ACLU Affiliate Files Suit Saying R.I. College Violated First Amendment By Removing Signs

Rhode Island College violated the First Amendment rights of a student group last year when it removed signs placed to advocate for reproductive freedom and protest "the refusal of contraception by pharmacists," according to a lawsuit filed in a federal court on Monday by the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Providence Journal reports. The RIC Women's Studies Organization on Dec. 4, 2005, placed signs that said "Keep your rosaries off our ovaries" and "Our bodies, our choice" and "Brought to you by RIC Women's Studies Organization." Nichole Aguiar, the group's president, said the group planned to advocate for women's issues the next day. According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., a Catholic priest saw the signs and mentioned them to college President John Nazarian, who ordered campus police to remove the signs. The suit also says that the group was told that they took measures necessary to place the signs, but Nazarian later said additional approvals were required to place signs at that location. The suit says a new policy on signs, which was instituted in September, is being selectively enforced and asks the court to declare that the policy violates the Rhode Island Constitution and the U.S. Constitution. Rhode Island College spokesperson Jane Fusco refuted the allegation that the college was selectively implementing the sign policy. She said the Women's Studies Organization's signs were not removed because of their "viewpoint," adding, "When they first appeared, they were without any program or venue to support the slogan, and they were in an area on the main college road where we don't generally erect signs" (Fitzpatrick, Providence Journal, 12/5). The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, the AP/Boston Globe reports (Tucker, AP/Boston Globe, 12/4).

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