From Singh v. Amar, decided Dec. 5 by Judge Sue Myerscough (C.D. Ill.):
Plaintiff … is a second-year law student at the University of Illinois College of Law. Mr. Singh enrolled in the University on a full-tuition merit scholarship and eventually was invited to join the Illinois Law Review.
Shortly after beginning his first semester, Mr. Singh met with Defendant Virginia Vermillion, the law school's Dean of Students, to amend his law school application. He alleges that Dean Vermillion responded to his request by remarking that "[y]ou fucking [M]iddle [E]asterners are untrustworthy." Mr. Singh is of Sikh origin.
After his first semester, Mr. Singh filed formal complaints against instructors who he believed had graded his coursework and exams capriciously. Mr. Singh also had conflicts with other students and school administrators. The school made several informal attempts to resolve Mr. Singh's concerns and disputes, but those attempts were unsuccessful.
In April 2022, Dean Vermillion contacted the University of Illinois Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) to share her concerns regarding Mr. Singh's behavior. Dean Vermillion alleged that Mr. Singh had threatened Dean Vermillion and other administrators, made female instructors and students uncomfortable, and shown signs of "disjointed" thinking.
Illinois law requires that post-secondary institutions take preventive and proactive action to prevent campus violence. The BIT therefore assesses and monitors "students exhibiting aberrant, dangerous, or threatening behavior." To ensure that the BIT's work is unimpeded, the University's various codes of conduct require the subject of a BIT complaint to comply with any "reasonable" directives. Failure to comply with BIT's directives can result in disciplinary sanction, including dismissal.
