Vanderbilt Student Sues University After Suspension Over Alleged False Accusations and Mental Health Concerns

Judge Waverly Crenshaw of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee ruled on May 23, 2024, that a lawsuit filed by a Vanderbilt University student, identified as Poe, can proceed against the university. The case, Poe v. Lowe, centers on Poe's suspension following social media posts about another male Vanderbilt student, Roe.

According to court filings, Poe made multiple posts on the anonymous social media platform Yik Yak, including statements such as:

"[Roe] is a rapist" and "[Roe] slipped me a roofie this fall, but I just wasn't able to definitively proove [sic] it. When I brought it up to some of the [] brothers [from Roe's fraternity] they tried to gaslight me about it."

Additional posts about Roe were made by other individuals, including a female Vanderbilt student identified as L.N., who stated in her Yik Yak posts that she had "personal experience" with Roe and asserted, "he is a RAPIST, that is the truth and if you don't believe it after so many girls have said it, there is nothing I can do to convince you."

Following these posts, Vanderbilt's Director of Student Accountability, Community Standards, and Academic Integrity, Bourgoin, initiated a disciplinary case against Poe. He was charged with three violations of the Student Handbook: disorderly conduct, harassment, and impersonating a University official or any other person. After Poe's appeal was denied by Vanderbilt's Chair of the Appellate Review Board, Lowe, Poe was suspended for one year.

Poe, who reportedly attempted suicide after learning of his suspension, filed a lawsuit against Vanderbilt. The court allowed Poe's negligence claim to proceed, citing concerns over how the disciplinary outcome was communicated to him. The ruling highlights Vanderbilt's awareness of Poe's serious mental health issues, including a prior suicide threat documented in an email from Poe's mother to university officials.

According to court records, Poe's mother emailed Bourgoin and Clapper, Vanderbilt's Director of Student Care Network and Student Care Coordination, stating, "We are absolutely convinced an adverse decision now will take his life." Jamerson, a university official, testified that he had assessed Poe's suicide risk as "moderate-to-elevated."

Despite these warnings, the university did not delay the disciplinary outcome call, though it did attempt to implement precautions. Clapper, a licensed clinical social worker, testified that she and Bourgoin proceeded with the outcome call even after Poe lied to his mother about the scheduling, telling her it was scheduled for the following day. The call was made without Poe's mother present, contrary to the university's stated intention to have her involved.