Summary: A former female student accuses MacMurray College of violating Title IX in its investigation of an alleged sexual assault committed last year.
MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois, is facing a $50,000 lawsuit from a former student. She claims that she was raped by another collegiate and that the school did nothing about it.
The suit was filed last week in Morgan County, and it claims that the private college violated Title IX in its handling of the investigation and the aftermath, My Journal Courier reports. Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funding, and its rules extend to sexual assault proceedings.
The lawsuit stated that the female student had been drinking last January at her dorm before heading to a party. The suit said she was visibly drunk. After hanging out at the first party, she decided to go to another one, and a male student offered her a ride, despite objections from her friends. They were at the second party briefly before the man invited her back to his place. It was at his home that the alleged rape occurred. The suit detailed the female student didn’t give consent and was vomiting from the intoxication in his presence.
My Journal Courier reports that the alleged rapist wasn’t named in the suit. Instead, the suit focuses on the school and its inaction. The suit states that after the female student reported the sexual assault on campus, the school determined in February that the male student was guilty of sexual assault and student misconduct, but then reversed their decision without due process.
At this time, MacMurray College had no comment.
The student dropped out of MacMurray because she felt that the college was a hostile educational environment where “her rapist roamed free.” She says that the school’s reversal caused her anxiety, trauma and emotional distress.
Source: My Journal Courier
Photo courtesy of MacMurray College’s Facebook page
Editor’s note: A previous version of this blog post included a link and quote to a Think Progress story, which was removed to maintain the balance of the post and keep the focus on the MacMurray College case.