Ten students suspended by Syracuse University in connection to last spring’s controversial Theta Tau videos could return to campus this year, according to documents filed this week in a federal lawsuit against the university.

A New York state judge recently signed an order temporarily prohibiting SU from enforcing disciplinary action against the students until a Sept. 19 court hearing, court records show.

If a stay on SU’s disciplinary actions is granted at the September hearing, the students could return to the university — at least until the end of the lawsuit, according to court documents. Though some of the students have enrolled at community colleges, all 10 would consider returning to SU during the fall 2018 or spring 2019 semesters if the judge approves the stay, per court documents.

James McClusky, a judge in Jefferson County Supreme Court, signed the order last week as part of a second lawsuit filed against the university in state court by 10 anonymous students suspended by SU in connection to the videos. Jefferson County is about 70 miles north of Syracuse.

A similar lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in April, is also ongoing.

SU suspended more than a dozen students for one or two years after videos surfaced showing people in the Theta Tau engineering fraternity house engaging in behaviors Chancellor Kent Syverud has called “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities.” The fraternity chapter, in a statement at the time, said the videos depicted a “satirical sketch.”

Five students filed a lawsuit against SU in federal court in April, claiming the university labeled them as “criminals” in an attempt to malign them “personally” to salvage its reputation. Four more students joined the lawsuit this summer.

Tyler Vartabedian, Theta Tau’s former vice regent who was a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, has successfully appealed his suspension and could return to the university this year.

Ten students filed the second suit in Jefferson County Supreme Court in mid-August. Kevin Hulslander, Karen Felter and David Katz, attorneys at the Syracuse-based branch of Smith, Sovik, Kendrick and Sugnet, are representing the students in both lawsuits.

“These kids did not violate the Code of Conduct and SU has no factual or legal support for the discipline rendered,” Hulslander said in an email Tuesday. “So far, Judge McClusky agrees …which bodes well for these students who have had their rights trampled on.”

SU’s legal team is fighting to prevent the second lawsuit from proceeding in state court.

John Powers, a lawyer for SU, filed a motion in federal court on Monday for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order to halt the second lawsuit. The restraining order was denied Tuesday, but a judge could rule on the preliminary injunction after a hearing next week, according to court records.

A judge in the federal lawsuit struck down the students’ request to stop the university’s disciplinary process earlier this summer.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• As students return to SU, many say fallout from the Theta Tau controversy lingers on campus
• Former Theta Tau vice regent granted appeal on SU suspension
• Judge denies request from students involved in Theta Tau videos for SU transcripts without disciplinary notation
• Attorney for SU files motion to publicly reveal names of 5 students involved in Theta Tau videos

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Daniel French, SU’s senior vice president and general counsel, in court papers filed Monday accused the students of “blatant forum-shopping and claim-splitting” and said their re-enrollment at the university this year would cause “administrative and reputational chaos on campus.”

“The distraction and disruption their re-enrollment would cause to University life and operations cannot be overstated,” French said in court documents.  

Sarah Scalese, SU’s senior associate vice president for communications, did not respond to a request for comment on this story Tuesday.

SU permanently expelled the Theta Tau fraternity in April after The Daily Orange obtained and published recordings of videos showing people in the Greek organization’s house using racial and ethnic slurs and miming the sexual assault of a person with disabilities.

“I solemnly swear to always have hatred in my heart for n*ggers, sp*cs and most importantly the f*ckin’ k*kes,” a person says in one of the videos, after being shoved to his knees by another person and asked to repeat an “oath.”

In a second video, a person sits down in a rolling chair and a different person yells, “He’s drooling out of his mouth, because he’s retarded in a wheelchair.”

The videos, which were eventually circulated nationally by media outlets, sparked campus-wide protests and days of public forums.

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Published on August 29, 2018 at 12:06 am

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18