John Banzhaf, a
professor at George Washington University Law School, has filed a complaint
against the President of Catholic University of America (CUA), Mr John Garvey,
alleging that the university’s plan violates D.C.’s Human Rights
Act.

In June, Mr Garvey
was set on eliminating dormitories which
housed both sexes for incoming first years this term, in a bid to reduce
binge-drinking and casual sex on campus.

Professor Banzhaf,
initially said that he intended to sue CUA, but ultimately filed a suit against
Mr Garvey.

He said he will file
similar complaints against The Most Rev. Allen Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit,
as well as The Most Rev. Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., both of
whom hold positions at the university.

“I maintain that you
can no more have separate dormitories for men and women than you can have
[separate] parking lots, laboratories or classes; you can’t have calculus for
men, calculus for women,” Banzhaf said.

However,
representatives of CUA insist that their plan is entirely legal.

Spokesman Victor
Nakas told the university paper, The Tower that CUA was “confident that under
local and federal law we have every right to move forward with single-sex dorms”.

He said that DC’s
Human Rights Act, “forbids a school from denying or conditioning the use of
facilities for a discriminatory reason. The single-sex residence policy that we
are phasing in treats both sexes equally, so there is no
discrimination.”

He added: ” The
transition to single-sex residence halls – a return to a policy that was once
common – is rooted mainly in a desire to curb the abuse of alcohol and to stymie
development of a “hook-up” culture at the University.

“The University’s
decision will contribute to strengthening its educational process and the
holistic development of its students. . . .Professor Banzhaf has every right to
his opinion and to express it publicly.

“However, as a
citizen unaffiliated with Catholic University in any way, he does not have the
right to insist that the institution change its well-considered
policies”

According to US
website, Blog of Legal Times, Professor Banzhaf and representatives of Catholic
University took part in a closed-door mediation in the Washington, D.C. Office
of Human Rights in August, in an effort to resolve his
complaint.

The Office of Human
Rights is a city agency that seeks to eradicate discrimination and increase
equal opportunity.

Both sides declined
to say what transpired at the mediation.

During the mediation,
the university’s legal representatives defended the new single-sex dorm
policy.