2008 Woodie Awards
Student suspended after controversial Web posts
by Elena Chin
Issue date: 8/31/07 Section: News
A student sued the university on Aug. 1 for a violation of his First Amendment rights because the school suspended him from classes and banned him from campus for his Web site.
Maciej Murakowski, a would-be junior, said he was suspended because he used the university's server to host his personal Web site. The site had received three complaints since November 2005, he said.
On one page of his Web site, Murakowski, a chemical engineering student, wrote descriptions of sex moves and positions, such as The Emo, where you "shake and cry whenever your partner touches you" and The Sociopath, where you give a woman a hot bath and massage, "then set her on fire."
David Finger, Murakowski's lawyer, said the university never told Murakowski to remove the Web site from its server after the first two complaints.
Murakowski has since moved his Web site to an independent server.
Cynthia Cummings, associate vice president of campus life, contacted Murakowski's father after the third complaint and told him Murakowski had to be removed from the university that night, Murakowski said.
He said the next day, he had a meeting with Cummings and she said he had to take a psychological exam to determine whether he was a potential threat.
Cummings was unable to be reached for comment.
University officials declined to comment.
Murakowski said he had a disciplinary hearing on May 2 with Judicial Affairs. They determined he was to be suspended from classes and banned from campus until the end of the year. After that time period, Murakowski will need to be readmitted to the university.
He said he is unsure whether he will be accepted to the university. If he is not readmitted, then he does not know if any other university would accept him into its program with this incident on his disciplinary record.
Murakowski said he lost his job with the university's engineering department because he is no longer allowed on campus. If he was readmitted to the university after this year, he said he will have lost a year of school.
Maciej Murakowski, a would-be junior, said he was suspended because he used the university's server to host his personal Web site. The site had received three complaints since November 2005, he said.
On one page of his Web site, Murakowski, a chemical engineering student, wrote descriptions of sex moves and positions, such as The Emo, where you "shake and cry whenever your partner touches you" and The Sociopath, where you give a woman a hot bath and massage, "then set her on fire."
David Finger, Murakowski's lawyer, said the university never told Murakowski to remove the Web site from its server after the first two complaints.
Murakowski has since moved his Web site to an independent server.
Cynthia Cummings, associate vice president of campus life, contacted Murakowski's father after the third complaint and told him Murakowski had to be removed from the university that night, Murakowski said.
He said the next day, he had a meeting with Cummings and she said he had to take a psychological exam to determine whether he was a potential threat.
Cummings was unable to be reached for comment.
University officials declined to comment.
Murakowski said he had a disciplinary hearing on May 2 with Judicial Affairs. They determined he was to be suspended from classes and banned from campus until the end of the year. After that time period, Murakowski will need to be readmitted to the university.
He said he is unsure whether he will be accepted to the university. If he is not readmitted, then he does not know if any other university would accept him into its program with this incident on his disciplinary record.
Murakowski said he lost his job with the university's engineering department because he is no longer allowed on campus. If he was readmitted to the university after this year, he said he will have lost a year of school.
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