Minn. college boots student over Facebook posts

A Brainerd college has kicked a student out of school for objectionable Facebook posts, and now the student is suing, the Pioneer Press reports.

Craig Keefe, 37, of Gull Lake, Minn., was just a semester away from finishing his studies to be a registered nurse at Brainerd's Central Lakes College, the newspaper reported.

But school officials in December did not like some of Keefe's posts on his private Facebook page and they expelled him, the Pioneer Press said.

Keefe says school officials would not officially say what Facebook posts led to his expulsion, or how the posts violated school policy, although the lawsuit notes that school officials had complained to Keefe that two of his Facebook posts were "disturbing."

School officials violated the school's own rules because Keefe had no ability to appeal, Keefe's lawyer, Jordan Kushner of Minneapolis, said.

The case has similarities to that of former University of Minnesota mortuary science student Amanda Tatro, who was disciplined, but not expelled, after she posted comments about a cadaver in her anatomy class. She sued but lost when the Minnesota Supreme Court said Tatro violated rules involving standards of professional conduct.

But the Keefe case is different in that his Facebook comments had nothing to do with his work as a nursing student, his lawyer said.