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Delaware student sues school over suspension for Web postings
Student's school-hosted site contained violent, sexual imagery
August 3, 2007
DELAWARE — A student sued the University of Delaware
Wednesday, claiming the school violated his First Amendment rights by suspending
him for material on his Web site that some students, the school claims,
considered offensive.
The student, Maciej Murakowski, 19, published
satirical essays and fake movie reviews on his blog, hosted on the university's
server.
Several of the entries were explicitly sexual or violent, but
intended for comedic or shock effect, according to the complaint filed with the
U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
"This page is
completely serious. It is not satire, it is not humor, and it is definitely not
meant as a joke," Murakowski said on his site, http://www.kuactet.com.
"Everything I write is serious. Seriously."
A Jan. 12 post titled
"Talking About Sex" described various sexual acts, including "The Emo: Shake and
cry whenever your partner touches you," and "The Sociopath," which entailed
romantically seducing a partner and then lighting her on fire.
In April,
Vice President of Campus Life Cynthia Cummings called Murakowski's father, a
research engineer at the University of Delaware, to voice concern about the
entry. She asked that Murakowski leave campus that night and meet her the next
day.
At the meeting, Cummings gave Murakowski a letter, which said
students had complained that the Web site was "sexually graphic, hostile and
violent" and included "racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and homophobic statements."
The letter said Murakowski would be charged through the university's
judicial system and barred from living in his dormitory or attending classes
until a psychiatric assessment showed that he posed no threat to himself or
others.
Murakowski's psychological evaluation on April 23 concluded that
he was not a threat, but he was still denied entrance to his
dorm.
University officials declined to comment.
At a disciplinary
hearing, Murakowski was suspended and banned from all university facilities
until this fall. He would then have to reapply through the admissions office
and, if readmitted, still be banned from all residence halls. An appeal was
denied.
But Murakowski's attorney, David Finger, said Murakowski could
not be punished for the content he posted on the school's server, which he says
operates as a public forum.
"The university's written policy regarding
the use of its server was a hands-off policy," Finger said in a phone interview.
The lawsuit also contends that the Web site never substantially
disrupted university operations.
Murakowski recounted the events leading
up to his suspension on his blog, commenting on the proceedings with his
characteristic cynicism.
"Heads up, students: all of those rights you
think you have (e.g. free speech, a fair trial, the implicit assumption of
innocence, etc.) only exist insofar as you conform exactly to the
administration's definition of acceptable behavior," he wrote. "Note: this
definition is arbitrary, secret, and subject to change without
notice."
On his Web site, which Murakowski has since moved to an
independent server, he asked his readers to help him by e-mailing
Cummings.
"If you love my writing, please support me in this," he wrote.
"If you have ever laughed at anything I wrote, please support me in this. If you
hate me and everything I stand for, but love freedom, please support me in
this."
"If you hate both me and freedom," he continued, "you may be more
comfortable here." The last word linked to the Web site of the American Nazi
Party.
Finger said Murakowski was not granting interviews at this time.
By Isaac Arnsdorf, SPLC staff writer
© 2007 Student Press Law Center
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For More Information:
Murakowski v. Univ. of Delaware, No. 07-00475 (D. Del. filed Aug. 1, 2007).
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