University statement regarding recent lawsuit

The university is reviewing allegations made against it in a lawsuit filed in federal court May 7 charging violation of students’ free speech rights.

The suit alleges the university reinstituted polices it agreed to revise or drop as part of a 2004 legal settlement. The settlement required the university to change some wording in the student Code of Conduct preamble and replace the existing diversity statement with a statement on the university’s commitment to educational diversity. (That statement is available at http://www.ship.edu/about/diversity.html.)

Our review of university-produced documents, such as the undergraduate and graduate catalogs, shows that those items accurately reflect the settlement.

The review did find that the 2004-05 issue of Swataney, the student handbook, published the correct information. However, all Swataney issues since then inadvertently reverted to the former diversity statement.

The student government, an incorporated entity separate from the university, publishes Swataney. Upon discovery of the error, the incorrect material was immediately removed from the student government’s website. Review of other material will continue to ensure complete compliance with the settlement.

While the suit is against the university and the student government, the alleged incident was a disagreement between two student organizations and did not involve the university. The result of that disagreement was a public statement in support of the United States Constitution and reaffirmation of recognition of the student organization by the student government.

At the core of the university and the student government is the continuing belief in the principles and rights upon which this country was founded, particularly freedom of speech. At no time since the 2004 agreement has the university violated the rights of any individual or group, or imposed any kind of sanctions against a group or individual for expressing themselves or their beliefs.

The university regrets the error by which corrected information reverted to an earlier version, and is working on a plan to provide additional review and oversight of all publications, including student publications, to ensure their continuing accuracy.