NORML ISU members have responded to Iowa State’s motion to dismiss the freedom of speech lawsuit filed by two ISU students in July.

The lawsuit stems from a January 2013 change in university trademark policy. The change resulted in NORML ISU not being allowed to use ISU trademark logos on their club T-shirts.

Juniors Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh, president and vice president of NORML ISU, respectively, filed a suit against President Steven Leath, Leesha Zimmerman, trademark office program coordinator, Tom Hill, senior vice president for student affairs, and Warren Madden, senior vice president for business and finance, in July.

Iowa State filed a motion in U.S. district court on Sept. 4 to have the case dismissed.

“I was told [the motion] was expected and it wasn’t a big deal,” said Eric Cooper, NORML ISU faculty adviser.

NORML, an organization that advocates for marijuana law reform, has had an ISU chapter since 2012. The group’s T-shirts featured ISU trademark logos until complaints arose after a student wearing a NORMAL ISU shirt was featured in a photo in the Des Moines Register.

ISU administrators argued that the T-shirts gave the impression the university endorsed reform in marijuana law.

“Obviously we still think those T-shirts were perfectly all right,” Gerlich said. “They were approved in the first place, so we don’t see any problem with them.”

The lawsuit was one of four filed in July coordinated by the Foundation of Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based free speech advocate.

According to Katie Barrows, communication coordinator for the foundation, the plaintiffs will be filing an opposition to Iowa State’s motion to dismiss on Sept. 22.

“That document will include contain the legal arguments explaining why the NORML students have a valid claim,” Barrows said.

Keith Bystrom, associate council at Iowa State, said the motion to dismiss was a typical legal practice. He expects a decision by the judge in the next 30 to 60 days.

“We don’t have any expectations,” Bystom said. “But we certainly hope that the judge will agree with us.”

Bystrom said the judge is allowed to dismiss portions of the lawsuit while upholding others.

“It would be very difficult and unlikely to get the entire case dismissed at this point,” Bystrom said.

Gerlich said he was upset the situation has taken so long to be resolved.

“We shouldn’t have to use any of our resources or efforts to try and do anything with these T-shirts,” Gerlich said. “We just want to move on. We’re getting unfair treatment.”