AUGUSTA, Ga. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit against Augusta State University Wednesday on behalf of a counseling student told that her Christian beliefs are unethical and incompatible with the prevailing views of the counseling profession. The student, Jennifer Keeton, has been told to stop sharing her beliefs with others and that she must change her beliefs in order to graduate from the counseling program.

Augusta State ordered Keeton to undergo a re-education plan, in which she must attend “diversity sensitivity training,” complete additional remedial reading, and write papers to describe their impact on her beliefs. If she does not change her beliefs or agree to the plan, the university says it will expel her from the Counselor Education Program.

“A public university student shouldn’t be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith, but that’s exactly what’s happening here. Simply put, the university is imposing thought reform,” said ADF Senior Counsel David French. “Abandoning one’s own religious beliefs should not be a precondition at a public university for obtaining a degree. This type of leftist zero-tolerance policy is in place at far too many universities, and it must stop. Jennifer’s only crime was to have the beliefs that she does.

Keeton, 24, is pursuing her master’s degree in counseling at Augusta State. After her professors learned of her biblical beliefs, specifically her views on homosexual conduct, from both classroom discussions and private conversations with other students, the school imposed the re-education plan. Keeton never denigrated anyone in communicating her beliefs but merely stated factually what they were in appropriate contexts.

The plan assails Keeton’s beliefs as inconsistent with the counseling profession and expresses suspicion over “Jen’s ability to be a multiculturally competent counselor, particularly with regard to working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (GLBTQ) populations.” The plan requires her to take steps to change her beliefs through additional assignments and additional “diversity sensitivity training.” It also orders her to “work to increase exposure and interactions with gay populations. One such activity could be attending the Gay Pride Parade in Augusta.”

Each month, Keeton is required to complete a report on how the “remediation” assignments have influenced her beliefs so that faculty can “decide the appropriateness of her continuation in the counseling program.” The plan concludes by noting that “failure to complete all elements of the remediation plan will result in dismissal from the Counselor Education Program.”

ADF attorneys filed the complaint and a motion for preliminary injunction in Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley with the U.S. District Court for the District of Georgia. ADF is currently litigating a similar case involving a counseling student at Eastern Michigan University and successfully resolved a case at Missouri State University. Also in litigation is a case involving a Georgia counselor fired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because she would not agree to affirm homosexual behavior as morally acceptable.

Somehow, before I opened this thread, I knew the student wasn't a muslim....

If a gay person comes to her for guidance and her response is "have you tried not being gay" there may be a problem. If she helps the person to the best of her ability within the other persons belief system then I don't see any problem.

Does anyone have any information on this that does not come from one of the involved parties? I ask that because there are certain things that the press release here leaves rather vague. For example I would like to know just what Keetons beliefs are and specifically how they impact (or don't) her ability to be a councilor. From this release all I am able to glean is the fact that there is some sort of problem regarding her and homosexuals etc. In the end for this case and the others mentioned at the end of the release, personal morals shouldn't really come into it. They can either do their job professionally or they can't.

Edit: I did some digging and the University demands are starting to look like horsehit. I would still like some more information though. If a gay person comes to her for guidance and her response is "have you tried not being gay" there may be a problem. If she helps the person to the best of her ability within the other persons belief system then I don't see any problem.

Ok but what would that have to do with her getting a degree in counseling?

I agree that it could cause some ethics/professional issues with the APA but those would be once she was licensed, not while she was seeking the degree. For all anyone knows, she is heading toward a career with the catholic church as a counselor...

Interesting. Anything else a person might come to her for counseling, the appropriate, even the required response is, try not doing the things that cause you pain and bad health. Stripped of "therapist speak", that's what they tell people with addictions, including sex addiction. Apparently for someone who is suffering over homosexuality, an addiction to homosexual sex is harder to resist than addiction to heterosexual sex.

Unf'ing real. The NUTS *ARE* running the asylum!!

This is news?


HTRN

Edit: I did some digging and the University demands are starting to look like horsehit. I would still like some more information though. If a gay person comes to her for guidance and her response is "have you tried not being gay" there may be a problem. If she helps the person to the best of her ability within the other persons belief system then I don't see any problem.

...released a statement to FOX News that said Augusta State does not discriminate on the basis of students’ moral, religious, political or personal beliefs.

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a public university that removed a Christian student from its graduate program in school counseling over her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. Monday's ruling, according to Julea Ward's attorneys, could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views.

“It’s a very dangerous precedent,” Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told FOX News Radio. “The ruling doesn’t say that explicitly, but that’s what is going to happen.”

U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh dismissed Ward’s lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. She was removed from the school’s counseling program last year because she refused to counsel homosexual clients.

The university contended she violated school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics.

“Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF senior counsel David French. “To reach its decision, the court had to do something that’s never been done in federal court: uphold an extremely broad and vague university speech code.”

Eastern Michigan University hailed the decision.

“We are pleased that the court has upheld our position in this matter,” EMU spokesman Walter Kraft said in a written statement. “Julea Ward was not discriminated against because of her religion. To the contrary, Eastern Michigan is deeply committed to the education of our students and welcomes individuals from diverse backgrounds into our community.”

In his 48-page opinion, Judge Steeh said the university had a rational basis for adopting the ACA Code of Ethics.

“Furthermore, the university had a rational basis for requiring students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values,” he wrote in a portion of his ruling posted by The Detroit News. “In the case of Ms. Ward, the university determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs – including homosexual relationships.”

Ward’s attorneys claim the university told her she would only be allowed to remain in the program if she went through a “remediation” program so that she could “see the error of her ways” and change her belief system about homosexuality.

The case is similar to a lawsuit the ADF filed against Augusta State University in Georgia. Counseling student Jennifer Keeton was allegedly told to stop sharing her Christian beliefs in order to graduate.

Keeton's lawsuit alleged that she was told to undergo a reeducation program and attend “diversity sensitivity training.”

University officials declined to comment on specifics of the lawsuit but released a statement to FOX News that said Augusta State does not discriminate on the basis of students’ moral, religious, political or personal beliefs.

Tedesco said both cases should be a warning to Christians attending public colleges and universities.

“Public universities are imposing the ideological stances of private groups on their students,” he said. “If you don’t comply, you will be kicked out. It’s scary stuff and it’s not a difficult thing to see what’s coming down the pike.”

The Alliance Defense Fund told FOX News it will appeal the ruling.

“We are pleased that the court has upheld our position in this matter,” EMU spokesman Walter Kraft said in a written statement. “Julea Ward was not discriminated against because of her religion. To the contrary, Eastern Michigan is deeply committed to the education of our students and welcomes individuals from diverse backgrounds into our community.”

I hate to say this, but the school may be right on this one.

There is a pretty bright line between "I believe homosexuals are sinners" and "I refuse to counsel homosexuals because they are sinners"

I don't disagree. However, she's in Grad School, which often blurs the lines between education and vocation.

I'd bet good money part of the degree program is successfully complete XX hours of student counseling in the university counseling center of some such nonsense, which she seems incapable of completing.

As a Physicist, I don't think I'd be able to say "I refuse to tutor homosexuals in the math and physics learning center because they are sinners."

How is this different?

(I'm mostly arguing to make a point here, because I think the University is being douche-nozzles about the whole thing)

University officials declined to comment on specifics of the lawsuit but released a statement to FOX News that said Augusta State does not discriminate on the basis of students’ moral, religious, political or personal beliefs.

As a Physicist, I don't think I'd be able to say "I refuse to tutor homosexuals in the math and physics learning center because they are sinners."

How is this different?

Did she refuse to counsel anyone, though? From how I'm reading it, she merely expressed her opinion in class discussions, which obviously offended some people. Nowhere does it say she refused to perform her job if she didn't agree with the person who came to her for help.

Did she refuse to counsel anyone, though? From how I'm reading it, she merely expressed her opinion in class discussions, which obviously offended some people. Nowhere does it say she refused to perform her job if she didn't agree with the person who came to her for help.

Keeton, 24, is pursuing her master’s degree in counseling at Augusta State. After her professors learned of her biblical beliefs, specifically her views on homosexual conduct, from both classroom discussions and private conversations with other students, the school imposed the re-education plan. Keeton never denigrated anyone in communicating her beliefs but merely stated factually what they were in appropriate contexts.

U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh dismissed Ward’s lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. She was removed from the school’s counseling program last year because she refused to counsel homosexual clients.