By any standard, Joseph Corlett displayed questionable taste in a series of journal entries he submitted for a college writing assignment.Because of that poor judgment, Corlett is receiving little public sympathy after his Michigan college suspended him for making lustful comments about his instructor in a writing assignment.On July 23, a federal district judge found no First Amendment violation in Oakland University's decision to suspend Corlett on a charge of harassment.There is no disputing that Corlett's journal entries -- comparing his English professor to "Gilligan's Island" sex-symbol Ginger and generally "hubba-hubba-ing" over her appearance -- were unbecoming to a married 57-year-old businessman. But the federal court's ruling takes dangerous liberties with the law of the First Amendment.
Tag: Oakland University
Court: University board's secret meeting is legal
Student journalists got an early Halloween spook when a state district court ruled on Oct. 30 that the Oakland University board of trustees did not violate the Michigan Open Meetings Act when it held a meeting in secret.