Intervention by Republican lawmakers saves student from possible dismissal A taxpayer-funded university department has the right to its own views. But does it have the right to investigate students on trumped-up charges for disagreeing with those views? The University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry charged a student with “professional misconduct” because he responded to its college-wide email condemning President Trump’s executive order on federally funded trainings in critical race theory, which may apply to some university activities. It refused to let him bring an attorney or record the hearing, even though possible outcomes were probation or dismissal from the program.