UPDATE: As of 12:00pm April 30, 2025, Big Easy Magazine received the following statement from Tulane University:
“Federal laws governing student privacy prohibit us from commenting on any individual student conduct proceedings. We fundamentally respect the right of students to protest. The university’s Code of Conduct does not prohibit protest activity. It does address matters such as acts of misconduct, including but not limited to, unlawful or disruptive behavior, on or off campus.”
In a move that has ignited national free speech concerns, Tulane University is threatening five students with suspension or expulsion for participating in an off-campus protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The students had joined a March 11 rally organized by Together United Students for a Democratic Society (TU SDS). Despite the protest taking place off university grounds, Tulane charged seven students with “failure to comply” and “disruptive/disorderly conduct.” Two students have already been sanctioned with academic probation and mandatory community service. The remaining five students are facing the possibility of far harsher penalties, including suspension or expulsion.
In response, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a prominent civil liberties watchdog group, has issued a letter to Tulane demanding the university respect students’ First Amendment rights. FIRE warned that punishing students for participating in a nonviolent political demonstration off-campus represents a serious violation of free expression and freedom of association. The full letter can be found here.
Tulane’s actions don’t exist in a vacuum. Across New Orleans, authorities have shown increasing willingness to clamp down on political activism, as seen when pro-Palestine protesters were brought to trial for exercising their free speech rights. Big Easy Magazine covered that case here.
Central to the university’s case is its claim that any affiliation with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)—even a different chapter—constitutes a code of conduct violation, because a previous Tulane SDS chapter was suspended. Critics argue this reasoning is a dangerous overreach that threatens to criminalize political association itself.
“This is a clear violation of students’ rights to freedom of association under the First Amendment,” the press release reads.
The investigation and potential punishments come at a time when tensions over free speech and student activism are rising nationally. Rory Macdonald, a Tulane senior facing disciplinary action, connected the crackdown to a broader political climate influenced by Donald Trump and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.
“Tulane’s increasingly harsh punishment of student organizers is an attempt to curry favor with the Trump and Landry administrations,” Macdonald said. “It’s part of the same pattern we’ve seen with Tulane refusing to defend students who had visas revoked, and dismantling the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”
Faculty members and other student groups have also voiced concerns that the university’s actions set a chilling precedent for activism and dissent on campus.
The students under investigation are available for interviews, including Rory Macdonald, Atticus Pratt, and Adelaide Ritzman, who has already been sanctioned.
As the situation unfolds, it may well shape the future of student rights and free expression not just at Tulane, but at private universities across the country during a politically charged era.
