A former Dordt University student is suing the school over allegations of sex discrimination after he was kicked out for having sex with a female student. According to the suit, the “school’s action against him was based on gender stereotypes in which women are automatically viewed as victims.”

College lecture hall; image courtesy of Wokandapix via Pixabay, www.pixabay.com

The young man, referred throughout the federal suit as John Doe, not only argues the sex was consensual, but also that the school’s “policies are gender-biased by referring to assault and abuse victims exclusively as female, contradictory to requirements under Title IX, a federal law that protects people from sex discrimination at schools and universities that receive federal funds.” Furthermore, the suit alleges that instead of “establishing its Title IX policy on law, the university, which is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church, instead bases its policy on biblical concepts that women submit to men and men are in control.” As such, the former student argues the school “lacks clearly established policies and procedures with respect to Title IX complaints.” When commenting on the matter, attorney Andrew Miltenberg said:"... Dordt's unequivocal embrace of gender stereotypes creates a situation ripe for abuse, bias, and selective enforcement, as was evident throughout Dordt's adjudication of the allegations against (Doe).”Miltenberg filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. At the moment, the former student is seeking unspecified damages and punitive damages. Additionally, he is seeking a ruling “ordering Dordt to reverse its ruling against him, expunge his disciplinary record and award him his degree.” In response to the allegations, Sarah Moss, director of marketing and communication for the university said:"At this moment in time, Dordt University has not been notified of the filing of the lawsuit. Dordt University is committed to the safety and well-being of our community.”Was the sexual encounter consensual, though? According to Doe, yes. The suit states that he met the female student back on February 2, 2018, at an “off-campus concert at which he had been drinking…They returned to his apartment, where both drank vodka and cranberry juice.” When describing the incident, Doe argues “the woman initiated sexual activity with him and agreed to have sex with him in his car after he asked if she wanted to keep going.”Afterward, other students told the woman that because she had been drinking, the sex could not have been consensual. This prompted staff members and other students to slap Doe with a Title IX complaint on behalf of the female student. Soon after Doe was dismissed from the university. At the time, he was only weeks away from earning his diploma. 

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Ex-student files sex discrimination lawsuit against DordtDordt University Sued By Former Student In Sex Discrimination Case