The NFA Daily Spotlight: A Victory For Free Speech On UNL Campus

The NFA Daily Spotlight: A Victory For Free Speech On UNL Campus

Adam L. Johnson, the chapter director at Ratio Christi at UNL, joined the NFA Daily Spotlight to share how their campus ministry is leading people to Christ, strengthening students’ faith, and making disciples through Biblical apologetics training and outreach.

Last year, Ratio Christi at UNL filed a lawsuit against the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) for failing to distribute student funds in a fair, viewpoint-neutral manner. The University had denied Ratio Christi’s funding request to hold a guest lecture with an expert Christian philosopher and former UNL professor. Despite hosting and funding multiple religious and political events that year, the University told Ratio Christi that it could not promote “speakers of a political and ideological nature,” and in order to receive any funding, Ratio Christi would have to “provide another spokesperson with a different ideological perspective” to counterbalance the Christian perspective.

A federal court recently entered partial judgment against university officials who discriminated against the Christian student organization. The University revised its funding policies to provide transparency and accountability in the process and agreed to accept a court judgment against them in the amount of $1,500 for denying the club’s funding request. As part of the settlement, the University also paid $25,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs. This is an exciting First Amendment victory for free speech in Lincoln and at public universities across the nation!