Key Takeaways:

1. A University at Albany graduate student has filed a federal lawsuit against the university, claiming that her First Amendment rights were violated during a protest on campus.

2. The student alleges that a top administrator grabbed her arm and shouted at her when she used a megaphone during the protest.

3. The student also claims that disciplinary proceedings were initiated against her when she filed a complaint.

4. The university denies the allegations, stating that the lawsuit contains "numerous inaccuracies and mischaracterizations."

5. The lawsuit seeks to compensate the student for any lost wages, mental anguish and emotional pain.

UAlbany Graduate Student Sues University for Alleged First Amendment Violation During Protest

ALBANY, NY - January 16, 2023 - A University at Albany graduate student says she was grabbed and shouted at by a top administrator when she used a megaphone during a protest, prompting her to file a federal lawsuit against the university alleging a First Amendment violation.

Amie Zimmerman alleges in a lawsuit filed Jan. 11 that Vice President for Finance and Administration Todd Foreman grabbed her arm and shouted she could not use a megaphone during a Oct. 15 on-campus protest against fees graduate students pay while also teaching. She goes on to allege that when she filed a complaint, the university initiated disciplinary proceedings against her.

UAlbany issued a statement saying the lawsuit "contains numerous inaccuracies and mischaracterizations" without identifying or explaining them. It went on to say federal student privacy rules prevent the administration from discussing student conduct proceedings but added UAlbany takes allegations of retaliation seriously and investigates all of them.

Foreman and UAlbany Police Chief Paul Burlingame could not be reached Monday. Zimmerman's lawsuit said Burlingame confronted her too. UAlbany spokesman Jordan Carleo-Evangelist said comments were being limited to the statement the campus released.

According to a disciplinary report from the university, included in the lawsuit, UAlbany defended its actions by saying that they have “time, manner, and place restrictions in our freedom of speech policy” that allows it to regulate the use of amplification devices like megaphones.

Graduate students protested at the homecoming pregame event on campus, marching with a megaphone. But after they chanted directly at UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez, Burlingame told Zimmerman that she had to stop using the megaphone, according to the lawsuit.

The students turned off the megaphone, but decided to leave half an hour later and used the megaphone again as they left. The lawsuit says as they marched past tents where alumni and the administration had gathered two administrators ran out. Foreman and Burlingame “physically blocked Ms. Zimmerman, pinning her between them so that she could not move,” according to the lawsuit.

Foreman grabbed her shoulder, and both of them shouted that she had to stop using the megaphone, according to the lawsuit.

After the incident, Zimmerman was summoned to a disciplinary hearing and given a written warning that would remain in her file through the spring 2023 semester. A second incident during the semester would lead to a more severe punishment, according to the lawsuit.

The protest was part of a two-year union campaign to abolish student fees for graduate students required to work as part of their studies.

“We are being told on the one hand we are students and therefore we owe these student fees. On the other hand we are employees,” Zimmerman said in an interview. “And then they charge us these fees we are expected to pay out of our stipend, because we are not expected to work outside of the university, that’s part of our contract.”

The lawsuit seeks no specific amount of money but asks that Zimmerman be compensated for any lost wages, mental anguish and emotional pain.