Student leaders at the LSU Law Center now serve at the pleasure of the chancellor. That’s the message LSU Law Center Chancellor John Costonis sent when he made the unprecedented move of removing a student-elected leader from a position in a student organization.
After months of controversy within in the law center, Costonis took matters into his own hands and forced the removal of Student Bar Association President Jacob Gardner who inadvertently forwarded an e-mail which mocked Ebonics and referenced the Black Law Student Association to law center administrators and a leader of the LSU BLSA.
Let it be clear: this column isn’t addressing the issues which initially surrounded the e-mail controversy. Regardless of the contents of Gardner’s e-mail and the appropriateness of his actions or lack thereof following the e-mail, his removal by an administrator is a marked departure from institutional commitments to the autonomy of student organizations and free speech. As a member of the LSU SBA and editor in chief of the law school newspaper, The Civilian, I am deeply troubled by this development.
The chancellor’s action shows an utter disregard for the ability of students to elect their own leaders and settle their own disputes.
In the days and months following the e-mail, BLSA led the charge seeking Gardener’s resignation. With much success, they sought to galvanize students and faculty members to push for his resignation. Ultimately, this led to a widely attended press conference where BLSA leaders publicly chastised Gardner and demanded he tender his resignation.
During this same time, the chancellor was applying pressure of his own. In meeting after meeting, he pushed Gardner to resign. In addition, he held several meetings with all the members of the SBA.
We were told the purpose of these meetings was to hear the opinion of students on how the situation should be handled. But we soon discovered the chancellor already had his mind made on the outcome he desired, Gardner’s removal. His statement released this week reflects this sentiment.
“Gardner’s departure from office is necessary to send a clear message to students, prospective students and accrediting agencies of the absolute commitment of the LSU Law Center to racial diversity,” Costonis said.
With exams rapidly approaching, the chancellor agreed to a ceasefire until the end of the examination period upon which time he would work with the SBA to resolve the problem. Exams ended, a month went by and the spring semester began, still the SBA hadn’t been contacted by the chancellor. Many members of the SBA desired a resolution to the matter and moved in our first meeting of the semester to take a vote on impeachment. Impeachment failed, but the elected student representatives dealt with the matter. The democratic decisions of the student body regarding the chief student leader, however, weren’t accepted by the chancellor.
This move also shows that the chancellor is willing to go to extraordinary links perhaps even reaching beyond his scope of power to silence speech which he finds disagreeable. For once I find myself agreeing with the ACLU.
“The troubling part is that the chancellor removed this student based on the content of his speech,” ACLU Louisiana President Joe Cook told The Advocate.
As a law center which trains people who will one day swear to uphold the Constitution of Louisiana and the United States, respecting the freedom of speech should be a paramount concern.
As the recent situation with Collins Phillips has shown, it is all too easy for administrators to silence a student under the guise of student codes of conduct. The content of the e-mail was offensive and indefensible, nevertheless that is the very reason we need to go the trouble of protecting speech, to prevent unpopular speech from being censored by the government.
It is also unclear to me and apparently even to the chancellor where he derives his authority to remove someone from their position in a student organization. Questioned by The Advocate on this matter, Costonis simply replied that he wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t possess such authority. But he has yet to point to any guideline, principle or precedent which gives him this authority.
“Obviously, I feel I have the authority or else I wouldn’t do it,” Costonis said.
Perhaps, we should change Costonis’s title from chancellor to czar.
 
Jason is a second year law student. Contact him at [email protected]