University studies senior Austin Van Overdam has filed a Title IX lawsuit in Houston federal court against Texas A&M University after being accused of sexually assaulting biomedical sciences senior, Hannah Shaw.
According to a statement from Van Overdam’s attorney, Gaines West, the A&M swimmer “was wrongfully disciplined in 2016 for sexual misconduct allegations.” The statement said his accuser was not sexually assaulted, and the student conduct case was “a swearing match.”
West said A&M felt pressure from the Department of Education and feared the loss of federal funding, causing the university to side with Shaw. He said the actions of the university reveal its illegal bias against male students.
“A&M seems to be more concerned with being politically correct, rather than embracing that the Title IX law is meant to protect both women and men,” West said.
The university has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Editor’s Note: While The Battalion does not typically publish names of sexual assault victims or people accused of crimes without filed charges, both parties in this article have chosen to make their stories public.