Attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have filed a federal lawsuit against Michigan State University officials on behalf of two college students forced to pay fees to a platform that supports political messages conflicting with their deeply held beliefs.
The lawsuit, Barbieri v. Jeitschko, involves Nathan Barbieri and Nolan Radomski, both sophomores at Michigan State University,
Barbieri and Radomski are Christians and hold viewpoints that adhere to their faith on philosophical, moral, political, and social matters. Their belief system is rooted in Scripture and affirms the inherent value of every human life, including that of the unborn.
As part of the requirements for completing their degree, both students were required to take a course called Business Communications, which they enrolled for in the Spring of 2023. Upon receiving the syllabus for Business Communications, Barbieri, Radomski, and the other students in the course discovered an unusual requirement by the professor of the course, Amy Wisner. It stated that they had to pay a yearly subscription fee of $99 to a platform named “The Rebellion Community.” This platform was described as a “global social learning community” with a dedicated private space for the course, offering access to shared areas utilized by members of the larger community—services already offered by the university.
After completing their payment on the online subscription page, a message on the webpage assured students that Professor Wisner did not personally benefit from their membership fees. However, Professor Wisner’s Facebook posts exposed her as the one controlling the group and donating the proceeds to external groups. One of them is Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides abortions and engages in activities that go against the students’ deeply held personal and religious beliefs.
In an interview on FOX News, Barbieri, along with ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, told host Dana Perino that students couldn’t pass the class without paying the membership fee and that it was “completely shocking” when he found out through social media posts that his money was going to fund Planned Parenthood.
ADF Legal Counsel Logan Spena says that university professors should not have the power to compel students to finance or endorse political advocacy groups that contradict their personal beliefs.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys argue that Michigan State officials violated the student’s First Amendment rights and federal civil rights laws by allowing professors to force students to support speech that contradicts their deepest values and faith. The lawsuit further contends that Wisner acted with “reckless disregard for Plaintiffs’ constitutional liberties” and that the Plaintiffs are suffering irreparable harm from Wisner’s’ actions because Wisner is “still using their funds to engage in and support political expression Plaintiffs do not wish to subsidize.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life.
ADF Church Alliance and ADF Ministry Alliance are affordable legal membership programs specifically created to equip and safeguard churches and ministries exercising their right to operate, teach, and minister in alignment with biblical principles without government intervention.
