Student Suspended For Pro-Gun Rights E-mail . . .

[6hold]

Hamline University President Linda Hanson, who said
the school "acted carefully" in suspending its pro-gun rights student
​

Grad student suspended after pro-gun-rights e-mail​

Posted by Declan McCullagh
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9795510-38.html

A Minnesota university has suspended one of its graduate students who sent two e-mail messages to school officials supporting gun rights.

Hamline University also said that master's student Troy Scheffler, who owns a firearm, would be barred from campus and must receive a mandatory "mental health evaluation" after he sent an e-mail message arguing that law-abiding students should be able to carry firearms on campus for self-defense.

Hamline spokesman Jacqueline Getty declined on Wednesday to answer questions about the suspension, saying that federal privacy laws prohibited the school from commenting. Scheffler had previously waived his privacy rights in a letter to Hamline University President Linda Hanson.

Hamline University President Linda Hanson, who said the school "acted carefully" in suspending its pro-gun rights student

The nonpartisan civil liberties group FIRE, which stands for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, has taken up Scheffler's case, but with no luck so far. In a letter to FIRE on September 28, Hamline's attorneys said the school would not reconsider Scheffler's punishment.

Scheffler had sent the pair of e-mail messages after Hamline offered students counseling after the Virginia Tech shooting in April, which took place half a continent away. His response was that, if administrators were truly concerned about safety on campus, they should "lift a ridiculous conceal carry campus ban and let the students worry about their own 'security.'"

Scheffler is licensed under Minnesota law to carry a concealed sidearm, which requires a background check and specific training.

In May, after word got out about Scheffler's punishment but before FIRE became involved, conservative blogs rallied to his defense. A psychologist in Tennessee called it a case of university officials learning that "a conservative is on the loose on campus." Captain's Quarters interviewed Scheffler about so-called gun-free zones and concluded he was a "nice guy caught up in the academic manifestations of political correctness."

That's the high-level summary. Some of the details are important, though.

Angry e-mails: One point is that while Scheffler's e-mails were not threatening, they were angry and had sexist and racist overtones. Read them for yourself: The first, to Vice President of Student Affairs David Stern, said: "I myself am tired of having to pay my own extremely overpriced tuition to make up for minorities not paying theirs. On top of that, I am sick of seeing them held to a different standard than the white students (Of course its a lower and more lenient standard)."

The second message, to President Linda Hanson, said: "For a 'Christian' university, I am very disappointed in Hamline. With the motif of the curriculum, the atheist professors, jewish and other non-Christian staff, I would charge the school with wanton misrepresentation...3 out of 3 students just in my class that are 'minorities' are planning on returning to Africa and all 3 are getting a free education ON MY DOLLAR." (Hamline is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and claims to promote "the ethics and values of the United Methodist tradition.")

Even some libertarians who think Scheffler was ill-treated have criticized his grammar and approach. A professor at Brooklyn College who believes the suspension was unjustified said he was nevertheless "dismayed that (Scheffler) has progressed to the master's degree level without having mastered some aspects of basic grammar."

"Privacy" rights: What's odd is that Hamline initially claimed the e-mail messages were "threatening" and placed Scheffler on an indefinite suspension that required him to undergo a mental health evaluation, a possible "treatment plan," an interview with the dean of students, and so on. The possibility of "further" internal discipline was also mentioned.

But then, after FIRE pointed out being suspended for expressing political views violated the school's freedom of expression policy, President Hanson retreated to a fallback position. Hanson said that the suspension was also based on "critical input from various members of the Hamline community."

The bizarre thing is that to this day, Hamline has never informed Scheffler what those anonymous allegations were (or who his anonymous accusers are). It claims that Scheffler's formal waiver of his rights under federal privacy law is insufficient because it has to "protect the privacy rights and interests of these other individuals."

FIRE's Harvey Silverglate quipped: "Confidentiality is so protected at American colleges and universities that they don't even let the students know what the charges are!"

Hamline's response: I spoke with Hamline spokesman Jacqueline Getty on the phone on Wednesday and exchanged six e-mail messages with her, but never actually got an answer to why the school wouldn't answer general questions about student free speech rights and due process.

All she gave me was this statement:

Hamline has never suspended a student for advocating for gun rights, nor for advocating for any other rights...As we have already informed FIRE, federal privacy laws that protect the rights of that student actually prevent the university from correcting each item of misinformation on FIRE's press release and from articulating in detail what may have transpired with this student.​

This misses the point. If there are serious allegations against Scheffler, he has a right under the student code to hear them and be able to respond. It's hardly appropriate to base a suspension and mandatory psychological evaluation on anonymous and undefined allegations that may not even exist.

It's also inappropriate, especially in light of the Cleveland shooting on Wednesday, to try to squelch discussion of whether holders of concealed carry permits should be able to bring their sidearms on campus. It's already legal at the University of Utah and other states are considering the idea of eliminating victim disarmament zones. That may be a good idea; it may not. But universities should try to encourage debate rather than punish students for poorly written rants broaching the topic.

 

[pipmaster1971]

My first reaction to this was WTF. After reading it a bit I'm wondering if the suspension is due to his pro-gun attitude, or over his general "doucebag" attitude towards

the atheist professors, jewish and other non-Christian staff

.

I think we're not seeing the whole picture here.

 

[drgrant]

Yeah, so suspend a paying customer because he decided to
express his opinion to management, that's smart.

While the guy might be a jackass, unless he was threatening
someone I don't see why they should have suspended
him.


-Mike

 

[pipmaster1971]

Yeah, so suspend a paying customer because he decided to
express his opinion to management, that's smart.

While the guy might be a jackass, unless he was threatening
someone I don't see why they should have suspended
him.


-Mike

That's why I say I don't think we're getting the whole story here. If all he did was go on a rant, then he shouldn't be suspended (although it is a private university, so they have that right). My bet is that there's more to this.

 

[P-14]

Regardless of his arrogant, pig-headed, and biased rant, he is entitled to due process under the student code and state and federal law. The University has denied him due process to know the charges against him and to face his accusers.

This is just wrong. Somebody should shake those UMinn administrators and wake them up.

 

[Jose]

I'd like to know how a university is going to force someone to undergo mandatory "mental health evaluation".

 

[bpm990d]

I'd like to know how a university is going to force someone to undergo mandatory "mental health evaluation".

Not sure but they should probably start with some of the faculty though.

B

 

[Riverside]

I'd like to know how a university is going to force someone to undergo mandatory "mental health evaluation".

Maybe the Administration sees he has almost completed his course of study and hopes to persuade him by denying his attendance at the remaining classes. Unless there's a lot more to this story than what I read here, the university has over-reacted and over reached it's authority.
This incident is probably making a lot of other students glad they didn't speak up against university policy. It is often best to voice opinions rather than write them down. E-mail can be an effective tool to communicate or it can be your worst communications nightmare come true.
Best Regards.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Regardless of his arrogant, pig-headed, and biased rant, he is entitled to due process under the student code and state and federal law.

Knagaroo courts serve only at the pleasure of the zookeeper.

 

[rwl1955]

Suspension

Regardless of his arrogant, pig-headed, and biased rant, he is entitled to due process under the student code and state and federal law. The University has denied him due process to know the charges against him and to face his accusers.

This is just wrong. Somebody should shake those UMinn administrators and wake them up.

********
So let me get this straight. Professors can rant and rave in their classes about evil conservatives and the religious right but a christian conservative can`t rant and rave about minorities and anti-gun laws.
Can you say double standard. I hope this guy can get a good lawyer. Maybe the ACLU will take the case. Clearly a First Amendment issue.

 

[SiameseRat]

Nothing like another well-spoken, intelligent and thoughtful gun owner making the rest of us look good...

I would have suspended him just for being an obnoxious jerk.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Clearly a First Amendment issue.

Only if this is a state school. The first amendment is not a constraint on private institutions.

 

[matt1956]

Now, I can see the point of the comments he made, but in he letters (from what they quoted) he never used any negative racial slurs. Last time I checked, calling an Jewish person "Jewish", was not a racial comment. Nor making reference to others being non christian at a christian school.

I think that (poorly i would say) the point he was trying to make is that the he is part of the majority in the school and follows the values that the school 'says' it represents.

So, I would argue that point.

Now, I fully agree that the school booted him because he expressed pro gun rights and was not simply backing down. Granted, he may have done so in emails that could be seen as slanted to a anti minority view point... but he still has the freedom of speach...

What really bothers me is the fact that if the average white christian American makes comments about someone who is an immigrant getting a free ride, teaching in a christian school even though they are not christian, or in some other minority class... they are automatically labeled a racist... even if they use all the politiacally correct terms. yet when the minority speaks out... it is freedom of speach. Now Im sure that because I wrote that very statement, some of you will now think i am a racist... when in fact I am probably the furthest thing from one, but i have the courage to speak my mind.

 

[KMaurer]

If this had been state school or some other school without any religious affiliation, and a student had complained about the presence of faculty and staff with openly practicing some religion, I'm sure that we'd see him suspended and referred for mental health evaluation.

Ken

 

[Riverside]

What really bothers me is the fact that if the average white christian American makes comments about someone who is an immigrant getting a free ride, teaching in a christian school even though they are not christian, or in some other minority class... they are automatically labeled a racist... even if they use all the politiacally correct terms. yet when the minority speaks out... it is freedom of speach. Now Im sure that because I wrote that very statement, some of you will now think i am a racist... when in fact I am probably the furthest thing from one, but i have the courage to speak my mind.

Keep speaking your mind as long as you have facts to support your statements. I gave up trying to be PC because it isn't PC to silently watch our society deteriorate to the level of a third world country.
The word racist is way over used. There are plenty of racists out there but people who "tell it like it is" are not racist.
Best Regards.

 

[Snapshot]

What really bothers me is the fact that if the average white christian American makes comments about someone who is an immigrant getting a free ride, teaching in a christian school even though they are not christian, or in some other minority class... they are automatically labeled a racist... even if they use all the politiacally correct terms. yet when the minority speaks out... it is freedom of speach. Now Im sure that because I wrote that very statement, some of you will now think i am a racist... when in fact I am probably the furthest thing from one, but i have the courage to speak my mind.

You really should read Charlton Hestons speech to Harvard
http://www.houstonprogressive.org/hestonlaw.html