The recent suspension of Marquette University dental student Theodore Schrubbe for comments posted on his personal online blog has been overturned by dental school Dean William Lobb.

The second-year dental student was issued the suspension last year and ordered to repeat his fall semester after a committee at the university determined his blog postings were in violation of Marquette's code of conduct.

Schrubbe's revised punishment includes probation, 100 hours of community service and a public apology to his class.

The postings included shockingly negative comments about an unnamed professor and several of Schrubbe's classmates.

"This year I intend NOT get f-cked by teachers, like I did last semester, cause (sic) 8 of our credits were taught by the same c-ckmaster of a teacher," Schrubbe wrote in one of his postings. "I dont (sic) even gratify him by calling him a professor. He is one who teaches, as in should teach infants and children."

University of Wisconsin professor Gordon Baldwin noted Marquette University, a private Jesuit institution, is not subject to the First Amendment, and free-speech issues need not be considered in reference to their codes of conduct.

Yet many critics of the original suspension believe the punishment did not fit the crime. "The first punishment could be considered a 'career killer' for the student, and the revised punishment is more like a slap on the wrist," Marquette University political science professor John McAdams said. "If anything, the student should have been talked to off the record and asked to consider his actions and possibly take the postings offline, which he probably would have done."

But, according to a statement released by the university, the Marquette School of Dentistry will continue to "emphasize the importance of the highest standards of professional conduct expected of its students as they prepare to enter the practice of dentistry."

However, these precise standards of conduct are not specifically outlined. Many believe this has caused debate over what exactly is and is not permissible in relation to free speech.

"I would like to see a kind of student bill of rights that says students can't do A, B and C, assuming everything else is allowable," McAdams said, adding this would clearly define the intentions and expectations of the university.

If issues arise, a committee of dental students, professors and administrators will make the final decisions on acceptable conduct.

Unlike Marquette, a student attending a public university would be subject to codes of conduct according to the First Amendment.

"A lot of things would have to be considered — due process, hearings, accuracy, if it falls under free speech," Baldwin said. "In that way, it's not clear whether it would have been protected on a public campus like the UW-Madison."

Marquette University spokesperson Brigid O'Brien Miller declined to discuss specific aspects of the case, stating a student's conduct history and permanent record are private.

Schrubbe's attorney, Scott Taylor, did not return calls for comment.