsel of the Northstar Legal Center, which is representing the students. "It ultimately undercuts the university's argument that it can't allow individual students to opt out of the program because it would violate the First Amendment rights of leftist groups who have a constitutional right to these funds."

The court drew a distinction between the collection of mandatory fees and the distribution of such fees. While the university has an obligation to distribute fees in a viewpoint neutral fashion, individual students are free to object to the use of their fees to promote viewpoints with which they disagree.

"The decision supports our claim that it is the students who are forced to subsidize these radical groups whose constitutional rights are being infringed upon, not the groups receiving the money," said Lorence. "Fortunately, the Court did not adopt the groups' 'Alice in Wonderland' argument that groups have a constitutional right to the students' monies."

A decision in the lawsuit is expected this summer.

Minnesota Family Council / Minnesota Family Institute
2855 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis MN, 55418-3265
phone 612.789.8811, fax 612.789.8858, www.mfc.org