ICC Note: The Colorado School of Mines was recently sued by an alumnus after he was prohibited from citing Scripture on a personalized donor nameplate. He was told that any references to Bible verses that contained the words, “Lord,” “God,” or “Jesus” on the plates would be a violation the First Amendment. Alliance Defending Freedom recently stated that they are dropping a lawsuit against the school because the university has announced that all of the plates would be removed in order to settle the matter.
By Heather Clark
02/10/2016 United States (Christian News Network) – A university in Colorado that was sued by a former football player whose desire to cite two Scriptures on a donor nameplate was rejected by university officials has now decided to remove all donor nameplates rather than agree to allow the Bible verses.
As previously reported, as the Colorado School of Mines announced its plans last year to build a new athletic facility, alumni Michael Lucas, a former defensive tackle for the school’s football team, sought to donate toward the effort.
The university had offered to place the names of donors on nameplates that would be displayed in the facility’s new locker room, and the plates could include a message or a quote.
Lucas subsequently presented his donation and included the text that he desired for his nameplate: “Colossians 3:23” and “Micah 5:9.” However, he was soon told that his request could not be accepted because one of the Bible verses uses the word “Lord”—even though the plate would only cite the verses and not contain the text of the Scriptures.
Officials with the Colorado School of Mines then informed Lucas that the plates couldn’t use the words “Lord,” “God” or “Jesus” and couldn’t reference any Bible verses that contained the words. They stated that it would be a violation of the First Amendment to do so.
Lucas subsequently filed a federal lawsuit contending that the university’s actions conversely violate his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. According to Lucas’ attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the university had not informed donors that there were any restrictions on content, and other statements such as “Give ’em Hell” and “Take your wiskey clear” had been approved for other donors.
