Fordham University is facing a lawsuit filed by a Chinese immigrant student that was suspended from the university over an Instagram post in which he posed with a legally-obtained rifle to honor the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. The lawsuit seeks to reverse the probationary status that was imposed on the student as punishment for the post.
According to a report by the College Fix, Fordham University student Austin Tong has sued the university over its decision to suspend him over a post he made to Instagram. In the post, Tong posed with a legally-obtained rifle to commemorate the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
After the post sparked a minor controversy, Fordham University placed Tong on probation. The university claimed that Tong had violated policies on “bias and/or hate crimes” and “threats/intimidation.” As part of his punishment, Tong was banned from campus and required to attend a bias training seminar.
The lawsuit claims that Fordham Dean of Students Keith Eldredge questioned Tong about his decision to purchase a firearm prior to the university’s decision to suspend him.
“In response to Tong’s reasonable and thoughtful remarks, Eldredge asked him whether there was any particular reason for which he purchased a firearm,” the lawsuit reads. “Lost on Eldredge was the fact that this question was wholly improper, since Eldredge had already conceded that Tong did not violate any University firearm policies and Tong had a Second Amendment right to purchase and own a firearm which did not require any explanation.”
The lawsuit further claims that the university subjected Tong to a series of unusual disciplinary measures, including making him write an apology letter to the university. If he failed to comply with their demands, administrators reportedly stated that they reserved the right to expel him from the university.
“In response to Tong’s Instagram posts and in contravention of its own policies and rules unequivocally committing the University to free expression, Respondents imposed a series of damaging and humiliating disciplinary actions against him, including draconian requirements that he must follow in order to avoid immediate suspension or expulsion from the University,” the lawsuit reads.
In a statement, Tong said that he will continue to use his voice to defend conservative principles.”I am fighting for the ability to engage in meaningful discourse without being banished or canceled, and frankly, it is all of us. We are together standing up for the importance of the First Amendment as well as the right to keep and bear arms in a free society as a bulwark against tyranny,” Tong said this week.
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