COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio University will revise its student conduct code and pay $32,000 to a student
and his attorneys to settle a lawsuit challenging that code.
The lawsuit filed last summer on behalf of Isaac Smith alleged administrators violated constitutional
free speech rights by telling students not to wear T-shirts bearing a sexually suggestive double
entendre. The slogan had been used by a campus group that provides free help for students facing the
school’s judicial process.
Members at an involvement fair wore shirts with a phrase that could reference that assistance but also
has a lewd connotation.
Educators suggested that Smith consider whether the shirts were appropriate but never told students not
to wear the shirt or threatened them with discipline, the university in Athens said in a statement
Monday. It said it agreed to "clarify our commitment to freedom of speech and expression" in
the conduct code and pay Smith and his attorneys in exchange for them dismissing the case to avoid
further expense for the university and burden for educators.
"Mr. Smith’s complaint stresses the important of upholding students’ right to free speech," the
statement said. "We agree fully with this premise and hold freedom of speech and expression as core
values of our institution."
Smith praised the outcome in a statement released by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a
nonprofit advocacy group that helped his case.
"I’m glad I stood up for speech and got my school to change its policies," Smith said.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.