Overview

• Kimberly Diei, a former University of Tennessee pharmacy student, was awarded $250,000 after a legal battle over social media posts deemed 'crude' by her school.
• The posts, featuring lyrics from Cardi B's 'WAP' and Beyoncé's 'Partition,' were shared under a pseudonym and did not reference her university affiliation.
• The university's professional conduct committee investigated her twice, nearly expelling her in 2020 for alleged professionalism code violations.
• Diei filed a federal lawsuit in 2021, claiming the public university violated her First Amendment rights by policing her off-campus, personal expression.
• A federal appeals court ruled in her favor in 2024, leading to the settlement, which included $180,000 for Diei and $70,000 for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.