The College Fix

Former Fix assistant editor Robby Soave of The Daily Caller reports on a new lawsuit filed by libertarian students against the University of Michigan:

A libertarian student club is suing the University of Michigan for political discrimination stemming from a decision made by UM officials to deny funding to the group.

A university funding commission refused to fund UM’s chapter of the Young Americans for Liberty on the grounds that the group was engaged in “political” activity–despite giving money to left-leaning political groups, such as the NAACP and Immigrant Rights Advocacy.

In October, YAL hosted a guest lecture by anti-affirmative action activist Jennifer Gratz. The event, which was covered by The Daily Caller, drew a crowd of left-wing hecklers.

Later, YAL organizers petitioned the university to contribute $1,000 toward the cost of the event. UM collects mandatory fees from students, and allocates the money–about $300,000 each year–to various student groups for the express purpose of hosting events and bringing speakers to campus.

But YAL’s request was denied by the Student Organization Funding Commission on the grounds that it hosted a “political” event, making it ineligible for funding under UM policy, which forbids that the money go to political or religious causes.

By collecting mandatory fees from students and then refusing to fund these students’ events, the university is violating the First Amendment to the Constitution, the lawsuit alleges…

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