Richmond (VA) - A 23-year-old law student faces disciplinary action after he posted an embarrassing picture of the school's founder on Facebook.

Adam Key is a student at Regent University's law school.  The private Christian university was founded by televangelist Pat Robertson.  

Key found a video of Robertson on YouTube in which he scratches his face with his middle finger.  Key captured a screenshot and posted it on Facebook, making it appear as though Robertson was making an overtly obscene gesture.

The second-year law student was reportedly contacted by school officials and was asked to either publicly apologize or submit a letter to the dean defending himself.  Key went with the latter, saying there was nothing illegal about what he did.

The university is not satisfied, though.  The Associated Press reports the private institution would have grounds to expel him under its Standards of Personal Conduct.  Because it is a private institution, Regent is not obligated to comply with first amendment rights.

It would probably be a questionable move nonetheless to expel a law student, one year away from graduating, for posting a picture of a nationally televised Christian TV program.

Lamo

Oct 12, 2007 08:39     

that is pretty funny but also immature for a law student fixing to graduate, although i do think expelling him was a bad idea and they will probably regret it.
dave report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I captured this video.

Oct 12, 2007 08:47     

Thu Dec 01, 2005 I captured this. Two years later something awesome happens. I'm beyond stoked.
Doug Champion report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Appropriate Response

Oct 12, 2007 08:54     

It is sad when a person decides that "not illegal" is going to be the standard by which to gauge his personal conduct. The school should expel this fool. It would be a shame for him to actually become a member of some state's bar.
Mike M. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

OMG, not the middle finger!!!

Oct 12, 2007 09:01     

Quick, let's hang him and call him a witch. Wait, this IS a private Christian university... they might actually do it! Seriously, the people in the U.S. need to let go of the whole obscenity thing a little. It's ridiculous. "School officials asked him to either publicly apologize or submit a letter to the dean defending himself." He did one of the two, defending his right to do "the unthinkable". Still, he gets punished. Why did they even give him the option. It's so damn retarded. OMG, did I say retarded? Quick, someone *bleep* that out...

Henrik report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Long gone is anonymity on the net....

Oct 12, 2007 09:35     

Codes of conduct apply no matter where you are, virtually or otherwise. This should serve as a lesson to everyone that what you say and do on the internet is tracked and can come back to haunt you later in life. If he had posted a similar picture depicting(for example) his employer or boss I would not be surprised if he found himself shortly unemployed. I would also question his commitment to his scholastic career and his attitude in handling the situation if he is really willing to let a picture get him expelled.

BGP_Spook report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Here's the original Hi-Res video file

Oct 12, 2007 09:36     

http://www.liestheanswer.com/pat.wmv
Doug Champion report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

For this...

Oct 12, 2007 10:08     

He will go to hell...LOL
NutZ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Christian....really?

Oct 12, 2007 10:12     

So, to be clear...the picture posted was a screen snap of a publicly broadcast program...therefore in the public domain? And, the university's objection is to the presentation of Pat Roberts out of context and in a potentially embarrassing stance? And, now we are lead to believe that the university is considering booting this young man out? Wouldn't doing so actually confirm that the content of the photo wasn't that far from the truth?

Rupert report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

for that video, you have to be kidding me!

Oct 12, 2007 10:21     

Zeitgeist anyone? http://video.google.com/videop...995115331 Spanish Inquisition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F56ZZzz4meU It always funny when Universities violate the Bill of Rights, I don't think the individual should be learning law at such a place.
coldmast report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

pay day!

Oct 12, 2007 11:00     

Goodbye lawschool. Hello lawsuit! :) Seriously though, Regent Law School is one of the lower rated TTT law schools in the country. The dean is doing him a favor by expelling him. His job prospects for a respectable job coming out of a toilet school like that is slim to nil, and if by some miracle he does get hired by a good firm, he's looking at a median salary of $40k/yr. All the while, he'll have paid $150k during his 3 years at law school. What a bargain! Dude would make more money from ad revenue if he were to find and make screencaps of douchebags like Robertson in compromising positions. Jeff R. Harvard Law School, 2010

Jeffrey R report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Oh but it's ok for employers to exploit?

Oct 12, 2007 11:02     

Such a double standard. Employers exploit facebook by using it to find incriminating pictures of potential employees, and make their hiring decisions based on what a candidate is doing in a silly bar photo. It's about time it came full circle.
Adam B. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hooray for the march towards facisim

Oct 12, 2007 11:25     

Come on everyone, line up and be robots for the powers that be. People have the right to be assholes. You don't have the right to ruin their lives in retaliation.
LORD ORION report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

they need to lighten up

Oct 12, 2007 13:06     

students have fun, the founder is obviously not too aware of his surroundings if he does stupid stuff like this. he should apologise for accedentally flipping off the students
John A report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

The only mistake this guy made...

Oct 12, 2007 13:26     

was going to a school led by the intolerant and fanatical Christian right. If you applied the school's policy to the nation, the Pat Robertson would have been expelled from this country a long time ago. Pat Robertson is nothing but a demagogue. If you follow him, then you are nothing more than a puppet looking for someone to pull your strings.
Scissors report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

ACLU

Oct 12, 2007 15:54     

Do I hear ACLU comming?
Lawrence report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Pat Robertson is an ignorant, homophobic fool

Oct 12, 2007 18:21     

Pat Robertson is an ignorant, intolerant, xenophobic moron. Much worse than this is that MILLIONS of people actually listen to this crazy idiot. We need to GET RID OF ALL RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM & EVANGELICALISM. Only then will this world come to peace; and these confused and mislead people will have the potential to recognize their innate spirituality and humanity based morality and let go of antiquated mythological concepts...

samw report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Probably Not Larry

Oct 13, 2007 08:39     

ACLU won't be much use, as it is a PRIVATE institution that homeboy goes to. It's his priveledge to go there, not his right. Oh, and there is only one 'm' in that version of the word. And samw, get a life. Just because you don't believe in anything doesn't mean that it needs to go away. You are just as ignorant as he is if you can just spout off your drivel like that. stfu
Bill report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

What would Jesus do?

Oct 13, 2007 09:45     

I am an evangelical Christian, passionately devoted to Jesus Christ, but that doesn't mean I condone the idea of expelling this student. The boy behaved childishly, with a joke akin to laughing about boogers or the contents of his toilet. Great. With a mind like that he'll probably make an excellent lawyer. :) But come on, Pat. Act like a real follower of Jesus. Turn the other cheek already.
Athol Dickson report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

"For God Sake"

Oct 13, 2007 10:34     

Congratulations to the Regent University Law School founded by the puppeteer Pat Robertson for taking the offensive position to publicly announce their stupidity. The administration and/or Pat himself manipulated the comical illusion of "giving the finger" in real time rather than realizing that the publicity of the same would indeed be the fall of their supposed intellect. You cannot hide in a digital world and you cannot expect your actions of the same to be accepted by the general public. The original posting was funny. I bet the administrators themselves got a laugh out of it as well. Leave the student alone. Someone might sue the college for a policy that violates the students civil rights and it might not even be the student! Think about it. Does the college have a policy that prohibits the students to a fair trial by a counsel of their peers? You loose again Pat.

Brian report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

This is the same institution that graduated Monica ...

Oct 13, 2007 11:14     

This is the same institution that graduated Monica Goodling, who had to plead the fifth in the investigation into the politically motivated firings of the DoJ attorneys. Hopefully this guy will see what a dredge of a school it is and go somewhere else.
Rob report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

best comment is Henrik's. LOL...

Oct 13, 2007 12:43     

best comment is Henrik's. LOL
Aras report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Get rid of all evangelicals and fundamentalists?

Oct 13, 2007 22:42     

I am a card carrying PAID member of the ACLU. How dare you sully our organization with intolerant comments under the moniker of "ACLU." Do you really think that getting rid of billions of people would bring "peace?" Religion isn't the cause of war. Land, water, oil and race is. More people have NOT died in the name of God than anything else. My God, do you realize the violence you spoke into existence? Whether you agree with pat Robertson or not, if you agree with freedom and tolerance, you would understand how downright evil those words were. Please allow the religious to be just as silly and stuck up as the secular. Just think back to your own dean of students or vice principal. mine were secular and certainly just as stupid as the people in Regents.

real tolerant person report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

The kid is better off being expelled...

Oct 15, 2007 10:12     

...than having to live his life with a degree from such a hateful institution.
BD report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Barrister

Oct 27, 2007 16:23     

Anyone who has met Key could tell you that the guy is a few aspirin short of a full medicine cabinet. This story is just the latest of a long list of conflicts Key has instigated during his academic career. There was trouble at his undergrad, trouble with profs and students his 1L year, and trouble now. Students overheard Key saying that he had a gun in his car, Key asked a student to hold a gun for him while he lived on campus, and Key showed a taser to another student on campus. The fact that Key put that picture on facebook is the tip of the iceberg, there are many reasons why the school ordered a psychological evaluation.

2L From Hell report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0