Minnesota Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in ‘Tatro,’ with Student Speech Rights at Stake

Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Tatro v. University of Minnesota. As reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Tatro concerns the University of Minnesota's punishment of mortuary sciences student Amanda Tatro for off-campus comments she posted on Facebook that her school labeled as threatening. However, as FIRE argued in an amici curiae brief filed along with the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) before the Minnesota Supreme Court, Tatro's expression was clearly protected and non-threatening, and the implications of granting the universities the right to police such off-campus, online speech would be very damaging to student First Amendment rights. 

You can read much more about this important case for students' expressive rights, including an excellent piece by the SPLC's Frank LoMonte, Will's analysis of the faulty appellate court decision that prompted the appeal to the state supreme court, and of course today's coverage in the Chronicle.