Seven women are suing Dartmouth College claiming sexual assault and harassment.
A “21st-century Animal House” is what seven female students from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire are saying they endured from three esteemed professors during their study. According to a lawsuit filed on Thursday (Nov. 15), three men: Todd Heatherton, William Kelley, and Paul Whale exploited the women as “sex objects,” hosted late-night hot tub parties and bragged about who had the “hottest lab.” Two of the women say they were raped.
All seven women are suing the school, claiming Dartmouth knew about the harassment since 2002 but chose to ignore it. The three professors were a part of a “predatory club” in Dartmouth’s Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, who would target young women and attack the women who rejected their advances, reads the lawsuit.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“These professors leered at, groped, sexted, intoxicated and even raped female students,” the complaint alleges. “These professors ensured the young women in the department were vulnerable to this sexual harassment by conditioning faculty mentorship and support on students’ participation in the alcohol-saturated ‘party culture’ they perpetuated.”
More of the claims say the men forced them to drink and manipulated them into thinking their grades depended on their willingness to go along with their sexual acts. The men are no longer allowed on the campus. The men have yet to respond to news outlets about the claims and lawsuit.
