Free speech lawsuit against OSU dismissed

Apr. 20—A district court on April 10 dismissed a Speech First lawsuit accusing Oklahoma State University President Kayse Shrum of enforcing policies that suppress and punish speech about political and social issues.

Judge Bernard M. Jones said the free speech advocacy group lacked standing because it failed to name the three anonymous students on behalf of whom it sued.

Shrum's defense pointed to case law from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2009 decision on Summers v. Earth Island Institute.

In that case, a group of environmentalist organizations filed suit against the United States Forest Service on behalf of unidentified members. The Supreme Court denounced the organizations' refusal to name the individuals.

Speech First's website still shows an "Open" status for its lawsuit against OSU, and it filed an appeal to the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

OSU said it was pleased with the ruling, per the O'Colly. It amended its statement in a response to the News Press.

"Freedom of expression and exchange of ideas are the bedrock of what we believe at OSU," the university said. "Since the case has been appealed, it is our position to not comment on active legal matters."

The complaint, filed on Jan. 10, alleged the university's harassment policy chills protected speech because the anonymous students feel the expression of their views would be disciplined for being considered biased, harassing, intimidating and unwarranted.

"Student B," for example, is opposed to Black Lives Matter, gay marriage and abortion and "wants to talk frequently and repeatedly on these issues." He doesn't, the complaint said, because "he knows that students, faculty or others will likely report him to university officials."

Shrum's representation argued in court filings that it was ironic for the students to remain anonymous in the complaint.

"The secret affiants are supposedly afraid of being recognized for the very beliefs they wish to publicly demonstrate on and off campus," attorney Michael Burrage said. "That suspicious contradiction questions the true purpose of this suit."

Speech First initially sued 15 OSU officials, including Shrum but later dismissed complaints against all of them except Shrum on Jan. 18.

Burrage filed a motion on Feb. 7 to dismiss Shrum, too, saying the complaint didn't mention her "involvement in the drafting, implementation or enforcement of the policies at issue."

"There is not a single allegation that President Shrum did anything in her individual capacity anywhere in the complaint," Burrage said. "The claims against President Shrum in her personal capacity are eerily similar to those claims brought years ago in a similar case against former OSU President Burns Hargis."

In 2012, members of Cowboys for Life sought to reserve space for pro-life displays near the Student Union. OSU officials denied the request, and the group sued Hargis for violating free speech rights, alleging he was responsible for university policies.

The suit was dismissed because it did not meet the burden of stating a claim against Hargis, individually.

The same logic, Burrage argued, applied to Speech First v. Kayse Shrum.

The advocacy group has had success with similar lawsuits against other universities. The University of Houston dropped an anti-discrimination policy and The University of Central Florida discontinued a bias-response team after judges ruled in favor of Speech First.