An Alabama judge ordered Auburn University last week to reinstate 10 students who had been suspended by the institution after photographs of them wearing blackface at a fraternity Halloween party were posted on the Internet.
Former members of the now-disbanded Auburn chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity have sued the university in state court, seeking $100-million in damages — $1-million for each of the chapter’s 100 former members. The lawsuit contends that the university defamed the students by portraying them as racists and that it violated their First Amendment rights when it punished them for wearing blackface, which the students say is protected speech.
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