Christian graduate student sues university for silencing beliefs
Southern Illinois University student Maggie DeJong and Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Tyson Langhoffer say they're taking legal action after the college issued no-contact orders over Maggie's comments on police and abortion.
A Christian art student is suing an Illinois college, claiming the school censored her conservative views after complaints from classmates.
"I was alarmed when I had received three no-contact orders that prevented me from having direct or indirect communication with these three students. Essentially, they were restraining orders that applied to on and off-campus," graduate student Maggie Dejong said on "Fox & Friends First" Friday alongside Tyson Langhoffer, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.
Dejong said at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, she routinely participated in classroom discussions on contentious issues such as race relations and religion, often expressing a conservative viewpoint.
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Near the end of her three-year graduate program, Dejong was hit with a no-contact order pertaining to three of her classmates who had objected to her social media posts on abortion and the police.
Langhoffer said Dejong "never violated any university policy."
"Yet the university issued no-contact orders against her, prohibiting her from fully participating in classes, including discussions about race relations and the police, simply because they deemed her or her beliefs as unwelcome," he told host Ashley Strohmier.
Dejong angered fellow classmates by defending Kyle Rittenhouse on social media and denouncing critical race theory.
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Kyle Rittenhouse enters the courtroom to hear the verdicts in his trial prior to being found not guilty on all counts at the Kenosha County Courthouse. (Photo by Sean Krajacic - Pool/Getty Images) (Getty)
Students also demanded she remove her pro-police hat in class, calling it a "symbol of oppression."
"Universities can't issue no-contact orders and tell students they can't speak with other students simply for expressing their views," Langhoffer concluded.
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