Education

Watchdog Lambasts University For Protecting Pro-Abortion Vandals

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Grace Carr Reporter
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California State University, Fresno has come under fire for protecting a pro-abortion vandal that tore down a number of pro-life fliers.

Bernadette Tasy and two other members of Fresno State Students For Life were posting fliers on a “general posting” bulletin board at the university on April 10 when they heard their flyers being torn down and saw them go missing, according to Alliance Defending Freedom. When they moved to replace the fliers, a student walked past them and ripped the fliers out of their hands before ripping some of the remaining fliers off the bulletin board.

Tasy reported the event and was informed on June 10 by campus police that the investigation into the culprit had been referred to Student Affairs. After a period of silence, Tasy contacted the Office of Student Conduct on June 20 to inquire if any progress had been made in finding the student who tore down their flyers. The university responded the next morning, writing, “the information you have requested cannot be provided” because “students’ disciplinary records are confidential,” according to Alliance Defending Freedom’s July 3 letter written to the university on behalf of the pro-life students.

The university refers to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), seeking to justify its denial of Tasy’s request. The act does not, however, prevent Fresno State from revealing the information. “An educational institution may release an education record if the ‘disclosure … is to a victim of an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence,'” Christian legal nonprofit ADF wrote, citing FERPA.

“Students deserve to know if and how their administrators choose to deal with acts of vandalism that target them and their point of view,” ADF legal counsel Travis Barham said in a statement.

Fresno State “investigated the incident, identified the perpetrator, held a student-conduct hearing, and addressed the issue appropriately,” a university spokesperson told Campus Reform. “The University only discloses disciplinary action consequences in instances where required by law or in cases of sexual misconduct or potential harm to the University community’s safety.”

The California university also found itself in hot water after one of its professors called the late former first lady Barbara Bush an “amazing racist” and said she is “happy the witch is dead.” (RELATED: Fresno State Closes Investigation Into Anti-Bush, Terrorism-Inciting Prof [VIDEO])

ADF did not reply to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment in time for publication.

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