LAWSUIT: Expelled Male Sues St. Olaf College
A former student at St. Olaf College in Northfield is fighting both criminal charges and his expulsion from school for alleged sexual contact with an intoxicated classmate. The St. Olaf male college student had brought a woman he didn’t know well to his dorm room in November 2017 after drinking and playing “Truth or Dare” with the woman and three others. In his lawsuit the male said that they kissed and groped each other on his bed but stopped once she fell asleep. St. Olaf expelled the male after conducting its own investigation. The school concluded that the woman had consented to some kissing and touching but not to getting naked. The lawsuit recently filed, accuses St. Olaf of siding with the accuser for reasons unrelated to the facts of his case. It says the school has been stung by bad publicity when another alleged rapist went unpunished and was “overcompensating now” by refusing him due process. Further, it claims St. Olaf treated the male unfairly because of the Obama administration’s guidance for how schools should investigate sexual assault. The lawsuit cites a September 2017 letter from the Trump administration, which called the Obama administration’s Title IX guidelines unfair and encouraged colleges to do more to protect the rights of accused students.
twincities.com By Josh Verges
