Hillsdale College students file class-action lawsuit, allege violations of state law and Title IX
(CBS DETROIT) - One former and one current student at Hillsdale College have joined together to call for change after they say the university mishandled their cases of sexual assault.
"These women are so brave, and I'm so proud of them for standing up and, you know, holding the school accountable and telling the school that what the school allowed to happen to them is not okay," said Annika Martin, the attorney for the two women.
Grace Chen and Danielle Villareal are the two plaintiffs in the case against Hillsdale College. The women allege they were assaulted by fellow Hillsdale College students back in 2021 and claim the school did not take any disciplinary action against the perpetrators.
Hillsdale issued a written statement in response to the new legal action saying in part, "The accusations made in the suit are serious mischaracterizations of Hillsdale College's campus culture and sexual assault policies and procedures which have been developed with the utmost concern for the protection of our students."
"We're asking for compensation for the past harms, the assaults that happened to Danielle and Grace, and the harm caused by the school's improper response to those assaults. But we're also asking for change," Martin said. "So part of what is important to our clients is not just compensation for what happened to them, but even more important is making sure this never happens to another person on Hillsdale campus."