Law students punished for confronting men in women’s toilets

FIRST AT THE DAILY SIGNAL –Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit Friday on behalf of two law students who raised concerns about men’s access to women’s restrooms at George Mason University’s law school.

Third-year law students Selene Cerankosky and Maria Arcara voiced concern after a classmate tipped off the Class of 2025 Antonin Scalia Law School GroupMe discussion group about his proposal to add feminine hygiene men’s toiletry products.

After the student asked for comment on his proposal, Cerankosky responded to the post saying that if women had access to men’s restrooms, he feared men would try to use private spaces for women, which would violate his safety and privacy, as well as her religious beliefs. about human sexuality.

Arcara said she agreed. The student accused them of bigotry and complained to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Two weeks later, the Arlington, Va., school, without explanation or warning, issued a no-contact order barring females from having contact with the male student.

“GMU was wrong to censor me for expressing my beliefs, especially without giving me a chance to defend myself,” Cerankosky said in a statement to The Daily Signal. “Universities should be the place where free speech is most celebrated.”

Attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit process Friday, claiming the school violated the students’ First and 14th Amendment rights by issuing no-contact orders after they shared their concerns about adding feminine hygiene products to men’s restrooms in a private chat by group of law students.

The school used it illegally Title IX and sexual harassment policies against students because of their religious beliefs and privacy concerns, according to attorneys at ADF, a conservative nonprofit law firm.

“Universities, including law schools, must preserve the marketplace of ideas for all to encourage civil discourse for our future lawyers, politicians, judges and leaders,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom .

“Selene and Maria respectfully expressed their opinion about the biological differences between men and women and how the other student’s proposal blurs those lines at the expense of safety, privacy and religious belief,” Langhofer continued in a statement.

George Mason’s policy allows the university to punish students whose views on controversial issues differ from those of the school, according to Langhofer. As a result, Cerankosky’s and Arcare’s legal careers are in jeopardy.

“We urge the court to restore the students’ First Amendment rights and order George Mason to cease enforcing its policy against protected speech,” Langhofer said.

GMU’s policy allows the school to include protected speech as “sexual harassment,” according to ADF’s complaint.

The policy also does not require the DEI’s office to determine whether sexual harassment has occurred, inform students before they are disciplined, inform accusers of allegations, or allow students to seek “supportive measures,” such as would be no contact orders.

Students can be expelled from school and scrutinized in their legal careers as a result of the no-contact orders, the lawsuit explains.

“In America, you can’t be punished simply for speaking your mind — that’s the law,” Arcara told The Daily Signal. “Scalia Law trains the next generation of lawyers, and shutting down speech on campus means GMU is failing in that mission. Selene and I had the right to object to tampons in men’s restrooms, and we shouldn’t be stopped from talking to our colleagues about it.”

The attorneys filed the case in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division.

The Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.