...Fordham is a private Jesuit institution, and as such, it cannot be sued for infringements of free speech like a state institution can. But the lawsuit filed by Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of four students -- Ahmad Awad, Sofia Dadap, Sapphira Lurie and Julie Norris -- argues that the manner in which the university denied the group recognition "violates numerous written policies, including the policy against infringement of students' rights to 'freely express his or her positions and to work for their acceptance' on campus." The essential argument is that the university's actions deny a specific group rights that are extended to others. In response, the lawsuit states, "petitioners, pursuant to their entitlement as members of the Fordham University community, and in defense of basic principles of free speech, free inquiry and associational freedom, seek judicial review authorized by Article 78 [of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules] to compel the University to officially recognize SJP as a student club." ...

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