RJC Members Receive Reagan Award
Monday, March 16, 2009 By: RJC Communications Staff
| Washington, DC (March 16, 2009) -- Two young RJC members, Orit Sklar
(pictured at left) and Ruth Malhotra, were awarded the Ronald Reagan
Award at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in
February.
The Ronald Reagan award is the highest award given
out annually by the American Conservative Union. It is intended to
honor a conservative activist who best exemplifies the Reagan spirit of
outstanding achievement and selfless contributions to the conservative
movement.
Malhotra and Sklar are the youngest individuals to ever receive the award.
Ruth
Malhotra and Orit Sklar entered the Georgia Institute of Technology in
2002 and 2003, respectively, graduating in 2007. During their time on
campus, both women faced a pattern of censorship by the Institute as
speech codes and other unconstitutional policies were repeatedly used
against them and their organizations. In 2006, Sklar and Malhotra filed
a federal civil rights lawsuit against Georgia Tech for free speech and
religious liberty, challenging the unconstitutional policies that
supported censorship and the suppression of students’ rights. In a
series of precedent-setting victories, their case prompted Georgia Tech
to repeal its speech code, alter its unconstitutional “speech zone,”
and eliminate the unconstitutional portion of its “Safe Space”
program. Both women are currently working to advance academic freedom,
intellectual diversity, and accountability in higher education both
within and beyond Georgia Tech.
Orit Sklar commented on
receiving the Ronald Reagan Award: "Being a conservative on a college
campus is no easy task, but it becomes even more difficult when
challenging the dominating forces. We are so encouraged by the energy
of our movement and hope that our efforts will add to it.”
We
congratulate Orit and Ruth on receiving this award and for their
outstanding dedication to the principles of free speech and academic
freedom.
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