Valdosta State Expels Student for Free Speech

Valdosta State University has expelled a student for peacefully protesting the school's decision to construct two new parking decks on campus.

After the Georgia college's President Ronald M. Zaccari labeled student T. Hayden Barnes a "clear and present danger" and mandated that he submit certifications of his mental health and on-going therapy as conditions of his readmission, Barnes contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help.

'A kind of madness seems to be gripping our colleges, one in which merely claiming a student poses a "threat" -- no matter how absurd or attenuated the allegation may be -- is enough to punish even the most clearly protected speech,' FIRE President Greg Lukianoff said.

'This case represents the extreme of this troubling trend. Hayden Barnes did nothing wrong; the claim that his speech was threatening is specious, and the university's decision to expel him is truly chilling.' Continue ...