A student at the University of Kansas was expelled because he called his ex-girlfriend a “psycho b[****]” on Twitter — despite the fact that he didn’t use her name in the post.
The case is currently before the Kansas Court of Appeals.
According to the school’s lawyers, Navid Yeasin’s expulsion was justified because by calling his ex names — even though he was doing it off campus and during the summer — he had created a “hostile environment” for her on campus, which made his actions a violation of Title IX.
Now, nobody likes to be called names — especially not on a public forum like Twitter (though Yeasin’s account was set to private). But it happens all the time, and in the real world you have to be able to deal with it on your own.
I definitely empathize with the girl who had to suffer through seeing someone she used to care about say horrible things that she knew were about her on social media. But the thing is, that’s an issue for the adult students to work out, and really, there’s no better teacher than experience.
#related#The KU attorney Sara Trower stated in court that the male student’s actions were worthy of expulsion because he was “seeking to alienate her.” But the fact is, even if this were what he was trying to do, he pretty clearly would not have succeeded. Rather, he probably would have alienated only himself. After all, revealing that you’re the kind of guy who will publicly berate a girl after a break-up isn’t going to endear you to anyone. It’s far more likely to make other girls sympathize with the ex you’re trying to smear than rush to put themselves in a position where they might be the next one — which would have been an important lesson for them both to learn.
Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) have filed briefs in support of the male student.
“The widespread abuse of harassment policies under the banner of Title IX enforcement signals to students and faculty that colleges and universities are no longer safe for free speech,” FIRE stated in its brief.
— Katherine Timpf is a reporter for National Review Online.