Butler University is disciplining a student who criticized administrators on the Internet after the university dropped the first-ever lawsuit against a student for online libel.
Instead of the lawsuit, Butler will pursue internal disciplinary actions against junior Jess Zimmerman, who criticized university administrators anonymously on his blog, “TrueBU.”
“There have been threats against individuals before,” said Mike Hiestand, legal consultant to the Student Press Law Center. “But I’m not aware of a single reported court decision where a school has gone after a student for libel, especially not over the Internet.”
The lawsuit, Butler University v. John Doe, claimed the blog “harmed the honesty, integrity and professional reputation of Butler University and two of its high-level administrators.”
It remained under wraps until early October, when Butler University professor Bill Watts made the case public with a letter of protest to the student newspaper and with an e-mail to members of the faculty senate.
“I felt very strongly that it was inappropriate for the university to sue a student,” Watts said. “The attack on Jess and the blog does threaten free speech.”
In his letter, Watts said the university “should stand for freedom of speech” rather than “slapping libel suits on … those who make statements with which they disagree.”
Zimmerman created the blog in October 2008 and wrote under the pen name “Soodo Nym.”
In early December, Zimmerman wrote that the firing of Andrea Gullickson, chairwoman of the School of Music and Zimmerman’s stepmother, was abrupt.
In a series of posts made Dec. 16, he wrote that Peter Alexander, dean of the College of Fine Arts, “acted inappropriately and inexcusably,” and called him “power-hungry and afraid of his own shadow.”
His comments also were intended for Provost Jamie Comstock.
Earlier, Zimmerman wrote that Comstock “doesn’t seem to care much for student opinion” and was “unwilling to work with students unless she can see how the relationship will directly benefit her.”
At the end of December, the university’s lawyer contacted Zimmerman via the e-mail address listed on the blog to inform him that Butler was pressing charges.
Zimmerman immediately took down the blog. The suit was filed in January against John Doe because all administrators knew about the identity of the blog author was his pen name, “Soodo Nym.”
Zimmerman said he first became aware of legal action against him in early summer when the university lawyer approached his father, Michael Zimmerman.
Michael Zimmerman was dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, but his contract was not renewed at the beginning of summer 2008.
The university offered Michael and Jess Zimmerman a settlement: It would drop the charges against Jess if Jess would agree to campus disciplinary procedures and confidentiality and waive the right to appeal the decision.
The settlement was turned down.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
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