Edina Young Conservatives Club Comments on Lawsuit Settlement
From left to right, YCC Attorney Erick Kaardal, YCC President Nick Spades, and YCC member Matt McGuire spoke on the settlement of the YCC’s lawsuit against the district at a press conference on March 12.
March 12, 2018
On March 12, the Edina Young Conservatives Club held a press conference outside of Creek Valley Elementary School to give a statement following the March 1 settlement of their lawsuit against Edina Public Schools.
The YCC claimed absolute victory in the lawsuit, citing the achievement of all of their goals, including the placement of U.S. flags in all classrooms, new free speech protections in the district’s Club Guidelines and Responsibilities policies, the restoration of “USA Day” to EHS Spirit Week, and the reinstatement of YCC as a school-sponsored club.
“This lawsuit is settled, and we have won everything we have set out for,” YCC member Tatum Buyse said.
The YCC also claimed new progress was being made in the discovery of the identity of the EHS Anti-Fascists. Following the YCC’s response to a group of protestors at the November Veterans Day Assembly, the Anti-Fascists released a video condemning the YCC’s comments, which were perceived to be racist by many. In turn, the Anti-Fascists’ video was perceived to be threatening by many.
“[The video] was posted on YouTube using The Onion Router to disguise their identity, but it is now in the hands of government officials who are working alongside a specialized IT team to trace the IP address to identify the individual or individuals responsible for producing and posting this threatening video,” YCC member Matt McGuire said.
This press conference comes in the wake of new attention given to the new Minnesota Academic Balance Bill, which would place limitations on teachers expressing political views in the classroom. YCC members Buyse and Jazmine Edmond, Buyse’s father David Buyse, and Center of the American Experiment Senior Policy Fellow Katherine Kersten all testified in favor of the bill last Thursday, March 8. However, the YCC’s attorney Erick Kaardal will not play a role in advancing the bill. “I don’t have a role in it. I don’t do politics,” Kaardal said.
Jack • Mar 12, 2018 at 9:44 pm
“and the reinstatement of YCC as a school-sponsored club”
This line is false, YCC never applied to be a club this year, and are still not a club. You can see the list of school clubs here: https://www.edinaschools.org/Domain/866
Ana L. • Mar 12, 2018 at 11:27 pm
They are a club. I would be surprised if that list is updated throughout the year. They filed for, and received, status after the suit. I was at the press conference and Kaardal said that the YCC didn’t file for fear of getting disbanded for criticizing the school.
Jack • Mar 13, 2018 at 12:24 am
As quoted from the settlement: “Contrary to the YCC’s assertions, the District did not deny sponsorship for the YCC. In fact, pursuant to the District’s policies and school procedures, Edina High School (EHS) has approved sponsorship for the YCC every time it has been requested. The public was incorrectly told that the District did not allow the YCC to be an officially sponsored club. This is not true. All student groups are required to apply for sponsorship on an annual basis. The YCC itself admitted in the litigation paperwork that they chose not to apply for sponsorship for the 2017-18 school year. Since the YCC did not submit a request for sponsorship, the District could not have denied, nor did it deny, the YCC from being an officially sponsored club.
Throughout the fall, the District repeatedly encouraged the YCC to apply for and again become a District-sponsored student group at its high school. Since the filing of the lawsuit, the YCC has completed and submitted the application and sponsorship has been approved. As in previous years, the YCC is again a District-sponsored student group at EHS.
Furthermore, prior to the recent application for sponsorship, the District did not and could not have “disbanded” the YCC because it was not an officially approved student group. In the fall, Principal Beaton met with and talked to YCC members about the inappropriate and racist messages that had been posted on its group chat platform. YCC members noted that they did not want to be associated with such posts and chose to delete the messages. The District did not threaten discipline or otherwise force the YCC to delete those messages.”
Hackerman • Mar 12, 2018 at 9:26 pm
“Specialized IT team” What a joke. Anyone with any IT knowledge would know that anything going through TOR, or the Onion Router, is completely untraceable