{"aiVersion":"1","content":{"id":"cmposgh3p0004jkh7v4vsy5wn","slug":"settlement-at-ball-state-after-employee-s-charlie--20260528","title":"Settlement at Ball State After Employee’s Charlie Kirk Post","level":"EASY","publishedAt":"2026-05-28T01:02:34.419Z"},"topic":{"slug":"settlement-at-ball-state-after-employee-s-charlie--20260528","category":"education"},"article":{"paragraphs":["Ball State University will pay $225,000 to Suzanne Swierc. She was the director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. She was fired in September 2025 after a private Facebook post about the death of Charlie Kirk.","The ACLU of Indiana sued Ball State and its president, Geoffrey Mearns, saying her firing violated her free speech rights. Ball State said the post caused a large disruption and that leaders worried about enrollment and donations. The settlement ends the lawsuit."],"wordCount":83,"readTime":1},"vocabulary":[{"word":"settlement","example":"The settlement ended the case.","phonetic":"/ˈsɛt.əl.mənt/","definition":"money paid to end a legal case"},{"word":"fired","example":"She was fired from her job.","phonetic":"/faɪərd/","definition":"told to leave a job"},{"word":"lawsuit","example":"They filed a lawsuit.","phonetic":"/ˈlɔː.suːt/","definition":"a legal case in court"}],"quiz":[{"answer":"$225,000","question":"How much will Ball State pay?"},{"answer":"Suzanne Swierc","question":"Who will receive the settlement?"},{"answer":"The ACLU of Indiana","question":"Who sued Ball State?"}],"discussion":[{"question":"Do you use social media to share political opinions? Why or why not?"},{"question":"Have you ever had a private message or post become public? What happened?"},{"question":"What do you think about workplaces checking employees' social media?"}]}