When a student made a negative comment about a professor’s course in an online forum, the professor wasn’t happy. See how the situation led to a lawsuit.

Robert Becker took some online learning courses offered by City University of Seattle. One of those offerings was a human nutrition course taught by Professor Diane Beaudry.

As an assignment, students were instructed to discuss the effect of Beaudry’s class on their post-graduation plans. In an online forum that could be viewed by Beaudry and the rest of the class, Becker called the class a “flub” or “fluff” course.

Beaudry wasn’t happy. She filed a formal complaint against Becker, and the school said it was going to remove him from the online version of the course and transfer him to an independent studies program.

Becker sued, claiming violation of his constitutional rights. But there was just one problem.

City University is a private institution — meaning it can’t be sued for constitutional violations. Becker’s complaint was dismissed.

Cite: Becker v. University of Seattle.

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Tags: City University of Seattle, free speech, online learning