Michael Newman, a former student at Howard University is now suing the famed HBCU for $2 million. The ex-Bison, who is white, is claiming that he faced racial discrimination while at the institution. But, the school is prepared to defend itself against these allegations.

Howard University’s Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Frank Tramble said that although he can’t comment “substantively” about the litigation, HU “is prepared to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit as the claims provide a one-sided and self-serving narrative of the events leading to the end of the student’s enrollment at the University.”

To give some backstory, Newman was enrolled at the historically Black college and university’s School of Law for only two years: The fall 2020 semester up until his expulsion in September 2022. According to his lawsuit, his problems with the campus began during the COVID-19 pandemic when students began utilizing remote learning methods instead of meeting in person like thousands across the country. Newman says his words were taken out of context — even though filings document one case in which he reportedly posted a photo on his private Twitter account of a slave with his badly scarred back exposed. The caption read, “But we don’t know what he did before the picture was taken,” the New York Post reports.

Many at Howard University took offense to the imagery and accompanying message. During the 2020 United States presidential election, Newman asked on one online classroom discussion board “whether: (1) Black voters didn’t question turning to government for solutions, and (2) reliably voting for the same party every election disincentivized both parties from responding to the needs of the Black communities.” Some condemned his statements, according to the lawsuit. In an attempt to rectify the issue, the white student announced he wanted to “learn, not just law, but to learn the thoughts and experiences of people of color.”

Newman added that he began to experience “depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts” due to “public ostracism, vilification and humiliation.” When he wrote about his thoughts, the Black students at HU felt like he wrote a “manifesto,” writings often left by gunmen before mass shootings. Because of this and other incidents, a virtual town hall meeting was called to discuss what would become of the student. Three hundred participants attended the Zoom meeting led by Howard Law School Dean Danielle Holley. She referred to his alleged manifesto as “disturbing in every sense of the word.” The plaintiff believes Holley perpetuated “threats,” “discrimination” and a “hostile academic environment.” Although Newman appealed his expulsion twice, he got the same result both times.