Women sue Yale University, saying fraternities discriminate and enable harassment
Three female Yale University students have filed a lawsuit against the school and nine of its fraternities, saying that the organizations have created a culture where sexual harassment is acceptable.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Connecticut, the women say that "female undergraduates risk sexual harassment and assault by attending fraternity events," where men "deny female students admission ... based on their appearance, verbally harass them, grind against them, grab them, and grope them." An attorney representing the fraternities called the accusations "baseless and unfounded."
One of the students, Ry Waker, told CBS News that fraternities "dominate the social culture at Yale" and "offer a vast network of privileges to their members. They offer connections, they offer help networking." Sororities don't have the same pull, they said, and as part of their suit, the women are asking that Yale fraternities start "fully integrating women."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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