A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a Memphis graduate student’s social media posts were protected speech after the University of Tennessee Health Science Center temporarily expelled her from the school over posts made to the student’s private social media accounts in late 2020.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that graduate student Kimberly Diei’s social media posts, which had no connection with the university, could not be used to threaten academic punishment.
“This ruling confirms what I’ve known all along,” Diei said. “I have a right to express myself in my private life that’s separate from school, and so do my classmates. I enrolled in pharmacy school to learn, not to have my taste in music and my thoughts on culture policed.”
The decision reverses a lower court’s August 2023 ruling that dismissed the case, sending the case back for further argument.
“Diei’s speech did not identify her with the College, had no connection to her studies, and did not lead to disruption,” the ruling stated. “So unless the College had a genuine educational purpose for regulating Diei’s speech, her communications fell safely within the confines of First Amendment protection.”