Two women are accusing Hillsdale College, a private Christian school in Hillsdale, Mich., of silencing them and “blaming” them for their rapes, instead of their assailants, according to a lawsuit filed last week.
The women, Grace Chen and Danielle Villarreal, told USA Today they began attending Hillsdale because they thought it would be safe. But their suit, filed in the Western District of Michigan, claims that Hillsdale “fostered a campus environment that exposes students to an unacceptable and unusually high risk of sexual assault.”
The suit adds, “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,” the lawsuit said. “In response to calls for transparency and accountability, Hillsdale instead silences and threatens survivors, blaming them, not their assailants for their assaults.”
The suit claims Hillsdale failed to respond appropriately to reports of the alleged assaults due to its exemption from Title IX and because of negligence regarding student safety.
Hillsdale receives no federal dollars, which exempts it from all protocols under Title IX. Title IX requires schools to have a clear process for reporting sexual harassment or assault. The law also defines how assault investigations are to be conducted and outlines the rights of the victim and the accused.
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“To maintain our independence in every regard, Hillsdale does not accept one penny of state or federal taxpayer funding – even indirectly in the form of student grants and loans,” a statement on the school’s website reads.
However, the lawsuit claims that Hillsdale is subject to Title IX because it operates as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) registered entity, which is “a form of federal financial assistance.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Hillsdale’s sexual misconduct policy “is so deficient that even if the school had enforced it diligently, it still would not have prevented sexual assaults on campus.”
The women claimed the university was not clear in enough telling students what do in the case of an assault. While staff members mentioned what to do if assaulted during their freshmen orientation, the material was sandwiched between other topics, they said.
Hillsdale defended its procedures regarding sexual violence to USA Today.
“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,” Hillsdale spokeswoman Emily Stack Davis said in a statement.
The statement added that the college provides students with information about how to deal with misconduct allegations, and that its investigative procedures protect the rights of “the accused and alleged victims.”
Hilldale’s reporting process was unclear and accusatory
Both women said when they turned to the school for support after their assaults in 2021, they ran into a process of reporting that was unclear and accusatory.
Chen’s assault occurred when a man penetrated her with his fingers as she tried to fend him off, according to the lawsuit. He then forced her to masturbate him and then tried to force her to have intercourse with him.
Villarreal told USA Today she and her attacker had kissed earlier in the night. But she claimed she repeatedly told him she did not want to have sex because she was a virgin. He then raped her, she said.
After the attacks, the women turned to family and the school for guidance and help. Villarreal also reported her attack to local police.
The women said that while college administrators claimed to believe their stories, they did not follow through with the support the two expected.
Chen said the school hired an outside attorney to review her claims but did so without her knowledge. That attorney, then suggested she should attempt to be friends with her attacker in the future, according to the lawsuit.
“I felt very caught off guard,” Chen told USA Today. “I’m not going to go home over the summer and just forget about it because you told me to.”
The lawsuit claims that the school’s general counsel, Bob Norton, told Villareal that she “reported her rape only after she came to regret a consensual sexual encounter.”
While Hillsdale did not respond to a question regarding Norton’s comments, the school did confirm to USA Today that it investigates allegations of sexual misconduct through independent attorneys, “as was done with the allegations of Ms. Chen and Ms. Villarreal.”
Both women said consequences for their attackers felt nonexistent. Chen, an athlete on the track and field team, reported she had to continue attending a class and practices where she saw the man who assaulted her.
Villarreal said the school informed her that her attacker would be suspended from playing on the baseball team “indefinitely.” By the next semester, she said he was practicing with the team again.
Chen and Villarreal hope the lawsuit changes how Hillsdale responds to sexual assaults on campus. They also are seeking for the school to pay their legal fees. As it is a class action suit, more plaintiffs could potentially join.
The women wanted to use their real names in the suit and in USA Today’s report. Chen said she decided this to make her story more impactful. For Villarreal, she said she wanted to gain control over her life.
“This is my story,” Villarreal said. “And I feel like when I put my name on it I can kind of take back some power and… what I felt like both the school and that guy took from me.”
Chen, a junior, still attends Hillsdale. Villarreal transferred to Vanderbilt University, citing that the experience of reporting the rape played a part in her decision.
Hillsdale lacks regular security reports
Hillsdale has declined to take federal funding since the 1980s. Schools that do accept funding are required by the Clery Act to publish an annual list of crimes that occur on their campuses.
Hillsdale does say that it makes security reports available, on it its website. However, the only report included is one from five years ago. The document shares that staff did not log any reports of rape that year.
Colleges that are required to comply with Clery standards can receive large fines if they fail to meet them. Earlier this month, Liberty University said that the U.S. Department of Education is threatening the school with an unprecedented $37.5 million fine for Clery Act violations, The Roys Report reported.
Founded in 1844, Hillsdale is a private Christian, liberal arts college in southern Michigan. The nonsectarian school has 1,573 total undergraduates, according to its website.
Freelance journalist Liz Lykins writes for WORLD Magazine, Christianity Today, Ministry Watch, and other publications.
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17 Responses
….”sexual assault policies and procedures which have been developed with the utmost concern for the protection of our students.”
For the protection of *male* students.
Also, some history on Hillsdale from Wiki:
(Hillsdale President George)Roche resigned his position at Hillsdale in late 1999 following a scandal surrounding the death of his son’s wife, Lissa Jackson Roche, who committed suicide in the Slayton Arboretum on October 17, 1999. Hours prior to her suicide, Ms. Roche stated that she and her father-in-law had engaged in an on-and-off[30] 19-year sexual affair.[31] Married to Roche’s son, Hillsdale Professor of History George Roche IV, Jackson Roche had been employed as managing editor of Hillsdale College Press for 14 years
I think we need to hear Hillsdale’s version of these events.
I agree, Gene. Being accused of something as serious as rape is a terrible thing for a man (or in some cases a woman) to have to bear if it is, in fact, false. If it is true, then the punishment should be severe (it used to be a capital crime). The past decades celebrating “free love” has greatly complicated the issue, so the “free love” turned out to be anything but free, as many of us older folks predicted fifty years ago.
C. W. I see what you did by bringing in “free love”. IMO it has nothing to do with these 2 alleged rapes.
Rape is a crime as old time. I don’t think you can blame the “Free Love” of the 1960’s for this. Instead rapes are almost always about power and control.
Besides if you’re older now weren’t you young 50-60 years ago?
Your daughters aren’t safe at Christian colleges. Sure, they could be assaulted at a public school too, but those have to have security measures in place, and reporting policies in place. They are transparent with their crime stats, where christian colleges refuse federal funding so that they DON’T have to follow title 9, or be open about the crime and assaults that happen on their campuses. it’s only an illusion of safety.
Jen, you hit the nail on the head.
I could not agree more.
What is more sad and disturbing is that people will defend the university, further the victimization.
Also- secular education teaches about consent- which is largely missing from any christian discussion of sex, which largely amounts to “girls, stop tempting the boys”- it’s part of the reason women are so often blamed at christian colleges. they shouldn’t “put themselves in those situations” because men clearly can’t be expected to control themselves.
There are only three “Christian” colleges which do not receive federal funding, Hillsdale being one of them.
“Chen said the school hired an outside attorney to review her claims but did so without her knowledge. That attorney, then suggested she should attempt to be friends with her attacker in the future, according to the lawsuit.” [from the article above].
“the school did confirm to USA Today that it investigates allegations of sexual misconduct through independent attorneys, “as was done with the allegations of Ms. Chen and Ms. Villarreal.”” [[from the article above].
Then the purported comment by Bob Norton the school’s general counsel. And the possible lacuna regards logging security reports in public domain.
It would seem that it’s this nexus of nominal “review” and “investigation” and recording/reporting that has to be looked at (alongside other matters).
In the UK there is a broadly applicable law or custom of “duty of care”. Is there such a law or standard in the USA?
Regards neutrality grounded in waiting to hear the ‘other side’s’ view of things. I would put weight on these two young women coming forward as they have (presumably with support of family); where the psychological costs to them are significant.
Colin, excellent points.
Yes there are is law in the states regarding this called Title IX. The problem is (in many cases- example Liberty U) these “christian universities just act like these laws don’t apply to them until the hurt, damage, and suffering are already done and (in this case and the case of LU) women needlessly suffer. This is reprehensible. Women (and men) should feel equally safe going to the store, university, ANYWHERE without fear of violence or intimidation.
Gangster Capitalism podcast about Liberty University was very informative.
Colin, I’m not a lawyer but I believe in the US, the common law of duty of care is codified in each state’s tort laws. Also what would come to play here is the contractual agreement between the two parties involved. One party would have a right to bring forth a civil case about how they have been harmed by the other party which is exactly what is happening here. I pray these women are able to prove their case and Justice occurs.
From one political viewpoint, one could claim that title IX should be the solution here but I strongly resist the urge that the federal government is the solution for everything. Colleges have the right to be private institutions. Even if it was a public institution, a student would still have to sue. Think about many places we all go who are private entities, is it their responsibility to protect you from any or inform you about and every possibility other individuals could do. Do you do this when you host a party at your house? Would you want the government required for you to declare the local crime rate to those attending your party?
These are all good points.
What courageous women. I have no idea whether the argument that Hillsdale is subject to Title IX because it has federal tax exempt status holds water legally. But it should, because that is indeed an incredibly valuable form of financial aid.
For folks worrying over the poor males who might (!) be falsely accused: Let’s think about this. Two women in a demographic vulnerable to sexual assault are going to court, using their own names, giving public accounts of horrible, highly vulnerable experiences. What more could they do to be credible?? Most studies indicate that only about 2-5% of sexual assault allegations are false (though some suggest as high as 10%). Why would anyone default to the belief that the women are making this up?
Papers examining rates of false reports:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21164210/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26679304/
Carolynn,
Brilliant points.
Also, PREACH!!!
In this nation, we follow the legal tradition of “innocent until proven guilty.” Would you want to switch that around, for every single accusation? The right of the accused to face one’s accusers in a court of law goes back to the Magna Charta (the year 1215). Was the way things were done in the middle ages better after all, do you think?
Not only did I object to my alma mater Hillsdale declaring itself — disingenuously and unwisely, in my opinion — a “Christian” institution back in 2015, but I always felt that it should demonstrate an even GREATER commitment (than universities under federal purview) to protecting victims of sexual assault, on sheer principle. Be extra punitive, if anything — before something truly bad happens and goes public.
… It seems this strategy was never adopted despite the predictable outcome. The chickens have come home to roost.