Maybe Austin isn't as progressive as we thought?
A University of Texas (UT) student living in a private dormitory is accusing the residence of discriminating against her. The Scottish Rite Dormitory (SRD) is private all-female home for more than 300 women. The UT freshman, Kaj Baker, says she’s the only one at SRD not allowed to have ANY guests.
Apparently there have been complaints about her and her female friend using the study lounge too much. Without the school speaking up, we do not know if the complaints highlight poor activity, but apparently the couple fell asleep once in the lounge.
CBSAustin reports on the issue.
“They told me that girls need to feel safe here, and I asked her if we made people feel unsafe. She said, ‘I'm not going there. I'm not going there just yet,’” Baker recalls. Baker recorded a half-hour meeting with SRD officials. She shared those recordings with CBS Austin. In one clip Baker asks what rules she’s broken but does not receive an answer.
Scottish Rite Dormitory strives to create an environment which allows our residents to focus on completing their higher education goals while meeting our Parent's expectation of creating an atmosphere that fosters the growth and well being of their daughters while attending the University. We have no further comment. Thank you.
– Email response from SRD director Mary Mazurek
“If this guest ban was simply about the rules then us being gay or me being gay should have never been brought into it at all,” Baker says.
Of course this does not speak ill of Austin, but it does point a finger at a private business that has allegedly chosen to discriminate against one of its tenants.
Have any of our college readers dealt with a similar case of discrimination?
h/t: CBSAustin