A White student at Howard University‘s law school is during the HBCU for $2 million for alleged racial discrimination while claiming the school created a “hostile education environment.”
The plaintiff, Michael Newman, attended Howard University School of Law starting in the fall semester of 2020 and remained there for just two years before he was expelled in September 2022, according to FOX 5 DC.
White Law Student Expelled From Historically Black Howard University, Now Suing For $2 Million
His lawsuit is seeking the monetary damages for “pain, suffering, emotional anguish and damage to his reputation,” the outlet reports.
Meanwhile, the school’s Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Frank Tramble claimed he can’t comment “substantively” due to the fact that the lawsuit is still pending.
However Tramble did tell the outlet that the university “is prepared to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit as the claims provide a one-sided and self-serving narrative of the events leading to the end of the student’s enrollment at the University.”
The suit claims Newman suffered “depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts” as a result of “public ostracism, vilification and humiliation,” while citing his race as the deciding factor.
White Student Says University’s Head Of Diversity Told Him He Was The Most Hated Student He Had Ever Seen
Newman’s case against the school includes a statement allegedly made by Howard University’s Global Head of Diversity Recruiting, Reggie McGahee, who reportedly told him he was the most hated student McGahee had seen during his tenure at the university.
Newman claims the law school’s dean told him that White students at Howard did not face any racial discrimination, and cited Newman specifically after the former student told school administration about his reported treatment.
After news broke on campus regarding Newman’s accusations, students there apparently found a tweet from Newman’s private Twitter account that showed a picture of a slave with his back scarred likely from whipping, with the caption reading: “but we don’t know what he did before the picture was taken.”
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Discrimination Allegedly Really Became A Problem After School Shifted To Remote Learning During COVID
Newman stated the tweet was made in jest, in an effort to mock those who “attempt to explain away videos of police brutality by claiming the victim must have committed wrongdoing before the video started,” according to the lawsuit.
Students allegedly responded with comments regarding his race, gender, sexual preference, age and personal appearance, the outlet reports.
Newman says the reported discrimination issue really came to the forefront after the school shifted to remote learning at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, after a comment he made regarding Black voters:
A White student at Howard University’s law school is suing the institution for racial discrimination, alleging the school created a "hostile education environment."
DETAILS: https://t.co/UA2peM5UIh pic.twitter.com/QubQdRmTVW
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) February 27, 2023
“Whether: Black voters didn’t question turning to government for solutions, and reliably voting for the same party every election disincentivized both parties from responding to the needs of the black communities,” the comment in question allegedly read.
White Howard Student Criticized By Fellow Students For Racially Insensitive Tweet, Classroom Comments
A handful of students took issue with Newman’s post, and brought it to the attention of school administrators. That led to Newman being removed from the class’s group chats, according to the lawsuit.
Newman went on to say he was “utterly disenfranchised” at the university and even compared himself to a Black student at a mostly White university, once again drawing ire from his fellow students, who called his comment “offensive.”
Despite efforts to remedy and apologize for the situation, Newman says his supposed mistreatment remained the same.
He says that apology was not well-received, with his fellow students starting to refer to him as “mayo king” (a reference to the color of his skin and/or the trope that only White people enjoy mayonnaise,) as well as “white panther,” his lawsuit claims.
Newman says he appealed his expulsion from Howard, however a second review panel reportedly reached the same conclusion.
Attorneys representing Newman filed the suit in federal court, and will likely try to prove the school broke its contract with Newman, according to FOX 5 DC.
