CLEMSON, South Carolina, May 26, 2010—Clemson University has withdrawn "disorderly conduct," "harassment," and two other charges against a student who e-mailed an administrator using "language and tone" that another administrator found "unacceptable." After undergraduate William Kirwan was charged with a variety of offenses in violation of his First Amendment rights, he turned to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help.
On May 13, Clemson administrator Laura McMaster tried to persuade Kirwan's student organization, Central Spirit, to participate in Clemson's Fall Organizations Fair. Kirwan, the group's president, replied by e-mail, with a copy to administrator Marty Kern, "I'm not going to let you bully the organization into doing the things you want us to do or perceive as important." He stated that he trusted six previous Central Spirit presidents "over yours any day of the week and twice on Sunday." He also joked that she must have been "smoking crack" before trying to persuade him.
Kern responded that the e-mail's "language and tone [are] unacceptable in any setting" and requested a meeting with Kirwan. Kirwan declined the invitation to meet, at which point Kern bizarrely stated that she would hold the meeting without him.
On May 19, Kirwan received a disciplinary letter charging him with "Disorderly Conduct," "Harassment," "Failure to Comply with Official Request," and "Computer Misuse" because he allegedly had "sent an email that had the effect of creating a hostile work environment" and declined the optional meeting. Neither the particular e-mail nor the particular staff member was identified.