Students are rallying behind sexual assault survivors at Eastern Michigan University, after eleven women filed suit against the University last week. Hundreds of students marched and gathered to protest EMU’s response to rapes on campus in at least two separate demonstrations since last Wednesday.
The lawsuit alleges that 30 brutal rapes are currently under investigation – all taking place at EMU between 2015 and 2020. Survivors claim that the rape culture was so pervasive at EMU their claims of abuse were ignored or covered up when they did make reports, and consequently some claims went unreported due to the toxic campus culture. The case will be heard in U.S. federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan.
Meanwhile, the University is responding to charges of retaliation against two of the sexual assault survivors, as well. Two of the plaintiffs in the pending lawsuit had their academic transcripts withheld when requested by the women for graduate school applications. Both women were unable to move forward with their post-graduate plans due to the school’s refusal to produce the transcripts. EMU now states the “hold” on the transcripts was a “mistake,” but the attorney representing the women said it was too little, too late.
Four former EMU students have been arrested in the past year who have been accused of assault while attending the university. The four men await criminal trial in Washtenaw County.
Kelly R. McClintock joined Grewal Law in 2019 to help establish a human trafficking litigation division and to assist Grewal’s already successful practices, including sexual assault litigation, and family law.
Comments for this article are closed.