Student Gives Ex's Apology a D-. College Gives Him a Suspension

College says Nick Lutz's viral tweet violated its student code of conduct
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2017 3:33 PM CDT
College Student Suspended for Grading Ex's Apology Letter
Nick Lutz graded an apology letter from his ex-girlfriend and tweeted it. Then his college suspended him.   (Twitter)

“Long intro, short conclusion, strong hypothesis but nothing to back it up,” Nick Lutz wrote in red pen on a four-page apology letter his ex-girlfriend left on his car. The 21-year-old college senior graded the letter—giving it a D- but stating his ex could revise it for "half credit"—back in February as a gag, the Miami Herald reports. Lutz tweeted a photo of the edited letter with the caption: "When your ex writes you an apology letter so you grade it to send it back." The tweet went viral, with more than 121,000 retweets, and Lutz's story was picked up around the world. Lutz never mentioned his girlfriend's name in the tweet or the subsequent interviews, and that seemed like the end of it.

Then, on July 6, Lutz received word from the University of Central Florida that he was suspended for two semesters for violating the student code of conduct, the Washington Post reports. Apparently, his ex-girlfriend felt she was being cyberbullied. After first trying to take her case to the sheriff's office, his ex then went to UCF, where she isn't a student. Lutz's lawyer, Jacob Stuart, says the school is violating his client's First Amendment rights. “There was nothing derogatory about it," Stuart tells the Herald. "It was obvious he was making fun of her, but that’s the beauty of the constitution." In addition to the suspension, Lutz was put on probation until graduation, assigned a mentor, and told to create a presentation and write a paper on the "impact" of what he did. WFTV reports Lutz is appealing the punishment and stands by his tweet. (More cyberbullying stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X