OneNewsNow.com - College Student Initially Denied Certificate Over Religious Viewpoint

February 4, 2008
by Allie Martin - OneNewsNow

An Arizona college student has been awarded credit for a journalism course, after administrators initially refused to recognize her efforts due to what they termed her "religious bias." 

Last fall, Sara Sloan, a journalism student at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, contacted the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), after she had been denied an occupational journalism certificate. Despite Sloan being an honor student, a panel of professors who reviewed her work denied her certificate on the basis of strong Christian themes in many of her articles.
 
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel with the ACLJ, says the case is a blatant example of discrimination. "They actually said 'You identify yourself as a Christian in your bio, and that certainly comes through in the bias in the article -- and it would be a turnoff to any reader,'" Sekulow points out.
 
Sekulow notes that the article was supposed to be about a famous person, and Sloan had interviewed Kirk Cameron -- a famous TV actor who became a Christian. During the review process, several professors commented on the Christian tone of her articles, saying the stories needed to be more relevant and inspirational to readers who were not believers.
 
The school reversed its decision shortly after receiving a letter from the ACLJ outlining Sloan's First Amendment rights.  She has received an associate's degree and is now pursuing a bachelor's degree in communications at another school.