Stories from 5 Black women about racism at TCU show ‘hateful campus culture,’ suit says
Five Black women say they experienced racism and degradation at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth over the past few years and that administrators ignored their reports of discrimination.
A lawsuit filed in January originally involved one Black woman as a plaintiff. As of June 15, four more Black women had joined the suit. The revised lawsuit was filed five days before dozens of protesters marched to TCU and called for the end of systemic racism at the university.
The current defendants of the federal lawsuit are: TCU; Diane Snow, former dean of the honors college; Rob Garnett, an associate dean of the honors college; Darron Turner, chief inclusion officer and Title IX director; Russell Mack, an instructor; Andrew Schoolmaster, former dean of TCU’s College of Liberal Arts; Leigh Holland, Title IX investigator; and Aaron Chimbel, the dean of the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University and a former TCU faculty member.
Snow stepped down as dean of the honors college three months after the original suit was filed.
In response to the lawsuit, a TCU spokeswoman said TCU does not comment on pending litigation.
“TCU is focused on creating a respectful and inclusive community for all students,” she wrote.
In May, the university filed a response to the allegations raised by Jane Does 1, 2 and 3 and said the complaints should be dismissed because they do not present any facts that, if proven, would suggest racial or gender discrimination.
Jane Doe 1
The first plaintiff in the suit, identified as Jane Doe 1, said she was harassed, discriminated against, and physically assaulted while attending TCU from 2018 to 2019. Doe, who is still enrolled at TCU, said the university revoked her merit-based scholarship without explanation, segregated her from white classmates, falsely accused her of plagiarism and ignored her reports of racism.
The lawsuit alleges TCU has a history of racism and discrimination and “over a century of hateful campus culture gone unchecked.”
In January, TCU officials responded to Jane Doe 1’s allegations in a statement that said they are focused on creating an inclusive community. As to its history, the statement said, “like many universities in the country, TCU has a complex history that we are taking an active approach to examining and understanding.”
“It’s important to note that the facts of this case are still under review,” the statement said. “At this time, the University’s main priority is to ensure our student’s success and to investigate the student’s complaint. If we discover that any of these allegations are accurate, we are committed to addressing them.”
In its response filed with the court, the university said Doe 1 does not have a plausible substantive claim against Turner and her allegations do not prove TCU’s actions were motivated by racial or gender discrimination or retaliation. The university also said that Doe 1 was not refused any benefits of educational programs or activities at TCU.
Jane Doe 2
Jane Doe 2 said she was sexually assaulted in April 2018 by Andrew Schoolmaster, who was the dean of the AddRan College of Liberal Arts at the time, according to the lawsuit. She said the administration ignored her report because she is Black.
Schoolmaster referred the Star-Telegram’s questions to TCU’s Marketing and Communication Office.
Doe 2 said she met Schoolmaster for the first time while in another faculty member’s office. A week later, Doe 2 visited an administrative assistant in the political science office. Schoolmaster walked into the office and asked the assistant to retrieve something, the suit says.
When the assistant turned her back, Schoolmaster approached Doe 2, put his hand on her knee and apologized for interrupting the conversation, Doe 2 said. He continued to caress her knee, then trailed his fingers to her inner thigh and to the crease where her legs crossed., according to the lawsuit.
Doe 2 was shocked and felt dehumanized. Immediately after the assault, she told two TCU staff members what happened and they indicated this was Schoolmaster’s common behavior, according to the suit.
Doe 2 reported the assault to the school’s Title IX office, but nothing happened for two months; faculty did not question or tell Schoolmaster about the complaint until a frustrated Doe 2 met with Provost Nowell Donovan, the lawsuit says.
Donovan was shocked by Doe 2’s account and assured her that he would contact the Title IX office to find out why the office was “dragging their feet,” the suit says.
On June 21, faculty completed their investigation. According to the suit, Schoolmaster admitted he had caressed Doe 2’s leg and inner thigh, but said it was intended to be “respectful or courteous” and Doe 2’s report was “frivolous and ridiculous.”
As a consequence, TCU required Schoolmaster attend two one-hour, Title IX training sessions. The lawsuit says this was “a slap on the wrist; or better still a message to Jane Doe No. 2 and every racial minority and woman that at TCU, sexual harassment and assault will be met with deliberate indifference.”
In its response filed in May, TCU said Doe 2 does not have a substantive case against the school. The university said Doe 2 does not prove Schoolmaster’s actions were motivated by discrimination, or that Doe 2 was barred from any educational opportunities or benefits. The university also says officials investigated Doe 2’s complaint adequately and in a timely manner.
Jane Doe 3
Jane Doe 3 enrolled at TCU in the Fall of 2016 on a full merit-based scholarship. The lawsuit says she experienced regular racism at the school and in the Honors dorm, such as white students referring to her and other Black people as “n-words,” and that TCU used her only as a “minority show piece.”
She tried to join a Christian group on campus, but was put off when the minister told her that her “dog is racist and does not like when [people of color] come to her home.” Her faculty mentor demanded she do non-academic related work at all hours of the day and night and would regularly bombard her with dozens of harassing and insulting text messages, the lawsuit says.
On May 1, 2018, Doe 3 said she met with Chancellor Victor Boschini to talk about the racist and sexist environment in her academic department. Boschini did not encourage her to file a report with TCU’s Title IX office, the lawsuit says. The next year in June, Doe 3 sent a nine-page written report to TCU’s Title IX coordinator, Darron Turner, about some of her experiences. She described how she had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which a doctor said was triggered by her stressful experiences at TCU.
Turner responded by asking Doe 3 if she “really wanted” to file a formal complaint, the lawsuit says, and discouraged her from doing so. She eventually quit her job as an honors college faculty assistant to avoid “harassment from her faculty mentor and campus altogether.”
In the university’s response filed in May, the school said Doe 3’s allegations do not show TCU intentionally discriminates against minority women or showed deliberate indifference to her. The university said it is not responsible for harassment by other students unless it deprived the student of educational opportunities.
Jane Does 4 and 5
Doe 4 and 5 were both graduate students at TCU and experienced rampant discrimination in their courses and from staff from 2015 to 2020, the lawsuit says.
Doe 4 enrolled in the PhD program in TCU’s Department of English in 2015. She “learned very quickly that TCU was not a welcoming environment to African-American women,” the lawsuit says.
When she participated in class discussions or made presentations, she was publicly belittled and berated, if not “boldly cut off mid-speech,” the lawsuit says. She and Doe 5 took the same course, “Protest and Violence,” in 2017. The professor regularly assigned “racist rhetoric” and facilitated “racist discussions and presentations,” they said.
In January 2018, after submitting a formal complaint, Doe 4 met with Title IX officer Turner, but Turner did not open an investigation, the lawsuit says.
In November, the new English department director sent an email to the entire department. He acknowledged racist behavior in the department and apologized on behalf of it, according to the suit.
“Individuals in the department of English, both faculty and students, have behaved in a racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and disrespectful manner both in public and semi-public spaces on campus — TCU compliance officers are aware of these reported complaints,” he wrote.
In December 2018, a TCU official offered Doe 4 a job, but said if she accepted the position, she “would have to forfeit all of her prior Title IX complaints of discrimination at TCU.” Doe 4 was in disbelief and declined the position, the lawsuit says. She left the PhD program in January 2019.
Doe 5 met with Chancellor Boschini about her complaints in November, the suit says. Boschini asked Jane Doe No. 5 “if there were a job at TCU for you, would you take it?” Doe 5 also declined the offer.
On Jan. 13 — after being notified of the impending lawsuit — TCU started investigating Doe 4 and Doe 5’s complaints, the lawsuit says.
On May 29, nine professors in the English department asked TCU to resolve those discrimination complaints swiftly in order to “provide an equitable and inclusive departmental climate and culture.”
“Students and faculty members who have made complaints deserve to have a definitive response to these complaints,” the letter, addressed to Turner, said, according to the suit.
A former TCU employee also filed a lawsuit in May 2019. He said he was discriminated against by the university after he asked for a new work status that would have allowed him more time to process mounting financial aid applications from veterans — an employment designation that was granted to a white female worker.
In February, 11 faculty and staff members penned a letter calling for action to change systemic racism on campus.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
