Campbell v. Columbia University School of Professional Studies

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedOctober 21, 2022
Docket1:22-cv-08255
StatusUnknown

This text of Campbell v. Columbia University School of Professional Studies (Campbell v. Columbia University School of Professional Studies) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Campbell v. Columbia University School of Professional Studies, (S.D.N.Y. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JODY-ANN CAMPBELL, Plaintiff, -against- 22-CV-8255 (LTS) COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ORDER TO AMEND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES; COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, Defendants. LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge: Plaintiff, who is appearing pro se, brings this action invoking the Court’s federal question and diversity jurisdiction. Plaintiff asserts claims arising from her application for a fellowship to attend Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies. By order dated September 28, 2022, the Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), that is, without prepayment of fees. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint within 60 days of the date of this order. STANDARD OF REVIEW The Court must dismiss an in forma pauperis complaint, or any portion of the complaint, that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); see Livingston v. Adirondack Beverage Co., 141 F.3d 434, 437 (2d Cir. 1998). The Court must also dismiss a complaint when the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction of the claims raised. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). While the law mandates dismissal on any of these grounds, the Court is obliged to construe pro se pleadings liberally, Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009), and interpret them to raise the “strongest [claims] that they suggest,” Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted) (emphasis in original). But the “special solicitude” in pro se cases, id. at 475 (citation omitted), has its limits – to state a claim, pro se pleadings still must comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure, which requires a complaint to make a short and plain statement showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires a complaint to include enough facts to state a claim for relief “that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). A claim is facially plausible if the plaintiff pleads enough factual detail to allow the Court to draw the inference that the defendant is liable for the alleged misconduct. In reviewing the complaint, the Court must accept all well-pleaded factual allegations as true. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79 (2009). But it does not have to accept as true “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action,” which are essentially just legal conclusions. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. After separating legal conclusions from well-pleaded

factual allegations, the Court must determine whether those facts make it plausible – not merely possible – that the pleader is entitled to relief. Id. BACKGROUND Plaintiff Jody-Ann Campbell attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. (ECF 1 at 11.) In spring 2021, one of Plaintiff’s sorority sisters was named a Columbia University “Impact HBCU fellow.” (Id.) This is a fellowship program to which recent graduates of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) are eligible to apply. During Plaintiff’s senior year at Lincoln University, she applied for admission to the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program in Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies (SPS) and applied for the Columbia University HBCU Fellowship. (Id.) Plaintiff’s application was complete and even included an “extra recommendation letter.” (Id. at 12.) In March 2022, Plaintiff contacted the fellowship program by email regarding the decision date. (Id.) Plaintiff eventually learned that she was accepted to the SPS program but was not awarded

the HBCU fellowship. She alleges that: The decision on the fellowship was reflective of the nuance of not having the ability of free speech and to bow down to the fellowship advisor and have certain reverence or respect for the fellowship that was simply dishonorable. They wanted to shut me up and deny me my rights and the ability to contribute or participate in the fellowship and the activities therein and so that is what they did. They believed I couldn’t and shouldn’t have another option and so they denied me my rights. (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that she “was denied the fellowship because [her] 1st Amendment right to free speech was violated, due to an abuse of power and pride.” (Id.) She also alleges, without any further elaboration, that she was “discriminated against because [she is] a Jamaican immigrant.” (Id.) Plaintiff contends that the “head of the Impact HBCU Fellowship” engaged in reckless endangerment because she “read the application and decided that she wanted [Plaintiff] to die.” (Id.) Plaintiff provides that, in her essay, she explicitly stated that the only way that she could afford to attend was if she received a fellowship, and she mentioned that her “parents suffered from mental health issues that weren’t disclosed and could have been hereditary.” (Id.) Plaintiff implies that the selection committee, which allowed her to be admitted to the SPS program with “no way to pay,” should have known this would cause her to entertain suicidal thoughts. Due to Plaintiff’s distress, she was unable to attend her commencement at Lincoln University. She “landed in the emergency room” and, due to a hormonal imbalance, “almost bled to death.” (Id. at 13.) Plaintiff contends that “Dean Eggers [of SPS] neglected to identify and correct a corrupt financial aid office.” (Id.) Plaintiff notes that the website for SPS indicates that criteria for financial aid includes “academic achievement, professional promise, leadership qualities, financial need, or a combination of these.” (Id.) Plaintiff has “the most need,” yet she “received

$0 from the financial aid office” to attend the SPS program. She contends that this is “gros[s] neglect of student finances and need.” (Id.) Plaintiff emailed Dean Eggers twice: once, three days after she was denied the fellowship, and again in August, when she decided that she “intended to settle.” (Id.) She also emailed the President and Provost of Columbia University, though she does not describe the content of her email. Plaintiff brings this suit against Columbia University SPS and “the Office of the President” of Columbia University, seeking “cash compensation totaling $1,000,000,” readmission to the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program with a scholarship award, a box of cookies and “tall glass of milk” from her admissions counselor, and clarification of the selection criteria for the HBCU Impact fellowship. Plaintiff invokes her rights under the First

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the Equal Education Opportunities Act.

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Bluebook (online)
Campbell v. Columbia University School of Professional Studies, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/campbell-v-columbia-university-school-of-professional-studies-nysd-2022.