Juicy Campus sues TSU
Ashleigh Taylor
Staff Reporter
Issue date: 12/7/08 Section: Campus News
JuicyCampus is working collaboratively with the Tennessee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to bring a lawsuit against TSU for a direct violation of the First Amendment rights of students.
Matt Ivester, the Web site's founder and CEO, believes administrators' decision to ban access to the Web site disables the purpose of the open forum and violates students' freedom of speech, assembly and press.
"The point of the lawsuit is to get the Web site back on campus, then to declare a message that administrators should not be choosing what students can and cannot access online," said Ivester.
On Nov. 12, TSU administrators banned access to the site for "gratuitous unwarranted attacks." Michael Freeman, vice-president of student affairs, wrote a letter to students explaining why the ban took place.
In response to the ban, JuicyCampus officials began considering legal action against the university.
Freeman declined to comment on the matter until a lawsuit is announced. Ivester, on the other hand, had much to say.
"The ball is in [TSU's] court," Ivester said during a phone interview. "At any moment they could decide to put JuicyCampus back online and so far they haven't. Freeman seems to feel that he's justified to censor the website and we don't-so this may be a battle we have to fight out in court."
Students have mixed reactions to the site's ban, and many have sided in favor of the university. Supporters suggest that the site is a complete waste of time and energy, and reflects negatively on the university.
The announcement of pending legal action against the school by JuicyCampus.com has caused a stir.
"I don't think its right," said Stephanie Straight, a sophomore speech pathology major from Chicago. "It's a site that the school doesn't want students to have access to and attention that we do not need. I can agree with that 100%.
"As far as suing the school, I don't think they had to take it that far," she continued.
Matt Ivester, the Web site's founder and CEO, believes administrators' decision to ban access to the Web site disables the purpose of the open forum and violates students' freedom of speech, assembly and press.
"The point of the lawsuit is to get the Web site back on campus, then to declare a message that administrators should not be choosing what students can and cannot access online," said Ivester.
On Nov. 12, TSU administrators banned access to the site for "gratuitous unwarranted attacks." Michael Freeman, vice-president of student affairs, wrote a letter to students explaining why the ban took place.
In response to the ban, JuicyCampus officials began considering legal action against the university.
Freeman declined to comment on the matter until a lawsuit is announced. Ivester, on the other hand, had much to say.
"The ball is in [TSU's] court," Ivester said during a phone interview. "At any moment they could decide to put JuicyCampus back online and so far they haven't. Freeman seems to feel that he's justified to censor the website and we don't-so this may be a battle we have to fight out in court."
Students have mixed reactions to the site's ban, and many have sided in favor of the university. Supporters suggest that the site is a complete waste of time and energy, and reflects negatively on the university.
The announcement of pending legal action against the school by JuicyCampus.com has caused a stir.
"I don't think its right," said Stephanie Straight, a sophomore speech pathology major from Chicago. "It's a site that the school doesn't want students to have access to and attention that we do not need. I can agree with that 100%.
"As far as suing the school, I don't think they had to take it that far," she continued.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Losing Weight
posted 12/22/08 @ 1:11 PM CST
Freedom of speech is a very important matter. It is granted to people by the U.S. constitution. A college exists to teach students not to censor what they see. (Continued…)
wow
posted 1/05/09 @ 4:01 PM CST
WOW...I didn't think it would get to this. The website is not the problem...it's the students who are posting on the site. If it's not Juicy Campus then it'll just be another website. (Continued…)
ConcernedAdult
posted 1/09/09 @ 2:24 PM CST
Let's be for real. In no way is TSU really stopping anyone's 1st Amendment right. All they really did was set a filter onto the sites that students were allowed to view. (Continued…)
Chicago Student
posted 1/29/09 @ 11:36 PM CST
Juicy Campus is NOT freedom of press. Things are posted to that site with no factual evidence or backing. Say the New York Times printed an article that said Ivester likes to f*** 12 year old girls but then offered no evidence or even gave the guy a chance to comment. (Continued…)
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