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This Week in FIRENews: Victory for Student Banned from Campus for Facebook Post
It's been a whirlwind week for Catawba Valley Community College student Marc Bechtol. On Wednesday, we reported in a national press release that he had been pulled out of his classroom and banned from campus after he complained on Facebook about his school's aggressive marketing of a debit card company to its students. Thanks in large part to pressure from FIREand the media outlets that reported on his case, Bechtol learned this morning that all charges against him have been dropped and he is free to step foot on campus. However, FIREwill still be watching the college closely, given the fact that the policy used to punish Bechtol's protected speech remains on the books.
FIRE thanks those who took action or publicized this outrageous punishment of free speech. Below is a recap of the case's headlines:
- Gawker:
- USA TODAY College:
- The Huffington Post:
- WCNC.com:
- Front Page Mag:
- Inside Higher Ed:
- Charlotte Observer:
- Popehat:
- Hot Goss:
- Gaston Gazette:
- iStockAnalyst:
- iStockAnalyst:
- ShortNews.com:
- Dalje.com:
- UPI.com:
- FOX Charlotte:
- WISTV:
- FOX 8:
- WSOC Charlotte:
- WBTV:
- The Moral Liberal:
- News & Observer:
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