If someone told you that you could be kicked out of the University for writing a post on Facebook, would you believe it?
In 2012, Craig Keefe, a student at Central Lakes College’s Brainerd nursing school, was expelled for calling one classmate as a ‘ stupid bitch’ in one of his Facebook posts.
The college claimed Keefe’s post violated the student handbook policy. However, Keefe believed that the College violated the First Amendment which protects his freedom of expression.
This Monday, The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear this case. This refusal lets the Eighth Circuit Court’s decision that upheld the expulsion stand.
As a supporter of the College, Judge James Loken thought that the College had the right to rule students and punish them if they violate the professional standard. He thought the expulsion of students who “speak at the wrong place and time” is as reasonable as a falling grade a student received for “submitting a paper on the wrong subject.”
On the contrary, as the director of the Student Press Law Center, Frank LoMonte said:
“Even a middle-school student is entitled to First Amendment protection unless her speech substantially disrupts school operations, and the Eighth Circuit’s misguided decision has left college students with lesser free-speech protections than 12-year-olds.”
Dust has settled down. However, the debate is continuing.
www.splc.org/blog/splc/2017/04/keefe-certiorari-denied
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment