NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 1 (UPI) -- Officials at Yale say they will cooperate with a pending investigation of allegations of persistent sexual harassment of coeds at the Connecticut college.
ABC News reported Friday the U.S. Department of Education planned to probe the situation at Yale after 16 students and alumni filed a Title IX lawsuit in March alleging the Ivy League school failed to address what they said was a long-running situation.
"We will respond fully to the investigation," a university spokesman told ABC in an e-mail. "Yale takes extremely seriously all allegations of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, including allegations of a 'hostile environment.'"
The lawsuit alleges the hostile environment included a list of incidents in which loutish male students, often in groups, made lewd comments to their female counterparts either in person or by e-mail.
The suit contends the resulting atmosphere prevented the women from enjoying full access to the educational offerings at Yale. If the Department of Education agrees, Yale could lose federal funding, ABC said.
"At this moment we have exhausted all of our internal Yale resources to try and combat this," plaintiff Hannah Zeavin told ABC. "We feel like we must change the current Yale environment to one that is less hostile to women."
