CSUN Web Site Fight Leads to Courtroom

Cal State Northridge students could soon be faced with a new computer policy--created in the wake of a controversy surrounding a politically themed Internet site.

University officials drafted the document in December, primarily to clarify that university computers are to be used for academic purposes and school business only.

Next week, Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne is expected to rule on student Christopher Landers’ request for a preliminary injunction to suspend the new policy.

The controversy began in October, when CSUN pulled the plug on a World Wide Web site designed by Landers, 32. The site promoted the state Senate campaign of Democrat John Birke, who eventually lost to incumbent Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley). It featured animation that transformed Wright’s face into a grinning skull to highlight what Landers called her ties to “the tobacco industry’s merchants of death.”

Landers filed suit against the university Oct. 30, claiming it had violated his rights to free speech and due process. CSUN attorney Donna Ziegler argued that a publicly funded institution cannot allow its computers to be used for partisan politics.

Mike Sahigian, a San Diego attorney who represents Landers, said university officials are unfairly punishing Landers for their own shortsightedness.

“The whole reason they set up their computer system was to facilitate expression,” he said. “They never realized before we sued them that there was a 1st Amendment issue here. They’re treating it like a high school, playing fast and loose with the rights of the students. This is not ‘Room 222.’ ”

But Ziegler said CSUN has a responsibility to ensure that resources are not misused.

“Our purpose is an academic purpose, it is not to get involved in politics,” she said. “We have limited resources to serve our academic purpose. Imagine if we opened up our resources for everything else.”

If the case is not settled, it will not go to trial until at least the summer, attorneys predicted. The CSUN semester begins Jan. 27.