At least two Syracuse University students involved in a lawsuit against the university in connection to last spring’s controversial Theta Tau videos will be allowed to continue to attend classes on campus at least until mid-October after a Wednesday hearing in Jefferson County was adjourned.

James McClusky, the judge in the New York state lawsuit, temporarily prevented SU from enforcing disciplinary action against students suing the university in Jefferson County Supreme Court until the initially-planned Sept. 19 hearing. Karen Felter, a lawyer representing the students in the lawsuit, confirmed in an email the hearing was pushed until Oct. 17 at the request SU’s legal team.

At least two students suspended by SU for “serious violations” of the university’s Code of Student Conduct were allowed to attend classes as a result of McClusky’s order, according to court documents.

“Syracuse University is engaged in active litigation and is legally obligated to comply with the state court order requiring re-enrollment of certain Theta Tau students, should they choose to re-enroll,” said Dara Royer, SU’s senior vice president and chief communications officer, in a statement. “Due to federal privacy law, we cannot comment on the specific status of any student.”

The lawsuit, which was filed anonymously by 10 students disciplined in connection to last spring’s Theta Tau videos, is the second suit filed against SU over its handling of the controversy. Another lawsuit anonymously filed by nine students is currently being litigated in federal court.  

The students filed the state lawsuit as an Article 78 proceeding, a provision of New York state law that allows judges to make decisions on the fairness of a private institution’s internal processes, including student conduct proceedings.

Students in the state lawsuit are requesting their suspensions be reversed and their transcripts be cleared of a disciplinary notation, according to court documents.

According to court documents, some of the students have enrolled in community colleges, but all 10 would consider returning to the university during the fall 2018 or spring 2019 semesters if the court rules in their favor.

SU’s legal team has attempted to halt the state lawsuit. In court documents, lawyers for the university have accused the students of “forum shopping” by opening a lawsuit in state court while the federal remains ongoing.

SU filed a preliminary injunction to stop the state lawsuit in late August, but a federal court judge ruled on Tuesday that the state lawsuit would be allowed to proceed.

The university permanently expelled its chapter of the Theta Tau engineering fraternity in April after videos surfaced showing people in the Greek organization’s house participating in behavior Chancellor Kent Syverud has called “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities.”

Several videos filmed in the house were uploaded in the secret Facebook group. In one recording, a person, using anti-Semitic language, yells at two other people.

“You f*ckin’ k*kes, get in the f*ckin’ showers,” he says, and the two people run out of the room as others laugh.

In another recording, a person sits down in a rolling chair and a different person yells, “He’s drooling out of his mouth because he’s retarded in a wheelchair.”

The videos led to campus-wide protests and a slate of diversity and inclusion initiatives.

— News Editor Jordan Muller contributed reporting to this article.

---

Published on September 18, 2018 at 10:26 pm

Contact Catherine: ccleffer@syr.edu | @ccleffert