FIU Suspends 2 Students for 2 Years Over Racist Group Chat
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 21
FIU Suspends 2 Students for 2 Years Over Racist Group Chat
5 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 21
Two FIU students — Abel Carvajal and Dariel Gonzalez — were suspended for two years and barred from campus over a group chat containing racist, antisemitic, homophobic and misogynistic slurs.
Court papers filed in Miami disclosed the May 11 sanctions after the four students sued FIU in April, arguing the discipline over a private chat violated the First Amendment.
Hundreds of pages of messages released in court included Gonzalez saying, “Avoid the coloreds like the plague” and “I would def not marry a Jew”; Carvajal was accused of managing the chat.
The case adds to scrutiny of college Republican groups in Florida and nationally, including a separate federal court fight involving a University of Florida chapter accused of racist and antisemitic behavior.
How will the FIU suspensions redefine student free speech rules for the digital age?
Should universities prioritize free speech rights over creating a hate-free campus environment?