D.C. Tosses Complaint Against Catholic University Dorms

Religion Today | Published: Dec 01, 2011

D.C. Tosses Complaint Against Catholic University Dorms

December 1, 2011

The District of Columbia has dismissed a complaint against the Catholic University of America filed by George Washington University law professor John F. Banzhaf III, in which he charged that the school's return to single-sex student housing discriminated against women, the Religion News Service reports. The city's Office of Human Rights said Nov. 29 that offering only same-gender dorms was not unlawful discrimination under the District's Human Rights Act, and that following the complaint's reasoning would lead to "a prohibition on same-sex bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams, which would lead to absurd results." CUA's president John Garvey, who ended mixed-gender housing in an attempt to crack down on drinking and casual sex, welcomed the decision. "I am thankful for the outpouring of public support for our right to implement a principled decision to transition to single-sex residence halls," he said. "We will continue down that path." Banzhaf filed another complaint in October accusing CUA of discriminating against Muslim students, but that suit is still pending before the Human Rights Office.

D.C. Tosses Complaint Against Catholic University Dorms