Defender of Religious Speech Goes to Bat for Univ. of North Carolina Student
by Jim Brown and Jody Brown
March 8, 2004
(AgapePress) - A U.S. congressman is defending a Christian student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who was singled out by a professor for saying he opposed homosexuality on biblical grounds.
The question under discussion in UNC Professor Elyse Crystall's Literature and Cultural Diversity class was: "Why do heterosexual men feel threatened by homosexuals?" The student expressed his religiously-based belief that homosexuality was not a desirable lifestyle. The English professor followed up the discussion with a mass e-mail to the students enrolled in the class, in which she accused the student of promoting "hate speech."
In the message, Crystall referred to the student as "a white, heterosexual, [C]hristian male" who "can feel entitled to make violent, heterosexist comments and not feel marked or threatened or vulnerable." Using her government e-mail account at the school, the instructor declared that "no hate speech would be tolerated."
Crystall has since apologized for the e-mail she distributed to the students. "I am sorry if anyone was offended by my e-mail; my intention was to promote respectful conversation among us, not to censor anyone," Crystall wrote. "We should not make specific examples of anyone and I should not have named anyone."
However, North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones has filed a complaint with the U.S. Education Department's Civil Rights Division, and has asked State Attorney General Roy Cooper to determine whether the professor broke any state laws. Jones says he would have taken similar action had it been a Jewish or Muslim student.
"To me, this is a freedom issue," Jones says. "When young people go to college [there should be] freedom in the classroom -- and that applies to the teacher as well as the student. The student should be able to express his or her views without feeling any type of intimidation."
Expressing his disappointment with the incident, Jones says it is part of an ongoing effort by "the left" in America to attack Christianity.
"There is an assault on the morality of America that began a few years ago -- and this is just one more example, in my opinion, of the extreme views of some that just do not respect the rights of people of faith," he says. "Quite frankly, in this case they were critical of this young man's faith and his beliefs when he shared them with the class."
Implying the existence of a double standard, Jones contends that if Professor Crystall had substituted the word "black" for "white," "homosexual" for "heterosexual," or "Muslim" for "Christian," she would have been suspended or fired immediately. "Instead, the student in question was forced to go on an online message board to defend himself to his classmates, his academic future left in the hands of the likes of Ms. Crystall," he states in a press release.
Jones wants UNC Chancellor James Moeser to personally look into the case and consider whether more conservative professors are needed in certain departments to achieve true diversity.
Speaking One's Faith
Congressman Jones' belief in the freedom to speak one's faith is reflected in legislation he is sponsoring in the U.S. House. The "Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act" (HR 235) would enable clergy to speak out on moral issues of the day without fear of financial penalties from the Internal Revenue Service or revocation of their group's tax-exempt status.
Currently clergy are forbidden to speak out on any topic that could be deemed "politically partisan." The IRS has even gone so far as to issue code words to tip them off to illegal activity. Words such as "pro-choice," "pro-life," "liberal," and "conservative" uttered from a pulpit can warrant an investigation by the IRS. Prior to 1954, churches, synagogues, and mosques were free to speak out about any and every topic -- without government limitations.
