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Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2004

The new code, approved recently by Shippensburg's trustees, will say students must comply with applicable federal and state anti-discrimination laws.

Shippensburg president Anthony Ceddia said Tuesday the new policy would not change the school's commitment to what he called "community, civility, citizenship and character."

'Discriminatory' Indeed

A lawsuit filed against the state school cited unconstitutionally vague or overly broad language in the school's policy on racism and cultural diversity, which cautioned against "unconscious attitudes toward individuals which surface through the use of discriminatory semantics."

The policy warned against use of "presumptive statements" and conduct or "attitude" that "annoys" another person or group.

In September, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III granted a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of provisions of the code that he said "could certainly be used to truncate debate and free expression by students."

A deposition filed with the lawsuit said students were forced to take down posters that depicted bin Laden in cross hairs because it violated the code.

Shippensburg spokesman Pete Gigliotti insisted that no posters were taken down "for any kind of political or free speech issues." If anything was taken down, it was because of fire safety issues, he said.

'Historic Victory' Against the Leftist Thought Police

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the group that filed the lawsuit, said Tuesday that the school's decision was a "historic victory."

"Despite originally dismissing the lawsuit as 'frivolous and without merit,' Shippensburg has now been forced to recognize that its broad restrictions on free speech violate the First Amendment," said Alan Charles Kors, the group's chairman.

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