Pennsylvania State University: Administrator Interferes With Student Group鈥檚 Attempt to Expel Member
Cases
Pennsylvania State University - University Park
Case Overview
FIRE Victory closed
An administrator at Penn State told the College Independents, a political student group, that it could not remove a member for disruptive behavior. While the administrator eventually allowed the group to expel the member, FIREwrote the university on May 17, 2023, reminding it that the First Amendment protects student groups鈥 rights to make their own decisions on who to associate with, and that the university must allow student groups to determine their own membership. On July 12, in response to an inquiry from the student group, the university told the College Independents that any student organization on campus 鈥渋s able to make its own membership decisions.鈥