Judge: IU student must reveal name to sue over COVID suspension
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — A federal judge in Indianapolis says an IU student suspended for violation university COVID regulations must use his real name if he wants to sue.
Magistrate Judge Mark Dinsmore issued his ruling Monday, saying the IU student cannot file the suit as “John Doe.”
The student, who was president of a fraternity on the Bloomington campus, says he was suspended by the university for one year for COVID violations.
- Supreme Court won’t block Indiana University vaccine policy
- Appeals court upholds Indiana University’s vaccine mandate
- Federal judge upholds IU COVID-19 vaccine mandate
- IU students file federal lawsuit against university COVID-19 vaccine policy
The suit claims the student, a 21-year-old junior at IU, and other house members hosted an off-campus party during Little 500 weekend in April of 2021 with 40-50 people in attendance.
The suit claims “Little 500 is well known nationally as the biggest party weekend for Indiana University.”
School officials say the party led to complaints at the Bloomington and IU police departments.
The university suspended the student for one full year as a result.
The student argues the suspension was “a rushed process that lacked such recognition and took away the basic freedoms and rights it promised to him as a student of the University.”
Dinsmore ruled the student had not established a privacy right to allow him to remain anonymous, and gave him 14 days to add his name to the lawsuit.