Former LSU education professor, Teresa Buchanan, filed a federal civil rights law suit against the university for violating her free speech and due process rights by firing her last June.
Buchanan, supported by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, made it clear at a press conference last week that she does not intend to harm the university.
“That’s why we’re doing this,” she said. “Not to harm LSU, not to hurt, but to help LSU, protect LSU and restore LSU because forever LSU.”
Buchanan was fired in 2015 for her alleged, occasional use of profanity and sexual language in the classroom. LSU maintains strict policies on sexual harassment.
Although she said she does not wish to defame the university, Buchanan commented on a Facebook post that the legal action is “the right thing to do.”
However, LSU is standing its ground. 

“We are confident that our action regarding Ms. Buchanan was appropriate,” an LSU spokesman said. “We take our responsibility to protect students from abusive behavior very seriously, and we will vigorously defend our students’ rights to a harassment-free educational environment.”

One of Buchanan’s past students, who wishes to remain anonymous, spoke about his former professor’s comments while teaching.

“She is a great professor,” the source said. “But I can see how some of her comments could be taken the wrong way.”

Buchanan tried to explain to LSU administrators in a letter that she occasionally used humor and sexual language as roll playing exercises to help her students prepare to be educators.

She said she loves LSU and hopes to get her job back after the lawsuit is settled.