May 2024 Update CASE DISMISSED. We are hoping to appeal. Defendant SCU finally ended its unlawful student Covid vaccine mandate in April 2024.  Prior to this, and in direct response to our lawsuit, SCU began granting medical exemptions to students that they had previously denied multiple times.  This saved the individual student, but was then used to argue that we had no ‘standing’ to sue because all of our students got exemptions.  Now that they have ended the illegal mandate, the defendants are claiming that our case is “moot.”  We disagree, and are hoping to appeal.   September, 2023 Update This is our college student vaccine mandate lawsuit. On June 14, 2023, FNF attorneys filed our opening brief for the appeal in this lawsuit against SCU’s illegal and ongoing student COVID jab mandate. On September 13, 2022, Santa Clara superior court Judge Christopher Rudy, a graduate of defendant Santa Clara University’s (SCU) own law school, dismissed our lawsuit against SCU without leave to amend. Dismissing a complaint without giving any opportunity to amend a single claim is extremely unusual for a trial court, as the standard a judge must apply on a dismissal motion is deferential to the plaintiffs/petitioners. FNF’s opening brief argues that Judge Rudy abused his discretion in not properly applying that standard, in adopting the arguments of the defendants/respondents, and in making findings of fact that are reserved for a jury. This college mandate lawsuit is particularly important given SCU’s strange insistence on continuing its unlawful COVID-19 student jab mandate, despite the fact that the COVID jabs admittedly do not stop infection or transmission and that the COVID-19 emergency has been declared “over” by all public health authorities, removing all possible justification for mandated medical interventions. Yet, SCU announced on May 1, 2023 that its incoming students must now take the bivalent booster shot — the one tested on a total of 8 mice (all of which got COVID after being “vaccinated” against it), in order to attend or continue to attend SCU. This announcement came a day after most students had committed to attending the school for fall 2023, likely foreclosing other college choices for any students who would have chosen otherwise had students known in advance. SCU also continues to allow religious exemptions for all faculty and staff, while younger healthier college-age students are not given that same option. On September 12, 2023, Respondents filed their Appellate Brief in opposition to our appeal of the trial court’s dismissal of this critical college COVID mandate lawsuit. Our FNF attorneys now have until October 2, 2023 to file our Reply. Oral argument on this appeal may be set in December 2023 or early 2024. About the Author, Aria Morgan Aria Morgan is a writer and advocate dedicated to civil liberties, medical freedom, and free speech. As Director of Content at Free Now Foundation (2024–2026) and former Managing Editor of Children’s Health Defense–CA (2021–2024), she helped shape investigative storytelling efforts advancing informed consent and individual rights. Aria bridges more than 30 years of embodied wellness practice and over 25 years of teaching with civic engagement. Her wellness work lives at DailyDowndog.com