As a student who recently asked a couple of professors for recommendations, this NPR feature about a student suing a professor because of alleged religious discrimination disturbs me because of the precedent it could set.
The story is, a student at Texas Tech was planning to apply to UT Southwestern Medical Center, and he needed a certain biology course as well as a recommendation from the professor. However, the professor required students asking for recommendations to explain the origin of the human species, i.e. evolution, whereas the student believed in creationism and could thus not truthfully say that he thought evolutionism was correct. Instead he dropped the class and transferred to a Christian university. Now he's suing the professor.
I'm not sure which side is right. Although I don't understand how people can believe in creationism, I support their right to have their personal opinions, and this does seem like a rather exclusive criterion for recommendations. On the other hand, I support a professor's right to decide whether to give a recommendation or not, and I believe that a restriction of that right would lead to the deterioration of recommendations as a tool for judging applications.
The student's lawyer is arguing that the professor was acting as an agent of a state institution and denying the student benefits.
I highly disagree with that statement; the professor was acting as a scholar and a professional, and a recommendation is not a benefit to which one has an automatic right. Even I, who have never had a recommendation refused, am exceedingly conscious that I must ask, and the answer can always be No. If a professor can no longer refuse a recommendation without the possibility of a legal suit, will that recommendation be worth the paper it's printed on?