From November 2012 through May 2013, Yeasin and W. dated on and off. After the official dissolution of their dating relationship, Yeasin drove W. to her therapist appointment in June of 2013. During the appointment, Yeasin read text and Facebook messages on W.’s phone. After W. returned from her appointment, Yeasin confronted her about messages sent to another man. Yeasin then kept W.’s phone and kept W. captive in his car as he continually threatened her and drove around Olathe, KS for three hours. Yeasin told W. that he would not let W. go “Until you pay the consequences for what you’ve done and make sure you’ll never do this again,” and threatened suicide. Yeasin eventually returned W. to her car. Yeasin called W. at 1:00 a.m. and threatened her saying he “would make it so that [W.] wouldn’t be welcome at any of the universities in Kansas.”
Following this dispute, in August of 2013, Yeasin was charged with criminal restraint, battery, and criminal deprivation of property. Yeasin was served with a final order of protection from abuse, directing him to have zero contact with W. for 1 year. W. also filed a complaint with the Office of Institutional Opportunity and access (IOA). An investigation was opened August 8, 2013, and conducted by Jennifer Brooks; Yeasin tweeted, “On the brightside you won’t have mutated kids. #goodriddens,” hinting at W.’s ribcage deformity.
On August 14, 2013, the IOA issued Yeasin a no-contact order waning him of possible expulsion from the University of Kansas. The no-contact order prohibited Yeasin from all communication forms (physical, verbal, electronic, written, and third parties). This no-contact order also prohibited Yeasin from contacting any associates, friends, or family of W.’s. That evening, Yeasin tweeted, “Jesus Navid, how is it that you always end up dating the psycho bitches? #butreallyguys.”
On August 15, 2013, Yeasin tweeted, “Oh right, negative boob job. I remember her,” hinting at W.’s breast augmentation. August 23, 2013, Yeasin tweeted, “If I could say one thing to you it would probably be “Go fuck yourself you piece of shit.” #butseriouslygofuckyourself #carzyassex.” On September 5, 2013, Yeasin tweeted, “Lol, she goes up to my friends and hugs them and then unfriends them on Facebook. #pshycho #lolwhat.”
On September 6, 2013, W. told Jennifer Brooks about Yeasin's posted tweets. September 7, 2013, Brooks gave Yeasin a second warning stating, “Going forward, if you make any reference regarding W., directly or indirectly, on any type of social media or other communication outlet, you will be immediately referred to the Student Conduct Officer for possible sanction which may result in expulsion from the University.” 7 hours later, Yeasin tweeted, “Lol you’re so obsessed with me you gotta creep on me using your friends accounts #crazybitch.” Then on September 13, 2013, Yeasin tweeted, “30 Reasons to Love Natural Breasts totalfratmove.com/30-reasons-to-…via@totalfratmove #doublenegativebobjob.”
On September 17, 2013, the IOA Executive Director Jane McQueeney conducted a follow-up interview with Yeasin. In the interview Yeasin expressed that he did not consider a tweet to be a violation of the protection order or no-contact order and that he did not intend for his tweets to reach W., and that he would not continue. The IOA completed its investigation and issued a report to Tammara Hurham, Vice Provost of Student Affairs at the University of Kansas. The report recommended disciplinary action should be taken against Yeasin. The report concluded that, although, Yeasin’s actions had been conducted off campus, Yeasin’s actions had affected the on-campus environment for W., thus violating the University’s sexual harassment policy. The IOA also found that Yeasin knowingly and purposefully violated the no-contact order by continually “harassing” W. on social media even after being informed that this indirect contact was in violation of that no-contact order. Nicholas Kehrwald, the Director of Student Conduct & Community Standards at the University of Kansas received the IOA report, and concluded that Yeasin had violated Article 22.A.1 of the Student Code, the University’s sexual harassment policy, and the no-contact order. Kehrwald advised Yeasin that a formal student conduct hearing would be held on November 4, 2013, and the no-contact order remained in effect. On October 23, 2013, Yeasin tweeted, “At least I’m proportionate. #NBD #boobs @MorganLCox.”
On November 4, 2013, at the student conduct hearing, the hearing panel found that “the behavior of Yeasin is unwelcome, based upon sex or sex stereotypes, and are so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that they have the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with W.’s academic performance or participation in the University’s programs and activities.” The panel recommended that Yeasin be expelled permanently and banned from the University campus until W. graduated. Following the hearing, Vice Provost Durham agreed with the panel and the University expelled Yeasin and banned him from campus for violating Article 22.A.1 and the University’s sexual harassment policy.
Yeasin appealed his expulsion to the University Judicial Board. The Board denied him any relief. After being denied, Yeasin then sought judicial review of the University’s actions.
The district court found that Article 22 Student Code does not apply to off-campus conduct. Article 22 Student Code specifically states that misconduct must occur on campus or at University-sponsored or supervised events. The district court also found that the University incorrectly interpreted the Student Code by applying it to off-campus conduct, and that the University did not have substantial evidence because it failed to establish that Yeasin’s conduct occurred on campus or at a university-sponsored event.
The University was ordered to readmit Yeasin, reimburse or credit Yeasin for his fall 2013 semester tuition and fees that he paid, and pay the transcript fees. The court granted a stay requested by the University. The University appealed the district court’s grant of relief to Yeasin, and Yeasin cross-appealed the district court’s stay of judgment. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Kansas; the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Inc., and Student Press Law Center; and Kansas State University each submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of Yeasin.
Analysis:
The University felt as though Yeasin was taking away W.’s Constitutional right to be free from harassment, and did its best to eliminate the cause of conflict through expulsion. The problem is, the Student code does not give the University authority to act when the misconduct occurs off campus or somewhere other than a University-sponsored or supervised event. There was no proof in the record that Yeasin posted the tweets while he was on campus. Yeasin’s tweets were protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Outcome:
The appellate court found the district court’s decision to be correct; that the University of Kansas did not have the authority to expel Yeasin because of his tweets. The courts lifted the stay, and granted Yeasin relief.