Expelled pharmacy student sues Tech, challenges due process issues

A student expelled from the pharmacy school at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Centers Abilene campus is suing for readmission, accusing the university of violating his due process rights in a disciplinary proceeding.

Brian Brister, expelled a year ago, accused HSC officials of violating his rights to a fair review of several disciplinary complaints by appointing a review panel that wasnt impartial, and failing to give him reasonable access to information related to the disciplinary investigation before the hearing.

According to the suit, filed earlier this month in the 99th District Court in Lubbock, HSC officials accused Brister in the spring of 2010 of:

Signing on to a university computer with someone elses user identification and password and changing his grade in a class.

Behaving in a disruptive manner when a university official approached him about reimbursing another student for items that were thrown out when a refrigerator was being cleaned out.

Being in an area of the Abilene School of Pharmacy that was off-limits to students outside normal hours.

Downloading sexually explicit material using Techs computer system. The download used an unauthorized virtual machine software that allows another operating system to run on a host computers environment which also violated Techs computer use policy.

TTUHSC has very specific policies regarding student misconduct. However, as this litigation regarding a former student is ongoing, we are not at liberty to comment at this time, said Mary Croyle, director of marketing and communications for the health sciences center.

The suit contends the disciplinary process is unfair in the person who assembled the complaint Summer Balcer, assistant dean for student services at the school of pharmacy and would present the case at the hearing also chose the four-member conduct board to hear the allegations.

I immediately thought that was unfair, said Eun-Hyuk Yi, Bristers Dallas attorney.

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Expelled pharmacy student sues Tech, challenges due process issues