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Landmark Grove City Decision 30 Years Ago Today
GROVE CITY, Pa. – It was 30 years ago today that the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Grove City College v. Bell, the suit that established the small liberal arts college as a symbol of independence in higher education.
In 1978, Grove City College and four of its students sued the U.S. Department of Education over its threat to withdraw financial aid from students because the president of Grove City, Charles S. MacKenzie, refused to sign a form that said the college was in compliance with Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination against women in education.
Grove City College, which as a matter of Christian conscience has never discriminated against women or anyone else, argued that the form MacKenzie would not sign represented an attempt by the government to take control of private education and subject the school to unwanted and unwarranted federal regulation.
The case wound its way through lower federal courts -- in his opinion, one judge wondered why the government was “hounding” a school that supported women’s rights -- until it reached the Supreme Court.
The lawyer who represented Grove City, David Lascell, argued that Title IX, which governs education programs receiving federal financial assistance, didn’t apply to Grove City because of its longstanding refusal to accept federal money, and that taking away financial aid to students as a result of the college’s actions was unfair.
Despite several justices’ sympathetic words -- and support from a wide spectrum of the public and the media -- the college lost the case. Rather than submit to federal jurisdiction that could threaten its core commitment to faith and freedom, Grove City College withdrew from federal education grant programs immediately, replacing the money that helped needy students cover their tuition with its own system of financial aid.
The loss in court wasn’t seen as a victory for those who advocated government control of education, and “civil rights” legislation to rectify what were seen as shortcomings of the court’s decision was advanced in 1988 only to be vetoed by Ronald Reagan.
“The truth is, this legislation isn’t a civil rights bill. … The Grove City bill would force court-ordered social engineers into every corner of American society. I won’t cave to the demagoguery of those who cloak a big government power grab in the mantle of civil rights,” Reagan said.
In 1996, the college severed its last connection to the federal government when it withdrew completely from federal student loans programs and established its own system of private loans.
As college officials and supporters viewed it, the Bell decision set Grove City College on a new, clearer road to total independence from governmental control. "It hasn’t been an easy road, but it has led to a unique place in higher education that’s allowed the college to maintain the standards its founders set and since embraced by generations of 'Grovers,' " the school said in a news release on the 30th anniversary of the landmark decision.
The growth of the college since the Supreme Court decision, supporters say, demonstrates that its commitment to the free market, "individual liberty and Christian truth is something that many people value as well."
Source: Grove City College
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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