Syracuse University: Education Student Expelled over Facebook Comments

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Syracuse University

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FIRE Victory closed

Syracuse University's School of Education effectively expelled a graduate student from its teaching program after he complained on Facebook about a racially charged comment made in his presence by a community leader that student teachers were coming from Syracuse rather than historically black colleges. Matthew Werenczak was required to undergo a special course of diversity training and counseling for "anger management" just to earn a chance of readmission. Just hours after FIRE took the case public on January 18, 2012, Syracuse readmitted Werenczak but blamed its actions on the standards of its accreditor, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

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