A student journalist at the University of Texas at Dallas is suing university officials, arguing they violated his free speech rights by disciplining him over a disclaimer he attached to a student\u2019s guest column. <\/p>\n
In 2024, Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, then editor-in-chief of UTD\u2019s student-run paper The Mercury, added a note to a student\u2019s letter to the editor about antisemitism and the Israel-Palestine conflict, clarifying that it was an opinion piece and not a news article. <\/p>\n
Olivares Gutierrez said he repeatedly asked the writer, president of UTD\u2019s Hillel chapter, to provide sources for factual claims during the editing process, according to the lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Austin. When the writer did not do so, Olivares Gutierrez ultimately chose to run the full piece with a disclaimer that \u201cthe presentation of opinion as fact within this article\u2026does not meet the journalistic standards of The Mercury.\u201d <\/p>\n
The student then reported Olivares Gutierrez to university officials for discrimination, and he was removed from his post at The Mercury. In February 2026, an outside panel of attorneys concluded he had discriminated against the student by exceeding \u201cordinary editorial suggestions\u201d and put him on deferred suspension. Olivares Gutierrez is allowed to remain enrolled at UTD but can be suspended if he is found in violation of any other rules. <\/p>\n