Hillsdale College campus has high risk of rape due to its failed response, lawsuit says

Hillsdale College students face "an unusually high risk of sexual assault" because the college fails to have or enforce proper policies that prevent sexual assault and responds with "sham investigations" and victim-blaming, according to two students who filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday.

Even though the college portrays itself as a safe space that "maintains 'by precept and example' the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith," Hillsdale College "has deliberately fostered a campus environment that exposes students to an unacceptable and unusually high risk of sexual assault," according to the suit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Michigan.

"When brave students report their experiences of sexual assault to school officials, they are met not with support, but with sham investigations, arbitrary decisions, and punishments. In response to calls for transparency and accountability, Hillsdale instead silences and threatens survivors, blaming them, not their assailants for their assaults."

The lawsuit is seeking certification as a class action.

Founded in 1844, Hillsdale College is a private, conservative liberal arts school about 70 miles southwest of Ann Arbor that is best known for not taking any state or federal government funding to finance its operations. The college promotes its mission as educating "twenty-first-century leaders of character and integrity."

College officials did not immediately comment because they had not seen the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed by Grace Chen and Danielle Villarreal, a current and former student, respectively, as individuals and "on behalf of other similarly situated Hillsdale College students."

"When they reported their rapes to Hillsdale, seeking support and accountability, they instead faced phony investigations, retaliation, and blame for being raped," the suit says.

Chen, a Hillsdale junior from California, said in a statement that the lawsuit isn't only about the college "mishandling" her report of sexual assault but also about the school's overall approach to reports.

"My goal in filing this complaint is to prevent others attending Hillsdale from enduring the same painful experience I did," Chen said.

Villarreal, a Nebraska resident who left Hillsdale and is now a junior at Vanderbilt University, said the aim of the lawsuit also is to "shed light on a systemic issue at Hillsdale College concerning how sexual assault reports are handled."

"By filing this case, we aim to bring about meaningful change that ensures the safety and well-being of all students at the College," Villarreal said in her statement.

Chen, a track athlete, was raped during her freshmen year by a Hillsdale track athlete in November 2021, according to the suit.

"Although she reported the rape to Hillsdale authorities, the school ... failed to thoroughly investigate the crime, refused to protect her from her assailant and did not explain its investigation findings in writing," the suit says. "Plaintiff Chen continued to have to see her rapist multiple times a week at track-related events and in a 10-person class they attended together during the fall 2022 semester."

Villarreal was a Hillsdale student in August 2021 when she was raped by another Hillsdale student, according to the lawsuit.

"Villarreal reported the rape to the police and sought support from Hillsdale," the lawsuit says. "Hillsdale backtracked on its initial indication that it believed her, refused to put anything in writing, blamed Plaintiff Villarreal for her rape, and threatened her when she followed up about the investigation and penalty."

Villarreal has since left Hillsdale, suffered from depression and sought treatment to cope with the rape and the response of Hillsdale, the suit says.

Chen and Villarreal are not the only Hillsdale students who have faced a similar response from Hillsdale when rapes are reported, according to the suit.

"At Hillsdale, students are at an unusually high risk of sexual assault because Hillsdale fails to have or enforce policies that prevent sexual assault," the suit says. "This is no accident: Hillsdale does not accept government funding in a misguided and ineffective attempt to avoid its obligations under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX)."

On its website, Hillsdale College says it doesn't accept state or federal funding, even through student grant and loans, "to maintain our institutional independence. Our financial aid packages are thanks to the gifts of hundreds of thousands of generous donors nationwide." The college also says it "was the first college in Michigan, and the second in the United States, to admit women on par with men."

In addition, the lawsuit alleged that Hillsdale’s sexual misconduct policy is "so deficient" that it would not prevent campus sexual assaults even if the school enforced it.

"The policy fails to discuss consent; allocates all of the details of an investigation and punishment to the discretion of the Deans; and fails to guarantee confidentiality for reporting students," the lawsuit said. "Students who are aware of the policy have advocated for it to be strengthened; Hillsdale has repeatedly refused. As a result of this institutional failure, students at Hillsdale are vulnerable to sexual assault from their peers."

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com