UNC had 20 business days to file its response. The U.S. District Court in Greensboro's clerk of court said Tuesday it had not yet received UNC's response.
The plaintiffs, who are represented by the American Family Association Center for Law and Policy, were asking for an additional amendment to their original complaint.
UNC's response requests that the Greensboro court deny the plaintiffs' motion -- an attempt by UNC officials to put an end to a lawsuit that has attracted campuswide and nationwide attention.
The plaintiffs' proposed amendment contends that new evidence reveals that some students were informed that participation in the summer reading program was not voluntary.
One of the three UNC freshmen who anonymously filed the complaint claimed that his resident assistant suggested he attend the discussion and that an unidentified facilitator in the discussion group took attendance and collected essays.
According to the plaintiff, this new evidence demonstrates "a wilful pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct."
But UNC's response states that because the court already has found that the program was not a religious activity, whether the program was required is unimportant to the case.
The response also says that the proposed amendment in no way supports a claim for a violation of the First Amendment because the plaintiffs could not prove that the summer reading activities were anything but secular in nature.
In its proposed amendment, the AFACLP also seeks to incorporate the series of events on campus hosted by the University that were related to the summer reading program.
