https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/us/yale-university-mental-health-disabilities-lawsuit/index.htmlCurrent students and an advocacy group are suing Yale University and its governing body, alleging “systemic discrimination against students with mental health disabilities,” according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Connecticut federal court.
The lawsuit alleges the university discriminated against students with mental health disabilities and forced students to withdraw from the school after showing severe mental health disability symptoms.
Yale officials pressure students to take “voluntary” leaves of absence for at least one or two terms when they experience significant symptoms from a mental health disability by suggesting they would otherwise face an ‘involuntary’ withdrawal,” the lawsuit alleges.
Students who withdraw from the university are barred from visiting campus and all campus activities without prior permission from the school, including in-person summer classes that are open to non-students, the lawsuit states.
The policies require students on withdrawal to move out of their campus housing within 48 hours.
Rishi Mirchandani, a Yale alumnus and plaintiff in the lawsuit, described his struggles with school when he was dealing with his own mental health crisis as a college student there.
“I think that Yale tends to wash its hands of cases of mental illness that are too severe because they don’t want to be associated with that student. They want the student to deal with their issues anywhere except Yale’s campus,” Mirchandani told CNN. “And in some instances, taking time off is a healthy decision. In other cases, it separates students from their primary support group.”
