Dive Brief:
- A sophomore at Princeton University is suing the school and seven administrators, accusing them of discrimination and causing him emotional distress.
- The 20-year-old student’s legal complaint states that as a freshman in February 2012, he was evicted from campus housing, asked to withdraw from classes, and banned from the university’s campus after he attempted suicide in his dorm.
- The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights initially dismissed a July 2012 discrimination complaint filed by the student, but is considering his appeal.
Dive Insight:
The complainant, who uses the pseudonym “W.P.” and is representing himself, says Princeton discriminated against him based on his bipolar disorder and violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the civil rights act for persons with disabilities. Princeton should have known that its actions were likely to cause him great emotional distress, and school officials heightened his risk of self-harm, the lawsuit argues. W.P. was 18 when he attempted suicide by swallowing 20 pills used for treating depression, and then he immediately tried vomiting. Princeton allegedly told him that if he did not withdraw from the school voluntarily, he would have to go if he missed three weeks of classes. He left for two semesters to obtain a partial tuition refund of his tuition and room and board, and he returned in fall of 2013.