Two Michigan State University students have launched a lawsuit against a former professor after she made them pay $99 to join her radical left-wing group, court documents say.
The students allege that former politics professor Amy Wisner solicited funds from around 600 students and donated money to Planned Parenthood – while also using some to purchase an RV for a trip around the US.
The suit was filed by the conservative non-profit Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of students, Nolan Radomski and Nathan Barbieri. The pair are quoted in the suit as believing abortion is the ‘homicide of innocent children.’
One section of the suit claims the students enjoy learning about contrasting opinions in their schoolwork but believe being asked to fund organizations that are antithetical to their beliefs crosses the line.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Wisner referred to her organization, The Rebel Community, as a ‘safe place to co-ordinate our efforts to burn everything to the f***ing ground.’ Her official syllabus called the group ‘a global social learning community,’ reports Michigan Live.
Former Michigan State University Amy Wisner is accused of forcing her students join her radical left-wing organization to the tune of $99 each
MSU students, Nathan Barbieri, left, and Nolan Radomski, right, sayin the suit that The Rebel Community’s beliefs are antithetical to their own
The Rebel Community’s logo. Wisner described the group as a ‘safe place to co-ordinate our efforts to burn everything to the f***ing ground’
The lawsuit accuses Wisner of telling her students she would not benefit personally from their donations, around $60,000 in total.
It later emerged she had used some of the money to buy an RV to fund a ‘road trip around the United States to co-create communities of rebels.’
A GoFundMe page set up to raise money for Wisner’s grassroots trip has earned just $2,250 at the time of writing. The goal of the page is $100,000.
‘My goal is to sit around kitchen tables and campfires facilitating conversations about important social issues and igniting action at the local level,’ Wisner wrote of the trip.
Wisner’s name does not appear on the school’s directory. A school spokesperson told Michigan Live that Wisner is no longer employed at the school.
On April 7, Wisner wrote on her Facebook page that she was fired because MSU ‘did not want [her] and my guest lecturers to teach diversity, equity, and inclusion to students in the core business communication class.’
‘The battle over this issue started in October 2022 and ended about a month ago when they fired me for insubordination,’ she added.
The former professor then used her platform to further promote The Rebel Community saying that the group was fighting the ‘state of our education system, daily threat of gun violence, overt racism, sexism, antisemitism, xenophobia, ableism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of bullying.’
The students leading the lawsuit believe the group ‘when directed against the idea of absolute truth or universal moral norms, is wrong.’ The pair also ‘reject all branches of “critical theory.”‘
‘They do not wish to financially support the speech of others that contradicts their views, and they do not wish to become members of groups organized for the purpose of promoting messages that contradict their views,’ another section of the suit reads.
![Wisner said she was fired because the school 'did not want [her] and my guest lecturers to teach diversity, equity, and inclusion to students in the core business communication class'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/05/23/13/71310025-12114999-image-a-17_1684845332173.jpg)
Wisner said she was fired because the school ‘did not want [her] and my guest lecturers to teach diversity, equity, and inclusion to students in the core business communication class’
The documents says that Wisner’s actions were unconstitutional as they forced the plaintiffs to endorse ideas that they find objectionable
The documents says Wisner’s actions were unconstitutional as they forced the plaintiffs to endorse ideas they find objectionable. In this case, the endorsement came in the form ‘forced financial contributions,’ the suit says.
Wisner spoke about her teaching in a 2022 interview, telling Greater Lansing Moms that her ‘600 students went on this personal growth journey and the outcomes were remarkable,’ during the previous semester.
‘In 14 years teaching at the college level I have never in all of that time gotten so much feedback from students about the transformation they have experienced during a single semester,’ she also said.
In an online bio, Wisner describes herself as ‘audacious and unapologetic.’ The former professor says that she was once a ‘rule-following good girl’ therefore ‘she can deeply empathize with anyone who struggles to break the rules.’
The activist also says that she stopped coloring her hair at the age of 40 and shortly afterwards became a single mom to two children via IVF.
‘Becoming a single mom by choice is – undoubtedly – the most incredible decision I’ve ever made in my life. It is VERY hard to be the sole provider… But, it’s also incredibly rewarding!,’ Wisner said in her Greater Lansing Moms interview.
When asked in the same interview about how she managed to work at MSU, run The Rebel Community and be a mom, Wisner replied: ‘I have no idea! Sheer desire, passion, and a bit of insanity? LOL.’
According to her LinkedIn page, Wisner is a graduate of MSU, studying marketing at the school between 1992 and 1996. In 2018, Wisner attained a PhD in communications at MSU.
Prior to going into teaching, Wisner worked for pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline in sales.
Wisner moved into education in 2010, first teaching at Lansing Community College before moving on to the University of Michigan before landing at MSU.
‘University professors can’t force students to finance and support political advocacy groups that express messages they disagree with. Nathan and Nolan simply want to get a business degree without being compelled to pay membership fees that will be donated to Planned Parenthood or support speech that directly contradicts their religious beliefs,’ ADF’s Logan Spena said in a press release following the filing of the suit.
‘Michigan State officials have violated the First Amendment and federal civil rights laws by authorizing professors to force students to support speech antithetical to their deepest values and faith,’ Spena continued.
MSU’s interim provost Thomas Jeitschko is also named in the suit. Earlier this year, the school took the decision to reimburse the students had contributed to Wisner’s cause.
