MARQUETTE, MI-- Federal Judge R. Allan Edgar heard oral arguments Monday from both sides of a lawsuit brought against members of The North Wind board of directors.
The suit, filed by former faculty advisor Cheryl Reed and managing editor Michael Williams, claims Reed was fired and Williams not considered for editor in chief April 3 because several controversial stories painted the university in a bad light. Reed and Williams say Steven Neiheisel, board business advisor and NMU vice president of enrollment and student services, and four student board members violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
The defense claims Reed was a bully in her position and her responses in some situations were unprofessional and inappropriate.
Reed seeks to retain her advisory position.
The plaintiffs are represented by Paul McAdoo of McAdoo Law PLLC; the defendants by Robert Zielinski of Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone PLC.
The judge is deliberating the case.
