Texas Christian University: Student Suspended for Social Media Posts

On May 8, 2015, Texas Christian University (TCU) suspended student Harry Vincent for commentary posted to his personal Facebook and Twitter profiles related to current events, including unrest in Baltimore and the rise of the “Islamic State.” The suspension came after a non-student apparently living in Maryland created a post on her Tumblr page containing screenshots of several of Vincent’s posts, labeling them “racist” and “disgusting,” and asking readers to contact TCU to report his speech. As part of its sanctions, TCU banned Vincent from participating in any co-curricular activities on campus and utilizing any non-academic campus facilities, and it permanently banned Vincent from living in or visiting TCU’s residence halls. FIRE wrote to TCU on July 29, urging it to reverse the charges and sanctions applied to Vincent for his protected extracurricular expression and expressing dismay with TCU’s violation of Vincent’s due process rights.