After a student resigned from her position as editor of the campus paper, she sued the school, the student-run newspaper and her former colleagues.

After being accused of plagiarism, University of Michigan student Julie Rowe filed the suit, claiming defamation, extreme emotional distress and a violation of her due process rights.

Rowe claims the distress was so severe she felt she had to resign from her position as editor of The Michigan Daily.

The plagiarism accusation emerged from a 2009 article written by Rowe.

The editor-in-chief did not specifically name Rowe but posted a link to her column and added an editor’s note which stated:

• the article “cited sources verbatim” sans quotes
• doing so implied the author paraphrased the information, which was not the case, and
• as a result, “The Daily no longer stands by this content.”

The suit asserts Rowe did not plagiarize. It also asks for a jury trial and more than $25,000 in damages.

We’ll keep you posted.

Tags: due process rights, plagiarism, University of Michigan