A former GW student has filed suit against the University, GW Hospital and eight campus administrators because he was suspended from classes, removed from his dorm and barred from campus after he sought treatment for depression and suicidal thoughts.
In a civil suit filed in D.C. Superior Court in October, former student Jordan Nott alleges that GW policies discriminate against students with mental illness and stigmatize those who seek help. He claims that in fall 2004, when he was a sophomore, information he shared with the University Counseling Center and GW Hospital was released to University administrators without his permission, leading to his suspension and barring from campus. Nott is currently enrolled at the University of Maryland.
"The basic problem is that GWU is punishing students like Jordan who did exactly the right thing," said Karen Bower, one of Nott's lawyers, in an e-mail. "Most students would not seek medical care if they were fully informed that GWU would react, as they did in Jordan Nott's case, by imposing immediate disciplinary action."
Nott is suing eight administrators: University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Lehman, Dean of Students Linda Donnels, Assistant Dean of Students Rebecca Sawyer, University Counseling Center director Diane DePalma, Student Judicial Services Director Tara Woolfson, SJS Assistant Director Michael Gieseke and University Police Chief Dolores Stafford.
Tracy Schario, GW's director of Media Relations, declined to discuss the details of the case; she is speaking on behalf of the University and the hospital. GW is required to respond to the allegations by Jan. 18, Bower said. On Feb. 24, GW and Nott will meet to discuss a possible settlement and establish the future proceedings of the case.
Trachtenberg, Woolfson, Sawyer and DePalma all deferred comment to Schario, and Lehman did not return calls for this story.
'Competing factors'
In a civil suit filed in D.C. Superior Court in October, former student Jordan Nott alleges that GW policies discriminate against students with mental illness and stigmatize those who seek help. He claims that in fall 2004, when he was a sophomore, information he shared with the University Counseling Center and GW Hospital was released to University administrators without his permission, leading to his suspension and barring from campus. Nott is currently enrolled at the University of Maryland.
"The basic problem is that GWU is punishing students like Jordan who did exactly the right thing," said Karen Bower, one of Nott's lawyers, in an e-mail. "Most students would not seek medical care if they were fully informed that GWU would react, as they did in Jordan Nott's case, by imposing immediate disciplinary action."
Nott is suing eight administrators: University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Lehman, Dean of Students Linda Donnels, Assistant Dean of Students Rebecca Sawyer, University Counseling Center director Diane DePalma, Student Judicial Services Director Tara Woolfson, SJS Assistant Director Michael Gieseke and University Police Chief Dolores Stafford.
Tracy Schario, GW's director of Media Relations, declined to discuss the details of the case; she is speaking on behalf of the University and the hospital. GW is required to respond to the allegations by Jan. 18, Bower said. On Feb. 24, GW and Nott will meet to discuss a possible settlement and establish the future proceedings of the case.
Trachtenberg, Woolfson, Sawyer and DePalma all deferred comment to Schario, and Lehman did not return calls for this story.
'Competing factors'
