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CV NEWS FEED // George Mason University (GMU) rescinded no-contact orders given to students who expressed concern over men accessing women’s bathrooms after the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) sued the college.
According to the ADF, the organization sued two months ago on behalf of third-year law students Selene Cerankosky and Maria Arcara.
Cerankosky and Arcara were in a private group chat with several other students when one student proposed adding feminine hygiene products to the men’s bathrooms. During the conversation, the law students expressed concern over men accessing women’s restrooms.
Two weeks later, GMU issued no-contact orders to Cerankosky and Arcara to prevent them from contacting the student who proposed feminine products in men’s bathrooms. There was no explanation or warning about the decision.
ADF sued GMU for unlawfully enforcing its Title IX and Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion sexual harassment policy against Cerankosky and Arcara. The school agreed to rescind the no-contact orders and update its policies in order to stop weaponizing Title IX against free-speech rights.
The school will pay Cerankosky and Arcara $15,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees.
“Universities — especially law schools — should be places of debate and discussion, and GMU has shown its commitment to this ideal with the settlement it reached with Selene and Maria,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom.
Langhofer added later, “ADF hopes these new measures will allow the university to continue to support students, maintain a safe environment, and foster the robust exchange of ideas that is the cornerstone of a college experience. Selene, Maria, and their fellow law students can now feel more confident that their fundamental freedoms of speech and religion will be respected on campus.”
