Legal teams for Syracuse University and its chapter of the Theta Tau engineering fraternity will argue at a Jefferson County Supreme Court hearing Thursday morning as part of ongoing legal action by the fraternity chapter against the university.

The chapter initiated legal action against the university in Jefferson County in October, seeking to reverse its permanent expulsion for videos Chancellor Kent Syverud has called “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities.” The videos, which the chapter called a “satirical sketch,” led to campus-wide protests in April 2018.

The chapter’s attempt to reverse its permanent expulsion is the first legal challenge by the organization to the university’s decision-making in the wake of the Theta Tau video controversy. It is the third legal action since last spring.

Nine students disciplined in connection to the videos are suing SU in federal court and are seeking a reversal on their one- or two-year suspensions and $1 million each in damages. Ten students suing SU in Jefferson County are seeking only a reversal of the university’s disciplinary actions.

SU has motioned to dismiss the legal action by the fraternity chapter, according to Jefferson County Supreme Court records.

The October suit only names “the Tau Chapter of Theta Tau Fraternity” as a plaintiff. The chapter is seeking judicial relief through an Article 78 proceeding, which is generally used to appeal the decision of a New York state or local agency. Article 78 also allows judges to make decisions on the fairness of a private institution’s internal processes, including student proceedings, according to The Student Appeal, an online law journal.

If a judge rules in favor of the fraternity chapter, the court could allow it to return to the university.

Jefferson County Supreme Court Justice James McClusky is overseeing the chapter suit and the lawsuit filed anonymously by 10 students. McClusky, in the first lawsuit, previously ruled that the students could return to campus during the ongoing lawsuit despite their suspensions for conduct violations.

Karen Felter, an attorney at the Syracuse-based branch of the Smith, Sovik, Kendrick and Sugnet law firm, is representing the chapter, court documents show. Felter is also representing the students in the two lawsuits against SU.

Thursday’s hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., according to an official in the Jefferson County Supreme Court Clerk’s office.

Published on December 5, 2018 at 11:03 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18