College won't suspend student who 'graded' apology
MIAMI — The University of Central Florida student who “graded” his ex-girlfriend’s apology letter in a social media post that went viral and was suspended for two semesters was cleared of all charges Thursday.
Nick Lutz, 21, posted pictures of his ex-girlfriend’s apology letter — complete with grammar and content editing and a D-minus final grade — on Twitter, where it quickly earned 121,000 retweets.
“The thought of you has made me loose my sanity,” she wrote.
“Lose,” he corrected.
“I just hope to God you have thought about me like I have you,” she wrote.
A red arrow under the sentence points to his note in the margins: “I have not.”
He gave the four pages of vulnerable, emotional prose a 61 out of 100.
“Long intro, short conclusion, strong hypothesis but nothing to back it up,” he wrote. “While the gesture is appreciated, I would prefer details over statements.”
Then he took the step that elevated this from a squabble between exes to an event that might derail his college career. He tweeted it. It went viral, climbing to more than 121,000 retweets.
His unidentified ex-girlfriend, a high school student hoping to attend UCF, went to her hometown sheriff’s office and the university with her complaint of cyberbullying. UCF suspended Lutz for two semesters on charges of breaking the school’s honor code.
His lawyer, Jacob Stuart, called the punishment a violation of his client’s First Amendment rights.
Days after his suspension was widely reported in the media, UCF granted Lutz’s request for an appeal. The next day, the school dismissed the case because, “Though your reported behavior is concerning, it does not appear to be an expressed violation of a Rule of Conduct.”
Stuart cheered the school’s decision and said his client looks forward to returning to “normalcy” as a senior studying sports management in the fall.
“Mr. Lutz and his family applaud UCF for recognizing that a student’s right to enjoy the freedom of expression is protected from ill-founded and abusive supervising by a public university,” Stuart wrote in a statement.
