Former Washington & Lee University law student Albert R. Leatherman, III says he is planning to file a lawsuit against the university seeking damages for acts of harassment based on his sexual orientation.
Leatherman, who is gay, has prepared a legal brief detailing incidents of harassment as well as his subsequent correspondence with the university. The document, which is posted to his personal Web page, alleges "repeated acts of harassment, humiliation, abuse and threats by fellow students and Washington & Lee employees."
Tom Kolly, Washington & Lee interim director of communications and external relations, declined to comment on the potential lawsuit.
"Since we have not been served the suit, we have no comment," Kolly said.
In a Sept. 22, 2004 settlement proposal he later posted online, Leatherman offered to drop the claim if Washington & Lee would provide him with financial compensation and/or take firm steps to address perceived hostility toward gays and lesbians at Washington & Lee.
The steps Leatherman proposed include the establishment of an independent, well-funded, student-faculty "truth and reconciliation commission" to document incidents of harassment and address how Washington & Lee can better accommodate minority students. Leatherman also suggested the university donate money to a gay rights organization and meet with student groups such as the Gay and Lesbian School Education Network in an effort to improve the atmosphere on campus for gays and lesbians.
In a Sept. 29, 2004 letter from University President Thomas G. Burish, also posted online by Leatherman, Burish says he is already engaged in efforts "consistent with the spirit of the concerns you expressed to me on the phone and in your e-mail."
Leatherman said based on past experience he did not believe Washington & Lee was interested in working toward a better atmosphere for gay and lesbian students.
"They did not want to take the steps I suggested," Leatherman said. "I did not get the sense the university had any commitment to changing the climate for gay students."
Leatherman cites numerous instances of harassment in his brief, including confrontations with students who spoke to Leatherman in what he said were pejorative terms and anti-gay postings at the law school that Leatherman perceived as mocking gay students. Leatherman met with Washington & Lee officials after these incidents but said they were not receptive to his complaints.
In the same Sept. 29 letter, Burish defended the university's response, writing, "W&L's actions in response to your complaints were consistent with our policies."
Leatherman said Burish has seen the legal brief. He said he will formally file the suit once he finds a pro bono lawyer to represent him.
University Law Prof. Robert O'Neil said the lawsuit, if filed, is not likely to succeed in court. He said Washington & Lee's statement in the university's student handbook addressing discrimination, which Leatherman cites in his suit, includes a commitment to prohibiting prejudice toward persons based on sexual orientation, but does not make Washington & Lee liable.
"This is not the kind of claim a court is likely to entertain," O'Neil said. Prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation "is their own undertaking in prohibiting beyond what is legally required and not one that would create legal liability."
Leatherman said he knew he was the only openly gay male student at Washington & Lee's law school when he accepted admission and a full scholarship based on his application and interviews, which both revealed his sexual orientation.
"I went there with a lot of hope," Leatherman said. "I went there thinking my presence might be useful."
The source of the hostile environment consisted of a handful of mostly upper-class white males, Leatherman said.
"My year was marked by students trying to make me feel uncomfortable, isolated and threatened," he said.
Some sources of support were available from professors and students who were sympathetic toward him, Leatherman said.
"The atmosphere got so poisonous that these professors finally heard through students about the negative atmosphere toward gay students," Leatherman said. "Professors can act in a personal capacity only, so it was not enough to stop discrimination."
Leatherman now attends law school at New York University.
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