It’s a victory because the school knew it’d likely lose in court.
Private colleges aren’t bound by the same restrictions as state schools. Apples and oranges.
Yes and no. Private schools can legally restrict behaviors in a very broad capacity, including off campus and off semester (e.g., a currently enrolled student who is on summer break) *if the student has the mutual expectation of returning as a student.* However, there are some areas of the law that even private schools cannot necessarily break, both state and federal, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Now, all that being said, there are still some loopholes that some schools can swim through, famously (or infamously) introduced by Bob Jones University v. The United States, which is a case every 1L student learns about in law school.
Here’s a seemingly different example that actually might help drive home the point. During the time of Covid restrictions, even after some local governments (counties) lifted mask mandates, some private businesses (such as clothing or grocery stores) still mandated a corporate policy of masks within the store. Unfortunately, some members of the public were unaware of private vs public policies and became aggressive in their right to not wear a mask due to the county’s lack of mask mandate. Some learned the hard way (jail) that they could stand on the sidewalk all day without a mask, but once they cross the threshold of that business’ door, they have to abide by the corporation’s rules.