Penn State and James Pursley, Class of 2001 and a football letterman, settled a legal dispute alleging religious discrimination Thursday.
Citing breaches of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, Pursley sued the university after the Penn State Alumni Association denied his request for a biblical verse reference on a brick at the Alumni Walk of the Hintz Family Alumni Center. Pursley requested that the brick be inscribed with the words "Joshua 24:15" and his name and graduation year.
The challenge ended after a Stipulation of Dismissal was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit was initially filed by Pursley, of Chicago, in middle district court on Dec. 12, 2007.
Pursley could not be reached for comment.
Penn State spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said the legal trouble was because of a mistake by the Alumni Association. When the lawsuit was brought to Penn State's attention, it was realized.
"It was a misinterpretation of the nondiscrimination policy by the Alumni Association," Mountz said.
The brick will join inscriptions such as "Merry Christmas" and "May God Bless/Penn State" -- examples of "personal" bricks listed in the complaint.
The Penn State Alumni Association reserves the right to deny any brick inscription that is deemed "inappropriate," the association's content policy reads, according to the lawsuit.
Pursley's lead counsel through the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), Heather Hacker, said she and Pursley are pleased with the outcome and with Penn State's response.
"They agreed to place Mr. Pursley's brick within six months," Hacker said. "They also agreed to pay $1,000 in attorney's fees."
The ADF, which calls itself "Christ-centered," seeks to provide a "legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth," according to its Web site, www.alliancedefensefund.org.
In an interview before the case had been settled, Clay Calvert, co-director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment, said the ADF relies on cases like this one to make a point among public entities.
"If they can show Penn State, a major Big Ten University, changed its policy, it would be an important settlement for ADF to card out and use when negotiating with other universities," said Calvert, who serves on The Daily Collegian's Board of Directors.
Hacker said the ADF hopes it will be a lesson to other public institutions.
"Hopefully, it will be a sign to other public entities that they cannot discriminate," Hacker said.
Penn State is also pleased with the outcome and sees no further litigation surfacing from the issue, Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said.
"We're all in agreement," she said.
