Students sue George Mason after objecting to proposal to put tampons in male bathrooms

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: WTOP

Students sue George Mason after objecting to proposal to put tampons in male bathrooms

Neal Augenstein | [e-mail]
November 11, 2024, 5:24 PM

Two law students at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia, have filed a free speech and due process lawsuit against the school president and other leaders, saying their constitutional rights were violated after raising concerns about putting tampons in men’s restrooms.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, third-year law students Selene Cerankosky and Maria Arcara said the school ordered them to have no contact with another student who proposed stocking all restrooms, including men’s rooms, with menstrual hygiene products.

Cerankosky and Arcara are represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, which describes itself as “one of the leading Christian law firms committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, marriage and family, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.”

The two students said they were disciplined after participating in a Sept. 27 class-wide online chat, in which a male student, identified in the suit as Mr. Doe, solicited comments about his proposal and said he was the “Law School/Student Representative” for the Graduate and Professional Studies Assembly.

{snip}

Neal Augenstein
Neal Augenstein has been a general assignment reporter with WTOP since 1997. He says he looks forward to coming to work every day, even though that means waking up at 3:30 a.m.
[e-mail]
@AugensteinWTOP

Read more: https://wtop.com/local/2024/11/students-sue-george-mason-after-objecting-to-proposal-to-put-tampons-in-male-bathrooms/

[Bettie]

1. ON what planet do they even have standing

it harms NO ONE and shouldn't even be an issue.

Ah, but right wingers are the delicate flowers who can barely stand a raised eyebrow without having the vapors.

[Prairie Gates]

2. "the school ordered them to have no contact with another student"

They're suing because the school is preventing them from harassing another student? I get that this is the kind of shit that gets you excited, but even you must find this particular suit pretty dopey, no?

[bronxiteforever]

3. This will probably be covered more than

the fact that the POTUS in 2025 will be 79 years old and hides his medical records.

[republianmushroom]

4. Oh, those poor little snow flakes.

Time they grow up and become adults.

[Jk23]

5. The lawsuit is stupid but of course they're law students so...

The lawsuit for not being able to harass another student aside. ... I can't be the only person who reads putting tampon machines in the men's room and thinking of themselves oh God this is why we lose elections...

[reACTIONary]

6. There is no allegation in the news article....

... that they harrased anyone. The article quotes their objections to the policy during a group discussion. So, yes, putting tampon machines I the men's room is part of the problem, but shutting down free speech on the issue also is.

[Lawdog94]

7. Distortion of the facts.

As someone who is both an acquaintance of the family of the male law student involved, and a lawyer myself, I have to set the record straight about the “punishment” of two other law students supposedly due to their opposition of the male student’s suggestion to put tampons in the girls bathroom. That's not what happened.
The articles published on this incident have it completely wrong. It's not surprising. The press are not exactly known for their 100% accuracy, and the topic is just too timely and juicy for them to publish the more banal truth.
The reality is that this dispute was about jealousies and anger towards the male student as he was organizing an event for the law school, and was also elected the leader of GAPSA (Graduate and Professional Student Association) for his law school. The two female students opposed his appointment to that association. The opposition seemed to stem from the fact that he is gay. There was bullying of him and hostility directed towards him prior to the chat that took place discussing tampons in the restroom. I know this for a fact, as I was consulted about the bullying issue prior to the date of the chat. Whether you agree with his opinion or not, the male law student was exercising his right to free speech. In fact he was representing other students who had come to him asking about the availability of these products in the restrooms. In the chat, he was open towards other students’ opinions that differed from his, and suggested an alternative of having some of these products available outside of the restrooms. It was simply a discussion between students and no policy was implemented, just a discussion of pros and cons.
The opposition to him came from the other two students who were already angry about the fact that he was organizing an event, and that he had been elected by GAPSA to represent the school. He sought protection from the school by requesting no contact orders regarding the harassment against him, not in relation to any one particular topic, but with respect to their harassment against him generally.
They were in fact, trying to silence him, and deny him his right to free speech, not the other way around.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. Hmmm. Thanks for the input, and good evening. NT

[FakeNoose]

9. Welcome to DU and thanks for this background information

Edit to add - sorry this is directed to Lawdog4 above

I'm wondering whether it's possible that female students at George Mason University are actually using the men's bathrooms because there aren't enough bathrooms for the women? I was in a situation like that around 1969-70 when a formerly all-male school opened up and started enrolling women undergrads. It took more than a year for the classroom and dorm buildings to all be upgraded with enough bathrooms for the new students. In the meantime women found it necessary to use men's lavatories, with occasional embarrassment I might add.

[SomewhereInTheMiddle]

10. Similar experience at Women's College that went co-ed.

Few men's rooms at first. But I never used a Women's room. I held it or when home (across the street from campus). That changed over time.