Opinion ID: 3065949
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Defendant Larry Roper

Text: [25] The complaint names a fourth defendant, Larry Roper, against whom it makes only two factual averments. It 12800 OSU STUDENT ALLIANCE v. RAY says that Roper was Vice Provost for Student Affairs, and that President Ray forwarded to Roper, along with two other persons, plaintiff Rogers’ first email message complaining about the confiscation. That is the totality of the allegations against Roper. These allegations do not suffice to state any claims against Roper. One cannot infer that Roper knowingly acquiesced in the decision to continue applying the unconstitutional newsbin policy against plaintiffs after the confiscation, because nothing suggests that Roper knew about that decision. Rather, the complaint suggests that he was copied on one email and then fell out of the loop. The complaint does not even contain facts to suggest that the newsbin issue fell within Roper’s purview or that he was derelict in not ensuring that the University handled the matter appropriately. The First Amendment and equal protection claims premised on the post-confiscation application of the policy therefore fail against Roper. As for the due process claim against him, it fails for the same reason that it fails against Ray and McCambridge: the allegations do not suggest that he had anything to do with the confiscation itself or the unconstitutional policy pursuant to which the confiscation occurred.