MSNBC to Interview Student Barred from Graduation Ceremonies Due to ‘Negative’ Facebook Post

- What We Do
- What we defend
- Have your rights been violated?
  If you face retaliation over protected speech, reach out to FIREto learn more about how we can protect your rights.
  Submit a Case
- Make a difference
- Take Action
  Across the nation, free speech rights are under attack. Join us in defending this essential quality of liberty. Make your voice heard and join a campaign.
  Protect Free Speech
- FIREStudent Network
  ��֭��’s 2022 College Free Speech Rankings are based on the voices of more than 44,000 currently enrolled students at 208 colleges and are designed to help parents and prospective students choose the right school.
  Build Your Network
- Resources
- College Free Speech Rankings
  Presented by FIREand College Pulse, the 2025 College Free Speech Rankings is the largest survey of campus free expression ever performed.
- National Speech Index
  The National Speech Index is a new quarterly component of America’s Political Pulse, an ongoing weekly survey that will allow researchers to track shifting free speech sentiment in America over time.
  Learn More
Colleges
News
Cases
About Us
Submit a Case

MSNBC to Interview Student Barred from Graduation Ceremonies Due to ‘Negative’ Facebook Post

FIRE

June 2, 2011

UPDATE: The interview has been postponed.

Roman Caple, a 2011 graduate of Saint Augustine's College (SAC) in North Carolina, is scheduled to appear on MSNBC with his attorney sometime between 10:30-11:00 a.m. EDT on Friday. They will be discussing how SAC violated its own promises of free speech and due process when it refused to allow Caple to participate in any graduation ceremonies due to a comment he posted on Facebook about how the college was handling its recovery from tornado damage. FIREhas been advocating for Caple's rights in this sad case.

Recent Articles

FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali will not submit

November 14, 2024

Podcast

Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up in a culture of conformity. She was beaten and mutilated. She was told who she must marry. Eventually, she rebelled. "You don't speak up at first," she told us. "First you leave and you find a place of safety. It's...

The Capitol Building in red with the words: "Tell your senators: Defend free speech. Oppose the antisemitism awareness act."

FIREstatement on congressional leaders smuggling unconstitutional Antisemitism Awareness Act into a must-pass defense bill

November 15, 2024

You can’t protect Americans by chipping away at their ability to speak out — and that’s exactly what this act does.

149 days and counting! Will the White House grant a posthumous pardon in the D.M. Bennett Case? — First Amendment News 447

November 13, 2024

First Amendment News is a weekly blog and newsletter about free expression issues by Ronald K. L. Collins and is editorially independent from ��֭��.

Samson Cournane, the 15-year-old college student fighting a hospital over his free speech

VICTORY! Maine hospital backs down from defamation threat over teen’s criticism

November 7, 2024

When 15-year-old Samson Cournane wrote a petition calling attention to patient-safety concerns at a local hospital, the hospital threatened to sue his mother for defamation.

��֭����

��֭��