- [Narrator] This is the story
of an American college student,
Bernadette, and her friend, Jesus.
Like most college students,
Bernadette and Jesus take
classes, study for exams,
and pursue activities on campus
outside of the classroom,
things like sports, clubs,
and also talking with students
about ideas that they believe in.
Ideas like freedom of speech,
freedom of expression,
and also the idea that babies are people
with inherent rights,
like the right to life.
You see, Bernadette and Jesus
are what we would call pro-life
and they are members of the student club
Fresno State Students for Life.
So one bright, sunny day in May,
Bernadette and Jesus
did what many students
at Fresno State University do,
they chalked messages
explaining their beliefs
on the sidewalk near the library
on the campus of Fresno State,
a public university funded
by taxpayer dollars.
Bernadette's and Jesus'
messages said things like,
"Love them both, choose life."
And, "Pregnant?
"Need help?
"Call 800-712-HELP."
And, quoting Dr. Seuss,
"A person is a person,
no matter how small."
Scandalous, right?
Now, before Bernadette and Jesus
wrote their life-affirming messages,
they received permission
from university officials,
so they were in the clear.
Well, not so fast.
On that bright, sunny day in May,
an assistant professor of
public health at Fresno State,
Greg Thatcher, stopped them.
When Bernadette told
him she had permission,
he announced that he would return shortly
and erase the messages.
And that's exactly what he did.
Assistant Professor
Thatcher instructed students
in his 8:00 a.m. class to join him
in defacing and erasing
the pro-life messages.
One of his students even stole
Bernadette's and Jesus' chalk
to write pro-abortion
messages on the sidewalk.
When Bernadette confronted them,
Assistant Professor Thatcher
again informed Bernadette
that she had no right to chalk messages
on the sidewalk near the library
and Bernadette, again, informed him
that she had received official
university permission.
In response, Assistant Professor Thatcher
personally erased the
life-affirming messages
and proclaimed that quote,
"College campuses are
not free speech areas.
"Free speech is free speech
in the free speech area.
"It's a pretty simple concept," he said.
Fresno State doesn't
have a free speech area.
It is a free speech area.
Like, all of it.
You see, people like
Assistant Professor Thatcher
don't like that the Constitution
protects speech that they disagree with.
And that's okay.
What's not okay is that
Assistant Professor Thatcher,
a government official,
acted to prevent students
from engaging in speech
that he disagrees with.
Which is why they asked for help
from Alliance Defending Freedom.
Thatcher was sued in
federal court in California
and it did not go well for
Assistant Professor Thatcher.
The court prohibited him from interfering
with Fresno State Students for
Life's expressive activities
and from directing
other students to do so.
As a result, to this day
Fresno State Students for Life
are able to share their
life-affirming messages
with other students and
Assistant Professor Thatcher
can't do anything about it.
The end.
As part of the settlement,
Assistant Professor Thatcher
was ordered to pay legal fees and damages
to Bernadette and Jesus,
and undergo First Amendment training.
While Bernadette and Jesus won their case,
threats to free speech are
happening on college campuses.
And Bernadette Jesus made
a difference that day.
An expectant mother who
saw the sidewalk messages
talked to the club and
decided to keep her baby.
