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TIME U.S. Education University of Maryland Wont Expel Student Who Sent Racist, Sexist Email John GreimLightRocket via Getty Images McKeldin Library and fountain, University of Maryland. Concluded that email was protected by First Amendment, in contrast to other schools dealing with similar incidents

The University of Marylands president has decided not to expel a student for sending an email to his fraternity brothers filled with racist and misogynistic content.

The university learned of the explicit email, sent by a Kappa Sigma fraternity member, in March as it went viral online. The school launched an investigation through the universitys Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct and the campus and local police, but concluded Wednesday that this private email, while hateful and reprehensible, did not violate University policies and is protected by the First Amendment.

The response stands in contrast to how some other universities have handled recent, high profile incidents involving fraternity members and racist and sexist speech. The University of Oklahoma quickly expelled two students in March who were shown in a viral video of a group of SAE fraternity members singing a racist chant on a chartered bus. A few days later, a fraternity chapter at Pennsylvania State University was suspended after members allegedly operated a Facebook page collecting pictures of nude, unconscious women.

But the University of Maryland has taken a slightly different approach, focusing on rehabilitation and education in dealing with a somewhat similar situation. On Wednesday, university president Wallace D. Loh sent a note to the campus community explaining the results of the investigation and the decision not to expel. Quoting Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, he urged students who were harmed by the hateful speech to think in terms of restorative justice rather than legal justice.

When any one of us is harmed by the hateful speech of another, all of us are harmed, Loh wrote. We repair the harm to our community, in part, by restoring the wrongdoer as a responsible member of society. I appeal to the better angels of our nature and ask all members of our University community to join me in forgiving him in our hearts, not for his sake, but for our own.

The student will not return to campus this semester, and will perform community service as well as participate in individualized training in diversity and cultural competence. In an apology released by the university, the student wrote: Im committed to being a better person, a person that appreciates differences.

The University of Oklahoma came under fire from civil liberties advocates after its March expulsions, who said they had violated the free speech rights of the students. Federal law prohibits schools from failing to address behavior serious enough to create a hostile environment for a member of a protected class, such as a woman or a minority student.

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University of Maryland Wont Expel Student Who Sent Racist, Sexist Email

MILLER PLACE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) A Long Island teen claims his First Amendment rights were violated when he was punished by school administrators for a line he ad-libbed during the schools variety show.

Kyle Vetrano, the student body president of Miller Place High School, plans to sue the school district.

On March 26, during the first of two performances, Vetrano ad-libbed one line in a skit aboutthe schools new policy restricting bathroom use to one student at a time, according to attorney John Ray.

He merely said Is this what our superintendent gets paid all that money for, to write bathroom policy? Ray said, adding that the annual show traditionally pokes fun at teachers and school policies.

Vetrano was then excluded from the variety show weekend and school property, Ray said. He was also threatened by school officials that his senior year would be curtailed and ruined.

Vetrano has been vocal about the situation on Twitter.

Chanting free Kyle and free speech, dozens of students and parents rallied in support of Vetrano on Thursday afternoon, 1010 WINS Mona Rivera reported.

I was singled out, I was attacked, and I just have one question for the district:Why?' Vetrano said.

I ad-libbed and improvised a joke that had absolutely no mal-intent behind it, Vetrano added. It was completely humorous and satirical in nature, and because of that, I am being violated and embarrassed by my own school district that I have been a resident of my entire life. I feel personally bullied by the district, and I think I have a right to speak my mind. I dont think this is acceptable in the country that we live in.

Superintendent of Schools Marianne F. Higuera explained that skits must be submitted in writing and approved before the show and a person whose name is being used in a skit, either directly or implied, must give prior permission.

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L.I. Students Bathroom Joke Prompts First Amendment Fight

The outcry over Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act is proof positive that the First Amendment's protection against government abridgment of the free exercise of religion by each citizen is endangered.

The loud, whining demands that the law be "fixed" or repealed fly in the face of a commitment to individual freedom to believe and live as one's conscience dictates.

The homosexual community and its supporters would say the belief that marriage can exist only between a man and a woman is archaic, simple-minded, hateful and any number of other pejoratives (even though it was the universally accepted view until very recently).

But, the First Amendment was written by those who sought to protect just such beliefs from government interference and compulsion. It is precisely those individually held beliefs in conflict with the politically astute and those who can militate such public demonstrations that most need First Amendment protection.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act prohibits government actions that substantially burden one's exercise of his or her religion. How can someone argue with that? Only those who decide that my religious beliefs are invalid can take such a position.

As long as the First Amendment protection (as embodied in the RFRA) prevails, neither the government nor any individual has the right to dictate those beliefs to me or to any gay, lesbian or other person, regardless of the unpopularity of the beliefs.

PERRY ALBIN

Newman

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Indiana law about personal freedom

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ) A racist, sexist email sent by a fraternity member on the University of Maryland campus was protected under the First Amendment, the university concluded in a recent investigation.

As Tracey Leong reports, the student who wrote the email could come back to campus and some students are uncomfortable with that.

Students gathered Thursday at a town hall on campus to discuss the letter and the universitys findings.

In a letter Wednesday, President Wallace Loh addressed the university community stating that officials had concluded an investigation into a an abhorrent email that was racist, sexist, and misogynist in condoning non-consensual sexual conduct that was sent more than a year ago, but was recently brought to the attention of campus leaders.

The email, which was written by a Kappa Sigma fraternity member, was sent to other members of the fraternity.

In the letter, Loh said:

The investigators interviewed many individuals and reviewed other information. They focused not only on the content of the message but also on the factual circumstances of time, place, manner, and effects of the message. They found no subsequent conduct by anyone that raised safety concerns.

They concluded that this private email, while hateful and reprehensible, did not violate University policies and is protected by the First Amendment. Following consultation with the Universitys General Counsel, I accepted the conclusions of this independent investigation that was carried out in accordance with due process.

However, this determination does not mitigate the fact that the email is profoundly hurtful to the entire University community. It caused anger and anguish, pain and fear, among many people. It subverts our core values of inclusivity, human dignity, safety, and mutual respect. When any one of us is harmed by the hateful speech of another, all of us are harmed.

Loh said he met with the student and his parents and the student did apologize for his behavior, saying:

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UMd. Investigation Concludes Offensive Email Protected By First Amendment

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