One of the benefits of college is that it’s supposed to be a site of higher learning where students grow and develop as young adults. Part of that growth involves having their beliefs challenged as they encounter differing worldviews they may not have otherwise encountered before college.
Simply put, colleges should embrace this. This exchange of differing or opposing viewpoints is a foundational piece of campus life. Yet, far too often, we’ve seen these institutions of higher education flagrantly disregard this fact and outright suppress viewpoints they dislike.
Norvilia Etienne Cain can personally attest to that.
Who is Norvilia Etienne Cain?
Norvilia is a staunch pro-life supporter.
“When I was 16, I found out that my life had been on the line because of the circumstances surrounding my conception,” she said. “This new revelation shocked me to the core and compelled me to reexamine my life. My anger turned into thanks, first to God for creating me, then to my beloved mother, who chose life in such a difficult situation.
“As thankful as I was, I realized that this privilege was not granted to everyone, and the Lord started his work in me.”
Norvilia firmly believes that young women need alternatives to abortion and that moral and material support play a vital role in helping them choose life.
This is where Norvilia answered the call as a Christian: to inform more young women about the choice of life.
Norvilia also noticed that abortion giants like Planned Parenthood often set up shop near schools, which, as she put it, were “places they know they are likely to lure in their next victims.”
Norvilia wanted to respond directly to those nearby presences.
“Through prayer, I felt that God was calling me to start a pro-life club on my campus at Queens College,” Norvilia said. “Though I resisted at first, a spiritual mentor encouraged me to trust in the promptings of the Holy Spirit.”
She added: “I thought answering that call, despite my initial hesitation, would be the only barrier I would have to cross in order to start a pro-life club on campus.
“But I was wrong.”
Norvilia faced resistance from Queens College
In 2016, Norvilia set out to start a Students for Life chapter at her school, Queens College in New York. She went on to follow every step of the school’s process to be formally recognized.
To join the over 100 recognized student groups at Queens College, Norvilia had to recruit 14 students to join her group, fill out a long application, and make a PowerPoint presentation to the Campus Affairs Committee.
Norvilia explained to the committee how her group would serve the pregnant and parenting women at Queens College: throwing baby showers, providing other practical assistance, and giving them information about abortion alternatives. They would also bring speakers to campus and educate their fellow students about the pro-life view.
This also wasn’t just a matter of signing some form or getting a few signatures. There were a number of steps that Norvilia had to undertake first.
“Yet, we were met with resistance at every turn,” Norvilia said. In fact, the Queens College Student Life Office actively discouraged Norvilia from applying.
Part of the process involved a presentation to the Campus Affairs Committee.
“At that meeting, each of our e-board members spoke of the impact this club could have on our Queens College community,” Norvilia explained. “We mentioned our connection to a local pregnancy resource center and our plan to direct our pregnant students to tangible resources. We mentioned our goal to promote the culture of life at our college by educating our peers on the sanctity of human life. We even showed a video that explained the impact a club like ours could have on a student considering abortion and her baby.”
In spite of that, Norvilia’s initial club presentation was cut short, and a decision about the club’s status that should’ve taken a day took a week. Other clubs had gotten their official responses within the day.
Despite following every rule and prerequisite to a tee, Queens College Students for Life was still denied. In fact, not only was Queens College Students for Life denied, but the club was also not given a reason for the rejection.
How the college’s actions hurt Norvilia and other pro-life students
It goes without saying that even without the school’s official recognition, the First Amendment protects a group of pro-life students’ right to congregate to stick up for unborn babies.
But this problem goes beyond just that. Student clubs need official recognition to access resources necessary to have a meaningful voice on campus. In denying recognition to Norvilia’s Students for Life chapter, Queens College deliberately denied these pro-life students certain rights and benefits that other student clubs get to enjoy, and—again—without a stated reason why.
Without official Queens College approval, the Students for Life club would not be recognized alongside the other 100 or so official campus clubs, including pro-abortion clubs. This was a blatant double standard.
Without Queens College recognition, Students for Life also wouldn’t be allowed to reserve meeting spaces on campus and wouldn’t be allowed to invite any speakers to campus, either.
Perhaps worst of all, without official recognition, Students for Life wouldn’t be able to request student funding. Queens College requires students to pay hundreds of dollars in student activity fees every year, allowing those funds to be distributed to student groups to express their messages and bring in their speakers.
Not being recognized as an official student club stripped Students for Life of these critical rights.
Norvilia stands up for her rights on campus
Norvilia and Queens College Students for Life deserved better than to be treated like a second-class club.
“When we asked for their reason for our denial, we were met with even more silence,” Norvilia said. That silence eventually prompted her to connect with ADF.
In 2017, ADF filed a federal lawsuit against Queens College officials on behalf of Students for Life, Queens College Students for Life v. Members of the City University of New York Board of Trustees. (Queens College is a part of the City University of New York system.)
The college had given unlimited power to the Campus Affairs Committee to decide whether a group should be granted official recognition and whether it could receive funding. This sweeping authority allows them to deny recognition and funding for any reason, including unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
Public universities cannot refuse to approve a student group without justification and must ensure recognition and student activity funding are approved in a viewpoint-neutral manner.
After Norvilia and Students for Life filed suit, the college quickly recognized Students for Life, but tried to avoid changing the arbitrary policies that triggered this entire ordeal in the first place.
After further discussions with ADF attorneys, the New York school relented and agreed to change its policies later that year, further cementing this critical win for Norvilia. And the changes were sweeping and significant.
Queens College revised its student organization recognition and funding policies to prevent discrimination based on a club’s beliefs. The changes included:
- Concrete guidelines on the approval of student groups and allocation of funds
- A requirement for a written decision
- The elimination of a discriminatory student body “referendum” on whether groups will be funded
- The addition of an appeals process that student organizations can use if they are denied recognition.
“When public universities unconstitutionally favor some student groups over others based upon their views, they act in direct contradiction to their role as the ‘marketplace of ideas,’” said ADF Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton. “We commend Queens College for finally deciding to do the right thing by their students and revise its policies. These revisions will ensure that no clubs are denied meeting space, funding, and other benefits necessary to form a club and fully participate on campus based solely upon their point of view.”
Norvilia’s courage inspired change
Thanks to Norvilia’s courage and refusal to just accept things as they stood, Students for Life is now a fully recognized student club at Queens College. Student groups will not have to worry about going through the discrimination that Norvilia had to endure.
It would have been easy for Norvilia to stop when Students for Life was officially recognized, but she understood that the policies that stood in her way were still in place, and that they could negatively affect other student groups in the future.
And despite some further pushback from students who may not be interested in hearing about pro-life views, Students for Life is thriving.
“We’ve hit the ground running, meeting, holding an event on the main quad at Queens College, and engaging our fellow students with a pro-life voice they didn’t hear before,” Norvilia explained. “Despite our flyers being ripped off their posts, we’ve managed to change some hearts and minds through peaceful conversation.
“Our aim is to change many more.”
It is thanks to her dedication to both the pro-life cause and the U.S. Constitution that Queens College agreed to rewrite its policies, which impacted nearly 20,000 other students. And it’s proof that the determination of one student can make a difference for so many others on campus, now and in the future.
“By God’s grace, the Queens College Students for Life Club is an official club on campus,” Norvilia said. “And I am confident that lives will be saved because of His mercy.”
Will you donate to ADF to help ensure students like Norvilia get their voices heard?
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