KU student’s expulsion over ‘puerile and sexually harassing tweets’ unlawful, says appeals court

The University of Kansas unlawfully expelled a student who posted “puerile and sexually harassing tweets” and otherwise harassed his ex-girlfriend because the offensive behavior wasn’t done on campus or at a university event, the state Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

The appeals judges also lifted a stay on a district court decision that had ordered the student reinstated.

The court opinion said that during the summer break of 2013, Navid Yeasin “engaged in reprehensible, demeaning, and criminal behavior” with regard to his ex-girlfriend, identified in court records as “W” to protect her identity.

However, the three-judge panel unanimously concluded: “The Student Code, the rules by which the University can impose discipline upon its students, deals only with conduct on campus or at University sponsored or supervised events. We therefore hold that the University had no authority to expel Yeasin.”

The appellate opinion outlined how Yeasin had berated and held W against her will in his car during their breakup before abandoning her in a parking lot. Then, Yeasin continued to harass her online with profane, insulting and threatening text messages and comments on Twitter, the opinion said.

Following an investigation and hearing, university officials ruled Yeasin had violated the Student Code and permanently expelled him. They also banned Yeasin from the KU campus until after W graduated, court records said.

Yeasin sued and Douglas County Judge Robert Fairchild ruled the university couldn’t legally expel him because the Student Code only covered incidents committed on campus or at off-campus events sponsored by the university.

On Friday, the appeals judges upheld Fairchild’s decision.

KU had no immediate response Friday, but had argued in court that its jurisdiction extended beyond campus because the university has a responsibility to maintain a learning environment free of sexual harassment to qualify for federal funding.

The university also contended that Yeasin’s continued presence at KU “created an imminent threat of danger to W. on campus and unreasonably obstructed and interfered with her learning environment.”

Kansas State University filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing against KU’s position. K-State contended state universities are not required to sanction students for outside misconduct.

Fairchild had ordered KU to reinstate Yeasin and refund his tuition and fees for the fall 2013 semester, which he didn’t get to complete. But that order was stayed while KU appealed.

The appellate court ordered the stay lifted Friday.

Having ruled that the KU Student Code didn’t authorize Yeasin’s expulsion, the judges did not address whether his tweets were protected as free speech.

In a separate proceeding, Yeasin entered a criminal diversion program with the state on charges of criminal restraint, deprivation of property and battery in connection with the incident in the car, court records said.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 8:53 PM with the headline "KU student’s expulsion over ‘puerile and sexually harassing tweets’ unlawful, says appeals court."