George Washington University Yields to Legal Threats, Bad PR, Over Religious Symbol Ban

WASHINGTON - May 27, 2015 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 27,  2015):  Faced with threats of legal action, widespread condemnation from several major religious organizations, and very critical if not satirical reports in many media outlets both here and in India, the George Washington University [GWU] has backed down on its threat to effectively ban any display of an ancient religious symbol sacred to at least four major religious, by banning a student who innocently and briefly displayed it.

        By declining to expel a student for innocently displaying a svastika he brought back from India after a trip to study Indian religions, the University had seemingly determined that the mere display of the svastika symbol - which somewhat resembles the Nazi swastika but is different in color, orientation, and proportions - does not warrant punishment.

        Thus Hindu, Buddhist, Jainist, Zoroastrian, and other students now remain free to peacefully display this ancient religious symbol, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who has led the fight against the symbol's de facto ban and to allow the student to remain at GWU.

        While the university may of course punish students who post any symbol or words illegally - e.g., by trespassing, vandalism, etc. - or post any symbol or words which it can prove creates a clear and present danger of immediate violence, the guarantees of free speech and academic freedom prohibit it from punishing the mere innocent display of even the most hateful symbols like the real Nazi swastika, much less the display of a symbol which might simply be mistaken for a Nazi swastika, says Banzhaf.

        Punishing a student for displaying an Indian svastika because it could be mistaken for a Nazi swastika makes as much sense as expelling one for displaying a six-pointed Jewish star because it could be mistaken for a five-pointed pentagram, or for using in a flyer the word "niggardly" because it could be mistaken for a racial slur.  Both actions would also violate the freedom of expression which the university has guaranteed to all its students, and which courts have shown they are prepared to enforce.

        The University was warned from several sources that it could face legal actions - not only against the University itself, but also against individual University officials - if it went ahead with its initial plans to expel the student.  Representatives from a number of major religious organizations also wrote angry letters to GWU's President, demanding that the student not be expelled.


        The incident was very widely reported, both here and in dozens of media outlets in India, usually critically and often sarcastically, since it represented a major affront to their religious beliefs, and a major assault on freedom of religion.

        Imagine a situation where Hindu, Buddhist, and students of several other religions face expulsion for wearing or otherwise displaying their sacred religious symbol, while at the same time students who were Jewish, Christian, and of other religious could freely display their symbols, says Banzhaf.

        One respected U.S. magazine went so far as to suggest that alumni and other prospective donors should refuse to contribute to GWU.  Others compared it sarcastically to a Texas school district's attempt to keep the devil out of school by banning not only the Jewish star but also the peace symbol.

        This whole incident, based upon mistakes, should never have occurred, and GWU - albeit under considerable pressure - has now hopefully  put it past us, says Banzhaf.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/ @profbanzhaf