The trial of Terri Bennett vs. Pima Community College District started this week in Tucson Superior Court. Bennett, an arizona nursing student, who was allegedly defamed and suspended for asking that students speak English in her classroom and during student projects.
After making her simple request, school administrators called Bennett a “bigot” and she was punished with a nine-month suspension.
“What happened to Terri Bennett is an outrage,” says ProEnglish executive director Robert Vandervoort. “This school should be known as “Politically Correct College. We look forward to bringing justice for Terri.”
Article 28 of Arizona’s state constitution establishes English as the official language of the state. Section 3 states: “A person shall not be discriminated against or penalized in any way because the person uses or attempts to use English in public or private communication.”
Bennett, while a nursing student at PCC, “formally requested a rule limiting classroom discussion to English. Nursing program director David Kutzler allegedly responded by called her a “bigot and a bitch,” according to the Daily Caller.
Bennett was accused of discriminating against Mexican Americans and was threatened by officials to drop her request or be reported for violating the school’s policies against discriminatory behavior and harassment. Kutzler told Bennett, “You do not want to go down that road,” according to court documents. The Daily Caller reported that “Bennett, 50, recalls leaving the meeting in distress and in tears.”
Bennett sued the community college and its boards of directors in an Arizona state court under several causes of action including harassment, breach of contract, retaliation, discrimination and violations of the Arizona Constitution, according to the Daily Caller.
ProEnglish, a controversial national organization, is focused on pushing Congress to pass legislation that would make English the official language of the United States. Tucson attorney John Munger, a former gubernatorial candidate, and his firm Munger and Chadwick with the case of Bennett v. the Pima Community College District.