Saturday, July 16, 2011

N.C. student Sues College that Banned Him from Graduation for 'Negative' Facebook Post

A student prophesied that the college would be tough to deal with. They appear intent on proving him right.
"Today, Saint Augustine's College (SAC) graduate Roman Caple filed suit against SAC and SAC President Dianne Boardley Suber after he was forbidden from participating in spring 2011 graduation ceremonies due to a comment he posted on Facebook about how the college was handling its recovery from tornado damage.

Caple's complaint, filed in North Carolina state court, alleges that SAC violated its extensive promises of freedom of expression when it disciplined him for what it called a "negative social media exchange."

"Like any reasonable student, Roman Caple believed Saint Augustine's guarantees of freedom of expression were genuine. But the college betrayed Roman's trust in an incredibly petty, mean-spirited way," FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley said.

"This filing sends a message not just to Saint Augustine's, but to private colleges across the country: If you promise your students freedom of expression, you can't break that promise without consequences."

On April 16, a tornado hit Raleigh and cut off electrical power to many SAC students. On April 18, SAC announced via Facebook that it would reopen, although some students remained without power. Following complaints, SAC announced a public meeting with Progress Energy and students on April 19. In response, Caple posted this message on SAC's Facebook page, encouraging fellow students to bring any necessary documentation to the meeting and to anticipate SAC's response: "Here it go!!!!! Students come correct, be prepared, and have supporting documents to back up your arguments bcuz SAC will come hard!!!! That is all."

In today's complaint, filed in North Carolina's Superior Court Division, Wake County, Caple names SAC and President Suber as defendants. The complaint alleges breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. It also requests monetary damages to compensate him for expenses incurred in anticipation of his participation in SAC's graduation ceremonies.

Source

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

We all know that academia in the US is totally controlled by the radical Left, so this school's actions should come as no surprise. What is also not surprising is that the Left never stops trying to control everything and everyone that it disagrees with.

I truly hope this student takes them for every cent they have, and also that the court orders "them" to pay, and not the tax payers. Wishful thinking? Yes, i know.

"To conquer a nation without the use of military force, you must first control the minds of their young..." --- Karl Marx

Anonymous said...

North Carolina. My, my, my, what is happening to the South? Could it be all those northern liberals moving south to get away from the people they force us to live next door to?

Anonymous said...

Dear Anon 2:33 PM,

You're a little late and naive in your post.

I lived in Chapel Hill, NC (home of UNC) for 2-years a decade ago and i can assure you there were more dedicated, rabid, radical Liberals in that town than there were in Berkley or San Francisco, California in the late 1960's.