A student who sued Lane Community College after he was banned from campus will be allowed to return to school.
The student, Richard Riordan, argued in a lawsuit at the end of August that the college violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. A judge approved a partial, temporary restraining order against the college Wednesday.
Over the summer Riordan was banned from campus and blocked from registering for classes, according to his original lawsuit.
The ban came after Riordan repeatedly criticized the board in public comment. He also sent mass emails and approached a board member in the parking lot after a meeting to discuss his concerns about the college’s sustainability.
In Riordan’s emails and public comments, he accused board members of prioritizing their campaign donors and political ambitions over students. He also argued administrators made budget reduction decisions based on faulty data.
In his lawsuit, Riordan said he was also asked to meet with campus security. During the meeting he said he was told to stop sending mass emails and to be careful, which he took as a veiled threat.
In court filings, LCC’s attorney denied Riordan’s claims that his rights were violated and characterized his conduct as attempting to intimidate and harass board members and staff.
In a previous statement provided to KLCC when the lawsuit was first filed, the college declined to comment on specifics, but said it had a responsibility to protect the safety of the campus community.
This week, U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane granted a temporary restraining order against the college while the case is ongoing. According to court documents, the judge ordered LCC to remove its hold on Riordan’s student account and allow him to access campus for academic purposes.
Classes resume on Monday.
Riordon will only be able to attend board meetings online and send written public comments.
In a statement, Riordan’s lawyer, Kevin Brague, celebrated the judge’s order.
“This was a victory for the rights of students to engage in free speech,” Brague said.
An LCC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the temporary restraining order.
Lane Community College holds the license for KLCC but has no part in KLCC's editorial process and does not review news content before publication. This story was edited by an outside editor from the Northwest News Network.
