Ohio University settled a free-speech lawsuit filed against OU in July 2014 with Isaac Smith, a student who coordinated his suit with the national group, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. OU will pay Smith $6,000 and his attorneys fees of $26,000.
Ohio University will change several policies some have argued limit student free speech as part of the settlement announced today in a lawsuit filed by Isaac Smith, an OU student, in coordination with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).
The announcement on Monday morning, marking the fourth consecutive victory for FIRE in such lawsuits, said OU will pay Smith and his attorneys $32,000 to cover attorneys fees and damages, according to a FIRE news release. Smith will personally receive $6,000 while his attorneys will receive $26,000, according to settlement documents.
“I’m excited,” Smith told The Post. “I’m excited the code of conduct that is going to be adopted in Fall Semester is constitutional. I’m excited the current code of conduct that has been problematic for awhile finally complies with the U.S. constitution.”
OU issued a statement Monday afternoon saying Smith's lawsuit stressed the "importance of free speech" on campus, and that the university supports that premise.
“Our students are deeply engaged in matters affecting our campus and the larger community, as we have seen many times recently," said Ryan Lombardi, vice president for Student Affairs, in the statement. "The free exchange of ideas and opinions is an essential part of our students’ education, and our educators support and facilitate those exchanges every day."
Despite settling with Smith and paying him damages and attorneys fees, OU said in the statement the university upheld free speech in this case. OU said Smith was never disciplined or threatened based on his t-shirt. Instead, he was advised by administrators on how "its message might inhibit his organization’s efforts to serve other students."
Smith's lawsuit contended otherwise, saying the university violated his constitutional first and fourteenth amendment rights.
This is not the first time the university had been sued in federal court. Since 2004, the university had been sued four times including this case, according to a previous Post article.
Smith thanked FIRE and its legal team for helping him file the suit and reaching a favorable settlement. The settlement “is a victory because we got what we wanted. We wanted the code of conduct to be changed; we got the code of conduct to be changed.”
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Specifically, the university eliminated language from its student code of conduct that said no student could act in a way that “demeans, degrades, disgraces any person.” Now, the language only states any “act of discrimination or harassment that violates Ohio University policy” will be punished.
Smith, a senior at OU, sued the university in July 2014 after he said university administrators ordered him and other members of Students Defending Students to take off shirts that read, “We Get You Off For Free.” Students Defending Students provides students with free assistance when they are charged with violating OU’s student code of conduct.
“Because of Isaac Smith’s willingness to stand up for his constitutional rights, OU has revised its vague speech codes,” said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff in a news release. “For too long, universities have engaged in censorship with little or no fear of repercussions. FIRE is bringing that era to an end.”
The settlement comes as OU was already making revisions to its Student Code of Conduct which began last summer. Smith said he believes his lawsuit “accelerated things and changed the direction” of the revisions.
In the university statement, Lombardi said the code of conduct revisions did begin before Smith's lawsuit was filed and have continued as planned since then. But, "the university also has ensured that the new (code of conduct) reflects our commitment to freedom of speech and expression," Lombardi said.
The new Student Code of Conduct was approved by OU's Board of Trustees at the end of January.
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