Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia is currently being investigated by the Department of Education for Sexual Hazing according to a report from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
From The Chronicle of High Education article:
A lawyer representing a former student baseball player said his client had left the college and had given up an athletic scholarship after allegedly being subjected to unwanted sexual touching multiple times by at least one upperclassman on the team. The lawyer said the student had told college officials about the incidents but was unaware of any disciplinary action.
A spokesman for the Education Department told the newspaper that the department’s Office for Civil Rights was examining whether the college had failed to respond “promptly and equitably” to complaints of sexual violence and whether students had been subjected to a sexually hostile environment.
The Charleston (WV) Gazette reports the following:
The student allegedly told D&E officials about the incidents, but Javins said he is unaware of any disciplinary action being taken.
D&E officials have refused to comment on the investigation.
“There’s evidence of an epidemic within the baseball team that a number of upperclassmen engaged in sexual violence toward a number of freshmen under the general heading of hazing — like a ‘welcome to the team,’” Javins said. “These are not teammates slapping each other on the backside in some congratulatory manner. Not even close. It is far, far worse than that.”
Javins said the incidents happened on campus during team functions, including practices and workouts.
The student told then-D&E baseball coach Ronnie Palmer about the incidents, according to Javins.
Palmer stepped down as coach in May, but still serves as D&E’s athletic director. He had been head baseball coach for several years and is an alumnus of D&E, where he played baseball as a student himself, according to the school’s website.
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