Professor sues student publication

A University of Notre Dame professor has filed a defamation lawsuit against a studentrun publication over news coverage of her abortion-rights work. The case is raising questions about press freedom and academic freedom at one of the nation’s preeminent Catholic universities.

Tamara Kay’s suit, filed in May, alleges falsehoods in two articles published by The Irish Rover in the past academic year. The Rover defended its reporting as true in a motion filed earlier this month to dismiss the case, under a law meant to protect people from frivolous lawsuits over matters of public concern.

Kay, a professor of global affairs and sociology, asks for unspecified punitive damages, saying she “has been harassed, threatened, and experienced damage to her residential property” and “continues to experience mental anguish” because of the two articles.

Published in October and March after public events in which Kay participated, the articles cover her remarks about her support for abortion rights. The lawsuit alleges that the articles contained “false and defamatory” information, arguing that they misinterpreted a sign on her door about helping students access health care and denying two quotes about academic freedom and her work at a Catholic institution.

“The note on my door referenced sexual assault, and the inadequate resources and support for student survivors at Notre Dame,” Kay said.

She added that she had asked the Rover’s faculty advisers to retract or correct the story, and that Notre Dame officials refused to intervene on her behalf.