A Seton Hall student is suing the University for bias discrimination in housing because he is gay. Students on campus had mixed reactions to the news, released last week. The Setonian's account is here.
According to various news stories, Jesse Cruz, a junior Public Relations major at Seton Hall, filed a complaint against Seton Hall with the U.S District Court of New Jersey in Newark on March 14. In the complaint Cruz said that his roommate had told University administrators that he did not want to live with Cruz because Cruz is gay. Cruz alleges that he was then asked to move out of his room and into another.
“What were they thinking?” sophomore Samantha Gavares asked in regard to Seton Hall’s Housing and Residence Life (HRL). “He’s paying enough to live here – HRL should have taken it upon themselves to look into his roommate’s complaint.”
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The Setonian reports that after Cruz’s attorney sent a letter to the University, he was allowed to remain in his original room.
Many students, when asked, thought Cruz was right in his complaint, but did not think he would win the case.
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“HRL may have made an error in asking Jesse Cruz to leave instead of his roommate, but they did correct their mistake," junior Caryssa Vitelli said.
“The school should try to accommodate requests to alleviate any possible tensions,” junior Jeff Edwards said. “But I don’t see how he could win this case, if he was allowed back into his room.”
“It's sad that the school as a community has to even think about that as being a possible reason for him having to be moved,” junior Omar Ahmad said. “I mean it really shouldn't matter if he's gay or not, and I’m sure HRL's intention was not to offend him in any way, but the way things unfolded, it just looks bad.”
A student who only wished to be identified as Greg said that in the past he has had an issue with a roommate.
“I went to HRL and they suggested that I move,” he said. “I didn’t want to, so I just stayed in my room.”
But other students said that they had never encountered a problem with HRL.
“Housing has always been pretty good to me,” Edwards said.
The Setonian’s article received 512 views on Thursday, the same day it was published. According to Setonian Digital Editor Caitlin Carroll, the site normally receives anywhere from 100-200 views on a story in a day – Seton Hall students are taking notice of the issue.
Melissa Bonamici is a sophomore at Seton Hall and has met Cruz through classes.
“Jesse is so nice, and has always been respectful and courteous to me,” she said. “He’s not the kind of person to cause trouble with a roommate. If someone can’t live with him, that’s their problem.”
Allies, Seton Hall’s gay-straight alliance club, could not be reached for comment on the situation.
For the future, Ahmad said "I think it is going to force HRL to be a little more sensitive in issues like this."
