Brigid Harrington Quoted in “Christian Hillsdale College failed students who reported sexual violence, lawsuit alleges” in USA Today
Two students have sued Hillsdale College in the Western District of Michigan alleging they were raped, and that the college failed to help them in the aftermath. The Christian college doesn’t accept any federal money so it is exempt from Title IX, a gender anti-discrimination law that is meant to protect students from sexual harassment. The lawsuit maintains, however, that the college does get federal backing through its tax-exempt status as a religious institution.
Brigid Harrington spoke to USA Today about the case, which could expand the scope of the federal government’s oversight of Hillsdale and other school’s that have taken a similar position.
If courts accepted widely that tax-exempt status means private institutions are subject to federal regulations, it would “affect every parochial school in the country,” said Brigid. “It would be a big change. I am not saying this issue would get to the Supreme Court. But if it did, I don’t know how friendly this Supreme Court would be to that idea.”
Continue reading “Christian Hillsdale College failed students who reported sexual violence, lawsuit alleges” on the USA Today website.
Categorized: Higher Education, Title IX
Tagged In: gender anti-discrimination law, private colleges, religious institution, sexual harassment, tax-exempt status, Title IX
