Amherst College in Massachusetts is the latest school to reach a settlement with a student over claims that the school treated him unfairly in a campus sexual assault case.
“John Doe,” filed a lawsuit against the school in 2014, after a years-old informal complaint alleging he had sexually assaulted another student was revived — just two weeks before Doe was set to graduate. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
In 2009, Doe was a freshman at Amherst struggling with his sexual identity. In December of that year, Doe had a sexual encounter with a male student, identified in the lawsuit as “Student A,” who would later tell the school that the encounter was not consensual. Doe maintains in his lawsuit that it was, in fact, consensual.
The complaint was not pursued in 2009, but a few months later, Doe left Amherst for one year on medical leave following two alcohol-related incidents. Doe claimed his alcohol problem was due to confusion over his sexual identity. The school required him to seek counseling.
Doe, a native of South Africa, returned to the campus in September 2011 and became a model student, achieving a 3.66 grade point average and winning a paid fellowship as a campus ambassador.
But in the days after completing his final exam, Doe had his fellowship rescinded and his diploma withheld, following a complaint from Student A about the lack of an investigation in 2009. He was told, according to his lawsuit, that his degree was being withheld until the 2009 complaint was investigated.
So Doe sued the university, facing possible deportation without a degree or a job in the States. And now he has received some kind of settlement, although neither party involved has disclosed the terms.
John Doe is among a growing number of young men receiving settlements after suing their universities over lack of due process and discrimination in sexual assault hearings.
A Voice for Male Students has compiled a list of 57 lawsuits against universities for such acts. By comparison, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating nearly 100 complaints filed by students claiming they were sexually assaulted and their allegations mishandled.
Two weeks ago, Saint Joseph’s University settled a lawsuit filed by a student claiming he was expelled due without adequate due process. That settlement, too, was confidential.
In November 2014, Swarthmore College settled with a student who had his case re-opened after the Department of Education began investigating two non-related cases at the university. In the original investigation, no charges were brought against the student. But months later, when the case was re-opened, a fast-tracked hearing found him guilty of sexual misconduct.
In addition to these recent cases, 14 other students (from the list of 57) have settled with their universities following lawsuits and another seven had their school rulings overturned or received favorable rulings on certain counts of their lawsuits.
In eight cases, courts ruled against the students.
