"Uphold Conduct Codes While Respecting Students' Free Speech Rights," Campus Legal Advisor, September 2014

August 31, 2014

For higher ed administrators, upholding conduct codes while respecting students’ free speech rights is a tricky tightrope to walk. A recent court case (Serodio v. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, No. 09-2221, D.N.J. June 13, 2014) provides a useful roadmap to help higher ed administrators manage this balancing act. A medical student alleged that the New Jersey Medical School of Rutgers University suspended him in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment rights to free speech. The student had written a racially charged op-ed piece in which he declared himself a “white African-American,” which was published in the student newspaper. The student also claimed the university discriminated against him as a “white African-American” and failed to address a racially hostile environment

Attachment: CLA September 2014 Article