Howard University Seniors Laurin Compton and Lauren Cofield filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority of violating their human rights. The lawsuit also names Howard University as a defendant, on the ground that they failed to protect students who refused to be hazed.
According to court documents filed on Feb. 28, the sorority hopefuls first ran into trouble during the
annual celebration known as “Ivy Day.†The two students, who were freshmen at the time, said they expected an event full of sisterhood but found hazing instead, including restrictions on colors they could wear and being addressed as “weak bitches.â€After Cofield’s mother, also an Alpha Kappa Alpha sister complained in a letter, the two pledges said they were labeled as being “snitch-friendly†and were ostracized within the sorority. After applying again for induction into the sorority in 2013, the 2 students were told they couldn’t be accepted due to a cap on new sisters.
The students are suing using the D.C. Human Rights
Act, claiming they have “familial status†due to their mothers belonging to the sorority. As legacies, Cofield and Compton feel they should have been among the first to be inducted into the nation’s oldest black sorority.Read more at Washington City Paper