Trump, Bush Appeals Court Judges Rule in Favor of Professor of ‘Christian Thought’ Who Refused to Call Students by Their Preferred Gender Pronouns

Nicholas Meriwether The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled in favor of a “devout Christian” professor who was disciplined because he “refused to refer to students by their ‘preferred pronouns'” after a 2016 directive at a small state university in Ohio ordered him to do so.  The court held that university officials and a lower federal district court failed to recognize the professor’s First Amendment rights to free speech and to the free exercise of his religion. By so holding, the court decried the notion that a university might “wield alarming power to compel ideological conformity.” The professor, Nicholas Meriwether , “strives to live out his faith each day,” the Sixth Circuit’s opinion reads. As such, “his religious convictions influence how he thinks about human nature, marriage, gender, sexuality, morality, politics, and social issues.”  Meriwether believes that “God created human beings as either male or female, that this sex is fixed in each person from the moment of conception, and that it cannot be changed, regardless of an individual’s feelings or desires,” the opinion adds. The college, Shawnee State University, employed Meriwether for 25 years. He taught courses in philosophy, religion, ethics, and the “History of Christian Thought.” According to the Sixth Circuit, a university directive said that any professor who “refused to use a pronoun that reflects a student’s self-asserted gender identity” would face discipline. When Meriwether questioned officials about what role his own beliefs played in what he was allowed to say, he was told he must call students what they wished to be called “regardless of” his own “convictions or views on the subject.” “By forbidding Meriwether from describing his views on gender identity even in his syllabus, Shawnee State silenced a viewpoint that could have catalyzed a robust and insightful in-class discussion,” the court noted. The court described Meriwether’s superior, Jennifer Pauley , as “derisive and scornful.” According to the court record, Paule  told Meriwether that “Christians are ‘primarily motivated out of fear’ and should be ‘banned from teaching courses regarding that religion.'” Though the university’s policy was announced in 2016, Meriwether’s troubles started later.  In Jan. 2018, he referred to a student known in the opinion only as “Jane Doe” as “sir.” “[N]o one . . . would have assumed that [Doe] was female based on Doe’s outward appearances,” Meriwether said. From the court’s opinion: After class, Doe approached Meriwether and “demanded” that Meriwether “refer to [Doe] as a woman” and use “feminine titles and pronouns.” This was the first time that Meriwether learned that Doe identified as a woman. So Meriwether paused before responding because his sincerely held religious beliefs prevented him from communicating messages about gender identity that he believes are false. He explained that he wasn’t sure if he could comply with Doe’s demands. Doe became hostile—circling around Meriwether at first, and then approaching him in a threatening manner: “I guess this means I can call you a cu–.” Doe promised that Meriwether would be fired if he did not give in to Doe’s demands. Meriwether reported the incident to senior university officials, including the Dean of Students and his department chair, Jennifer Pauley. University officials then informed their Title IX office of the incident. Officials from that office met with Doe and escalated Doe’s complaint to Roberta Milliken, the Acting Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dean Milliken went to Meriwether’s office the next day. She “advised” that he “eliminate all sex-based references from his expression”—no using “he” or “she,” “him” or “her,” “Mr.” or “Ms.,” and so on. Meriwether pointed out that eliminating pronouns altogether was next to impossible, especially when teaching. So he proposed a compromise: He would keep using pronouns to address most students in class but would refer to Doe using only Doe’s last name. Dean Milliken accepted this compromise, apparently believing it followed the university’s gender-identity policy. That didn’t last long. The student, who continued to attend class, complained again; the university told Meriwether he would be forced to call the student a female, the opinion states. The university refused to allow Meriwether to place a disclaimer in his syllabus which stated that he would only refer to students by their preferred pronouns “under compulsion” — and with a disclaimer “setting forth his personal and religious beliefs about gender identity.” The college rubbished that suggestion as a violation of its “gender-identity policy.” Meriwether continued calling the student by her last name. He slipped up once but corrected himself. The student remained in class and received a “high grade” for “very good work” and “frequent participation in class discussions.” The same student complained again; the college initiated what the Sixth Circuit referred to as “a less-than-thorough investigation”:  “aside from Doe and Meriwether themselves, none of the witnesses testified about a single interaction between the two.” The investigation concluded that Meriwether “created a hostile environment” and had violated “nondiscrimination policies” involving “gender identity.” Formal disciplinary proceedings followed; the university ignored Meriwether’s “request for a religious accommodation.”  Administrators also refused to “grapple with Meriwether’s request for a religious accommodation,” the opinion reads. In subsequent meetings, then-Provost Jeffrey Bauer “exhibited deep hostility” to both Meriwether and a union representative who intervened on the professor’s behalf. Before denying the professor’s grievance, Bauer “repeatedly interrupted the [union] representative and made clear that he would not discuss the academic freedom and religious discrimination aspects of the case.” The union representative tried to explain the teachings of Meriwether’s church and why Meriwether felt he was being compelled to affirm a position at odds with his faith. At one point during the hearing, Provost Bauer “openly laughed.” Indeed, Bauer was so hostile that the union representative “was not able to present the grievance.” Bauer denied the grievance. An additional investigation determined that Meriwether had not “created a hostile educational environment” but rather had caused “differential treatment” — a change in theory which the Sixth Circuit later bashed profusely. “The officials justified the university’s refusal to accommodate Meriwether’s religious beliefs by equating his views to those of a hypothetical racist or sexist,” the court’s opinion says. Meriwether was never discharged; nor was his pay cut. He sued because he feared those actions were imminent. A reprimand letter in his file would also make it difficult for him to obtain employment elsewhere, he said. His case alleged violations of the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment; the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment; the Ohio Constitution; and his contract with the university. The student known as Jane Doe and an organization known as Sexuality and Gender Acceptance intervened. A federal magistrate recommended tossing the case; a federal district court agreed. The Sixth Circuit flipped the matter and sent it back to district court. The resulting appeals court opinion, Meriwether v. Hartop , was written by Judge Amul Thapar , a Donald Trump appointee and Federalist Society contributor .  Senior Judge David McKeague , a George W. Bush appointee, and Judge Joan Larsen , another Trump appointee, were the other two judges on the three-judge panel. The appellate judges held that the district court botched the law when it decided that Meriwether was not protected by the First Amendment while teaching in the classroom. “Since Meriwether has plausibly alleged that Shawnee State violated his First Amendment rights by compelling his speech or silence and casting a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom, his free-speech claim may proceed,” the appeals court panel unanimously held.
Trump, Bush Appeals Court Judges Rule in Favor of Professor of ‘Christian Thought’ Who Refused to Call Students by Their Preferred Gender Pronouns posted first on http://realempcol.tumblr.com/rss