Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Courtesy photo

An incoming law student's admission to Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas was revoked Wednesday because of alleged racially offensive social media content.

"SMU has revoked its offer of admission to an incoming Dedman School of Law student, based on the student's racially offensive behavior recorded on social media that contradicts the university's core values—specifically, its commitment to diversity and inclusion," said a law school statement on Twitter. "Racism has no place on a campus that embraces respect for all SMU students, faculty and staff and equips its students to make a difference in the world."

The law school did not release the student's name or any details on the allegedly racist social media posts. When asked for details, school spokeswoman Lynn Dempsey wrote in an email that the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act restricts what the law school can say about law students.

Dean Jennifer Collins declined to comment.

But Collins wrote in a June 2 statement to the law school community that the law school shared the national grief and outrage over the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other black men and women.

"As lawyers, we have a special obligation to demand that we do better and actively work together toward a more just and compassionate nation free of the discrimination and hatred that continues to plague this country," Collins wrote in the statement. "We cannot allow the fact we are not physically together at the moment to keep us from the critical work we must do to address injustice and protect marginalized communities, not only from acts of violence, but also from the inequities laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and its disparate impact on people of color."

In response to the law school's Twitter announcement about revoking the student's admission, one woman tweeted back that this was a reason she chose the law school.

 

In recent weeks, black students at Southern Methodist University have been recounting racism they experienced on campus through Twitter posts with the hashtag "#BlackAtSMU." University President R. Gerald Turner responded with a statement.

"It grieves me to read them because this is not what we envision for SMU," Turner wrote. "The negative experiences shared through #BlackAtSMU are a stark reminder that we still have a lot of work to do."

Adjunct SMU law professor John Browning, who speaks and writes about use of social media by law students, lawyers and judges, said that he hasn't seen the posts and didn't know if they were public or private.

"Evidently, someone was familiar with it and familiar with the student, and shared it with people in the law school community," said Browning, partner in Spencer Fane in Dallas.

He said that he's never known of an SMU law student who was dismissed for offensive social media post. But it's an growing issue around the nation.

"Online misbehavior by law students is certainly not a rare phenomenon, and it's one law students don't realize can pose a real career problem for them," Browning said. "I don't know the details. I don't want to personally pass judgment. But if they were troubling enough for the school to consider it contrary to the core values, I think it's the school's right to do that. Being admitted to a professional or graduate program is not a matter of right. It's a matter of privilege. It can be rescinded for any number of reasons."