Students File Federal Lawsuit After College Threatens Expulsion for Prayer

City: Alameda, CA
October 7, 2008

Two students at publicly-funded College of Alameda filed a federal lawsuit Monday after school officials threatened to expel them for praying.

Last December, student Kandy Kyriacou visited an instructor to give her a Christmas gift. Kandy found the instructor alone in her shared office. When the instructor indicated she was ill, Kandy offered to pray for her. The instructor bowed her head, and Kandy began to pray - until she was interrupted by another faculty member, Derek Piazza who walked in and said, "You can't be doing that in here!" Kandy quickly left and rejoined her friend and fellow student Ojoma Omaga. Piazza followed Kandy outside and repeated his rebuke.

The students were surprised by Piazza's intimidating behavior, but they were stunned when, three days before Christmas, both received letters notifying them of the College's retroactive "intent to suspend" them. In violation of the school's own policies, the letters stated no factual bases for the charges, vaguely alleging that the students had engaged in "disruptive or insulting behavior, willful disobedience . . . persistent abuse of, college employees." Then, in guilty-until-proven-innocent administrative hearings, it became clear that the College considered Kandy's get-well prayer - which her instructor seemed to welcome - worthy of discipline. The College even threatened suspension or expulsion for further infractions - apparently other public prayers.

The students turned to Pacific Justice Institute. PJI staff attorneys, baffled by the school's stance, attempted to resolve the situation through demand letters. The College did not respond. PJI local affiliate attorneys Steven N. H. Wood and Christopher Schweickert, of the Walnut Creek firm Bergquist, Wood & Anderson, LLP, made a final demand that College officials rescind the disciplinary letters and acknowledge the students' right to pray. The College refused. On Monday, Wood, Schweickert, and PJI staff attorneys filed a federal lawsuit to remove the cloud of intimidation hanging over the students.

"It's outrageous," PJI President Brad Dacus stated. "Since when does praying for a sick teacher to get well - with her consent - earn a suspension? This is not just a constitutional violation; it is a complete lack of common sense. These students were not looking for a fight, but since the school to this day insists that it can expel them if they pray again, we will have to resolve it in federal court."

The assault on religion now has governmental support.  We have elected a legislative branch and now an administrative branch who will look the other way as the judicial branch twists the constitution into a legal M16 aimed at our most precious freedoms of speech and religion.

Think that's extreme?  Then you fail to see the big picture.  The election of Obama is one giant step for Liberalkind in their war against Christianity.

"Oh, but Les, Obama is a Christian!  He says so!"

"Yes.  Well, ...Have you ever heard of the Golden Gate Bridge?  Well, I can get you a really great deal..."

Comments

[raj]

I'm not feeling so proud to be a California resident right now.

[Les]

Hey, Raj! Thanks for commenting! Yeah, California seems to set the standard for this stuff, and while the trend has been growing for some time, Liberals are much bolder now that they have a Presidential spokesman.

It's odd to me that I just found this over a year after it happened. That, too, says something about the media in this country. To them, it's not news. But let someone be in the least offended by some idiot for being gay, and they're all over it.

Open season on Christians has begun.