Black WSU Student Sues After Racist Incident At Frat House

PULLMAN, WA - A Washington State University student is suing the school, alleging that administrators failed to protect her after a member of a fraternity called her racist names in 2015. Following the racist attack, the student was hounded on social media by frat supporters, but university officials told her there was nothing they could do, according to the lawsuit.

Dominque Stewart, a Seattle resident still enrolled at WSU, is suing the school under federal civil rights and education laws. Stewart claims in the suit she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder related to the 2015 incident. In the suit, her lawyer claims WSU gave an "implicit endorsement of the attacks" by not doing more to protect Stewart.

On Feb. 15, 2015, Stewart was waiting for a friend in front of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house, located northwest of the main WSU campus. A member of the frat yelled at Stewart, "Why are all these n--ger b--ches around my house?”

When Stewart reacted to what he said, he yelled, "I said, get the f--k away from me you n--ger b--ch," according to the suit. That student was kicked out of the frat and eventually expelled. But not everyone at WSU was on Stewart's side.

Stewart was harassed online and on campus. During one incident, a car drove up to Stewart, and a passenger threw a piece of chicken at her and yelled, "N--ger THOT." "THOT" is a slang acronym that stands for "That ho over there."

Stewart and her mother sought help from administrators, but claim in the suit they didn't receive much support. Stewart and her mother, Jameila, appealed to WSU Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Melynda Huskey (she now works at Western Washington University as vice president for enrollment and student services) for help. The Stewarts claim Huskey did not provide alternate housing for Dominique, and did not contact campus police to inquire about security arrangements.

In April 2015, WSU interim Executive Director of Diversity Education Jeff Guillroy and former president Elson Floyd met with Stewart and her friends to talk about racism on campus. In the suit, Stewart's lawyer describes the meeting as nothing more than "victim shaming."

Floyd warned Stewart that Pullman "is not Seattle," according to the suit.

"The 'conversation' was instead a victim-shaming, racially-divisive lecture, in which President Floyd informed the young women that they did not 'belong' at a 'white' fraternity and indicating that they should have known better," the suit alleges. "At the end of the lecture, President Floyd and Directory Guillory gave the victims of harassment commemorative coins, and informed them the university was building a 'cool' new student center containing an 'African-American section' where they could 'belong.'"

In response to the suit, WSU Vice President for Marketing and Communications Phil Weiler sent the following statement:

"While federal law prohibits WSU from discussing specifics, once the university became aware of the incident at the Pullman, WA campus, we took immediate and swift action to investigate and address the concerns raised. In addition to expelling the student who violated our code of conduct, we also provided immediate resources to the student who brought these concerns to our attention and have continued to support her as she has continued her education at WSU. We believe the legal process will show how our actions taken map to our values of supporting all students in their educational pursuits, regardless of their ethnicity, race, sexual identity, religion or background.

"At Washington State University, we remain committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive campus community. As part of this commitment, we have a dedicated Office for Equal Opportunity that focuses on Title IX enforcement, robust anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, and ongoing campus-wide initiatives that seek to strengthen diversity and inclusion.

"Like all institutions of higher education learning today, WSU recognizes we have more work to do as part of our continuing efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion across campuses. We remain steadfast in our commitment to this important and ongoing work."

The suit alleges the school and administrators violated Title IV of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race. The suit also alleges that Stewart was discriminated against because of her gender under Title IX.

Just under 25,000 undergrads attend WSU and a majority, 60 percent, are white. Black students make up about 3.1 percent of the undergraduate student body.

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