EAST LANSING, Mich. ― Four Michigan State University students filed a civil rights lawsuit Wednesday accusing the school and its leadership of a slow and inadequate response to their sexual assault complaints.
The women said university administrators acted with “deliberate indifference” by failing to properly investigate and by violating school policies meant to prohibit harassment of victims who file a report.
Their lawsuit came nearly three months after the federal government concluded that the school’s failure to timely address complaints of sexual assault or harassment contributed to a “sexually hostile environment.” The U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights closed its investigation and noted improvements at the East Lansing campus.
A spokesman for the university said it does not comment on pending litigation.
“Sexual misconduct in all of its forms is an issue university leaders take very seriously,” Jason Cody said. “Over the past several years, MSU has taken significant steps to increase resources for survivors and revise policies to hear complaints in a timely and fair manner consistent with federal guidance.”
Two of the women who filed the suit, Emily Kollaritsch and Shayna Gross, appeared at a news conference near campus to discuss their allegations. Both women say they were assaulted by the same male student.
“I am speaking out today so that other survivors know they have a right to report a sexual assault without being subject to further abuse because they report it to their university,” Kollaritsch said.
