Table of Contents
Student Unjustly Suspended by University of Tulsa Announces Lawsuit

Nearly a year ago, FIREbrought attention to the University of Tulsa鈥檚 (TU鈥檚) unjust suspension of student George 鈥淭rey鈥 Barnett. Now, Barnett, who was only two months away from graduation when he was suspended, is suing TU for violating its policies.
In 2014, Barnett鈥檚 then-fianc茅鈥攚ho was not a TU student鈥攃riticized two TU professors and a student in Facebook posts tagging Barnett or written directly to Barnett鈥檚 page. Susan Barrett, one of the professors mentioned in the posts, filed a complaint against Barnett, claiming he should be held responsible for his fianc茅鈥檚 posts.
In September 2014, TU Senior Vice Provost Winona Tanaka notified Barnett of the complaint and imposed eight harsh interim measures against him, including removal from three classes and a theater production he was involved in, as well as a ban on communicating with certain faculty members. Less than a month later, Tanaka found Barnett guilty of harassment without providing him the hearing he was entitled to under TU鈥檚 policies. She also found him guilty of retaliation for discussing the complaint with his fianc茅, who had provided Tanaka with a sworn affidavit stating that he, not Barnett, wrote the posts. Barnett was informed that, as punishment, he would be suspended until at least January 2016, and that he was forbidden from receiving a degree in his major from TU.
Compounding its errors, TU鈥檚 administration then The Collegian, which was reporting on Barnett鈥檚 suspension, that if 鈥渁nything that the university deems to be confidential鈥 was 鈥減ublished or shared, (that) could violate university policies.鈥
TU refused to acknowledge that its failure to provide Barnett with a hearing violated university policy and ignored 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 and others鈥 demand that the university immediately reinstate Barnett. In fact, TU was so determined to bury the matter, rather than admit that it failed to live up its promises to respect students鈥 free speech and due process rights, that it hid criticism of Barnett鈥檚 treatment from its Facebook page.
Fortunately, Barnett is still fighting back. His lawsuit, filed January 13, alleges that TU鈥檚 refusal to speak to Barnett鈥檚 fianc茅 or his exculpatory witness, and to provide Barnett with procedural safeguards, was negligent and constitutes a breach of contract as it denied him 鈥漚ny meaningful due process鈥 in violation of TU鈥檚 promises to its students. The lawsuit also alleges that TU鈥檚 persecution of Barnett violated the university鈥檚 promises of free speech and 鈥渋ntentionally and recklessly鈥 subjected him to 鈥渟ubstantial mental anguish.鈥 Barnett is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.
TU on the lawsuit. Hopefully, however, this serves as an important lesson to TU鈥檚 administration that students鈥 rights, like this lawsuit, cannot just be ignored.
Recent Articles
FIRE鈥檚 award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.

Maine鈥檚 censure of lawmaker for post about trans student-athlete is an attack on free speech

Trump鈥檚 border czar is wrong about AOC

FIREcalls out 60 Minutes investigation as 'political stunt' in comment to FCC
