CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) –  A federal judge is letting a University of Virginia medical student move ahead with his free-speech lawsuit against school officials who suspended him after he asked pointed questions at a panel about microaggressions. School officials had asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit brought by student Kieran Bhattacharya; they said the questions he asked during a 2018 faculty-led panel were offensive and unworthy of free-speech protections.

But a judge sided with Bhattacharya. He ruled the questions the student asked during the panel were pointed but academic in nature. A faculty member issued a “professionalism concern card” against Bhattacharya after his questioning. The citation led to a requirement that Bhattacharya be evaluated by a counselor and eventually a suspension.