And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: sent by Martha Naropa asks judge to dismiss lawsuit By Matt Sebastian Boulder Daily Camera BOULDER -- Naropa University has asked a Boulder judge to throw out a former student's lawsuit, arguing the courts have no business regulating what colleges teach their students. Lydia White Calf sued the university two months ago, claiming an instructor posed as an Oglala Lakota spiritual leader and illegally performed sacred ceremonies as part of a class. Eagle Cruz, co-founder of the Native American Studies program, fraudulently generated millions of dollars in tuition for Naropa through "spiritual hucksterism," White Calf alleges in her suit. University officials repeatedly have declined to comment on the lawsuit. Last month, however, the school's attorneys asked District Judge Roxanne Bailin to dismiss the case. "Under the First Amendment, the state may not intrude on academic decisions either by legislative fiat or judicial order," attorney Alexander Halpern wrote. Quoting from a 1952 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, Halpern argued that colleges have the right to determine "who may teach, what may be taught, how it shall be taught and who may be admitted to study." Attorney Lee Hill, who represents White Calf and her Oglala Lakota husband, said Naropa's attorneys are diverting attention from Cruz's background. "What cries out to me is that their whole argument is that they don't owe their students anything," Hill said. The controversy over Cruz erupted in May 1998, when White Calf went public with her allegations of what she called "cultural genocide." Three days later, a trial court judge issued a restraining order barring Cruz from "falsely representing himself as an Oglala Lakota spiritual leader, holy man or medicine man." That order, according to Naropa officials, was lifted in July 1998. Cruz, at the time, defended himself, saying he was born a Yaqui and legally adopted into the Lakota nation by the late medicine man Vernal Cross. Cross's family has denied the adoption took place. Last spring, Cruz left the university for personal reasons. He couldn't be reached. Naropa President John Whitehouse Cobb reassured students in a letter last year that the school's courses "shall not include the experience of traditional Native American ceremony or ritual." Indian leader Russell Means told reporters at a September news conference that he plans to "physically challenge Naropa and their legitimacy" if the lawsuit fails. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<> Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<>
