Carnegie Mellon University campus entrance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Credit: Lee/Adobe StockDisjunctive 'Severe or Pervasive' Standard Applies to Discrimination Claims Against University, Judge Rules
"The parties' disagreement is understandable given that the jurisprudential landscape with respect to whether Ms. Canaan must plead harassment that was severe-or-pervasive or severe pervasive-and-objectively-offensive is murky, in part because one of several statutes may be applicable to allegations of harassment depending on the bases for the purported harassment, e.g., sex, race, etc." U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy wrote in the matter captioned Canaan v. Carnegie Mellon University.
December 19, 2024 at 05:03 PM
5 minute read
Weighing in on a former Jewish student's allegations that she faced antisemitic discrimination at Carnegie Mellon University, a federal judge in Pennsylvania clarified the "murky" standards established in "severe and pervasive" hostile educational environment claims.
In a Dec. 17 decision, U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy for the Western District of Pennsylvania held Yael Canaan overcame the university's motion to dismiss claims of direct discrimination, hostile educational environment, and retaliation in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court notably determined the disjunctive "severe-or-pervasive" standard applied to Canaan's hostile educational environment claim, rejecting the university's reliance on the heightened "severe-pervasive-and-objectively-offensive" standard.
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