FIRE, which represented the student (Kimberly Diei) reports:
After her First Amendment lawsuit set precedent last fall for student free speech rights, Memphis pharmacist Kimberly Diei agreed to a $250,000 settlement with the University of Tennessee. [The settlement was $180K to Diei, and $70K to her lawyers at FIRE. -EV]
Just a month into her studies in September 2019, UT's pharmacy school investigated Kim for her social media content focused on sexuality, fashion, and music. The college justified the investigation by using vague "professionalism" standards—standards it never provided to Kim—but ultimately dropped that first investigation.
In one tweet, Kim contributed to a trending discussion on Twitter about the song "WAP" by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, suggesting lyrics for a possible remix. In another, she posted a selfie and referenced lyrics from a popular Beyoncé song. [Just to be clear, the lyrics were pretty sexually themed, though that rightly didn't change the First Amendment analysis. -EV]
Unfortunately, Kim's ordeal was not unique. For years, colleges around the country have wielded professionalism codes against students for their expression even when the student's speech has no bearing on their ability to succeed in a given field. Kim's posts were wholly separate from the college, as her accounts operated under a pseudonym and did not reveal her then-identity as a student.
Yet by the following year, Kim was under a second investigation, and UT administrators voted to expel her. In the midst of preparing for exams, she appealed to the dean, who reversed the decision after hearing from FIRE. Then, FIRE sued on behalf of Kim in February 2021….
In 2024, a federal appeals court agreed, ruling that her expression—which administrators called "sexual," "crude," and "vulgar"—was "clearly protected" by the First Amendment. Crucially, in a blow to the qualified immunity that often shields government actors from paying damages for violating constitutional rights, the court emphasized that previous Supreme Court precedent and prior Sixth Circuit rulings put "beyond debate" that the First Amendment protects Kim's speech.
Here's my September post on the Sixth Circuit opinion:
