My Time at Pitzer
What I experienced, reported, and documented, and what the records show.
Draft, not for publication
Still a work in progress. I have some FERPA requests outstanding that could add more citations, including internal emails, forwarded chains, and notes between departments that get mentioned in the records I already have but weren't included in what I received. Not sure yet what I'll actually get back. I also need to go back through my own emails, texts, social media, and saved documents, plus earlier drafts of this, to find citations that got dropped somewhere along the way. Not the final version yet.
My Time at Pitzer
While I was at Pitzer, I was focused on building things: apps, projects, the usual [1][2][64]. Outside of a small set of friends, I wasn't particularly social on campus [3][4][50][65], which some students seemed to take issue with and, I believe, made it their responsibility to challenge through confusing and increasingly concerning actions [4][51]. They'd follow me, show up near my window repeatedly, throw things at it at night, ride a bike directly at me on the street [5][6][7][8][10]. I documented all of it and reported it [9][10][11][52]. The school did nothing meaningful for two semesters [12][13][21][66]. I was redirected across multiple departments with contradictory guidance, and no clear protocol was ever established [14][15][16][67][68].
Throughout all of this, I made a consistent effort to be brief, polite, and transparent, and I genuinely tried to understand any concern raised through whatever channel was available to me [17][18][19][50]. What I kept encountering instead was a consistent lack of transparency in return: concerns never stated directly, actions never explained, accusations that circulated among other people before they reached me, and disciplinary consequences that arrived without supporting evidence ever being produced [20][21][22][40][41][42][53][69]. Misunderstandings happen, but they tend to resolve when someone is sincerely trying to understand them, and I was asking directly, through proper channels, repeatedly [23][24][54][55][70]. These didn't resolve. They escalated.
The underlying dynamic followed a consistent feedback loop: provoking behavior directed at me, my reporting it in a measured way, my reports being reframed as the problem, and that reframing used as justification for further intrusion [25][26][27][56][71][72], all driven by students I had little to no prior relationship with and had kept interactions with brief, polite, and strictly within academic or safety contexts [28][29][57]. What made it so disorienting was that it began almost immediately upon arrival [3][5]. I was three thousand miles from where I grew up, had been on campus for days, and students I had spoken to a handful of times at most, about nothing of substance, were already behaving in ways that were physically intimidating and impossible to explain [5][30][57][65]. There was no prior conflict, no history, no reasonable trigger, aside from their acquaintance with someone from a previous school I had never spoken to but had experienced a nearly identical pattern through, also via students connected to that person [51].
What made it more concerning was how far it extended. These students and their acquaintances somehow connected with people I was working with outside of school, in the startup world, and began circulating a narrative that I was dangerous or unstable [31][58]. I found out about concerns being raised about me from people outside the school before I ever heard anything from the school itself [32][58]. The people who were supposedly concerned made sure others knew before I did, which isn't how legitimate concern works, particularly given that those same people, or their direct acquaintances, appeared to be involved in the very behavior I was reporting [31][32][58].
It escalated to the point where I was receiving texts from unknown numbers referencing accurate but private details about my location and my work, things only someone with access to my professional network would know [33]. The texts asked for nothing: no link to click, no money, no action at all, which rules out every conventional explanation [33][59]. They began for the first time immediately after I had stopped communicating with someone, consistent with the same pattern of provocation without stated purpose, and whoever was behind them was reading my responses and choosing when to reply, not on any automated schedule [33][59].
In parallel, I was trying to get routine course equivalencies approved for my major [34][60][73]. I sent a handful of follow-up emails about this, nothing else [35][60]. A faculty member responded by characterizing those emails as harassment, sending a strange CC'd email to a large group of unrelated people, and pushing for a campus-wide safety alert about me [36][37][61]. The deans themselves confirmed I hadn't threatened anyone [38], but the alert went out anyway. I was eventually placed on involuntary leave [39][74].
The FERPA records I later obtained confirmed that the stated concerns were fabricated or heavily exaggerated, and critically, had been actively withheld from me while the narrative was being built, despite my asking repeatedly through every available channel [40][41][42][62][70]. I was only told what the supposed issues were when they were used to justify my removal [39][26].
The core dynamic: what began as behavior its participants might have excused as a quirky, unwanted way of breaking the ice became something far harder to characterize charitably the moment I simply reported it [43][9]. People who felt I wasn't sufficiently involved in their community, or too impersonal, decided to make that my problem [4][44][51], and once I reported their behavior rather than reciprocating it, the justification shifted: now I was dangerous, not for anything I had done, but for having reported what was done to me [25][26][56][71][72]. When I tried to understand why, through direct requests, administrative channels, and eventually FERPA records, no explanation was ever offered [20][21][24][53][55][62][70]. They built a narrative instead, spread it into my professional life, and used institutional machinery to give it weight, while ensuring I was always the last to know what I was being accused of and never given a real opportunity to address it directly [32][39][58]. This extended to communications referencing things with confusing, unnecessary, and clearly harmful implications that were difficult to ignore, and my attempts to understand them were used as further evidence of instability, with no clarification ever offered, mirroring exactly how my legitimate concerns were handled throughout [45][46][56][63][71].
The outcome is worth noting: within a year of my final correspondence, four or more administrators involved in my case, some with over a decade at the school, had left their positions [47][75]. A new class president was elected on a platform addressing the exact institutional gaps I had raised [48][76]. And following campus incidents that fall, the school implemented formal measures against the kind of physical harassment I had reported and documented from the start [49][77][78].
If you have any concerns, your own or ones others have shared with you, I'm genuinely happy to hear them and address them directly. And if anyone whose connection to me involves Pitzer or any school I've attended claims a degree of closeness or familiarity with me, I'd ask that you check with me before sharing any personal information with them. My choice to attend was inelastic and I had no control over who I met there; my own experiences were relatively benign, but more extreme incidents occurred around the same time and were publicly written about [79][80], and similar stories were easy to come by given the small class sizes [65], which suggests this is widespread and not limited to what I experienced [51][79][80]. The absence of that boundary is what made this possible: it's how people I had no meaningful relationship with ended up with access they shouldn't have had and an unwarranted degree of familiarity that fueled everything I've described [51][57][58]. It's a straightforward ask, grounded in a documented pattern, and consistent with my preference for interactions that are honest and unless mutually agreed to otherwise, brief, functional, and productive [50].
References
Primary Source Documents (Personal Records and Institutional Correspondence)
[1] Unofficial Transcript, Pitzer College. Course history showing enrollment in CMPSC 132A (Computer Science II), CPS 203 (Data Structures), CSC 110 (Software Design/Programming), CSCI181SY (Managing Complex Systems), CSCI046 (Data Structures and Algorithms), CSCI159 (Natural Language Processing), ENGR004 (Intro Engineering Design/Manufacturing), among others. Cumulative GPA: 3.71.
[2] Resume/CV of Ola A. listing Microsoft Software Engineering and Product Management Internship (May–Aug 2021), orchestrating end-to-end execution of a consumer-facing GPT-3 chatbot; Rebel One Ventures internship; Stride Funding growth internship; CAFNLab computer vision research at Stanford; Voice In Visionaries founding, including creating a physics-informed neural network.
[3] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Alayna Session-Goins and Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry dated 8/27/21: "I told Rob Levine that I didn't want to meet people because I didn't want to make a bad impression."
[4] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry for week of 9/14/21: "My other roommate, Skyler Sulkis, I overheard saying 'he doesn't want to be part of the community' to someone else."
[5] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Alayna Session-Goins and Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry dated 8/27/21: "From the night I arrived on campus, my roommate, Rob Levine, would stare at me as I woke up every day for the weekend, three days, we were roommates."
[6] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry after 9/14/21: "My other roommate would also loiter underneath and attempt to peer into my window. No exact date but after 9/14 and I notice it occur three times."
[7] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry dated 11/6/21 at approximately 9:40 PM: "One night I heard a loud pop and opened the window to see and as I did a bunch of people turned from facing my window and walked away. I assume they threw something." Note: "I called campus safety about this."
[8] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry dated Tuesday 11/9/21 at approximately 6:20 PM: "A few days after my other roommate, Skyler Sulkis, rode his bike as close to me as possible as I was walking home. Unreasonably close and looked away from the road and at me as he did." Note: "I called campus safety about this. Please refer to their logs for an exact time."
[9] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Alayna Session-Goins, Vince Greer, and legal counsel, May 3, 2022: "I don't know if he should get in trouble or not. I am not sending you this because I want him to get in trouble, but to try to prevent this from happening again."
[10] Campus safety reports filed November 6, 2021 and November 9, 2021. Referenced in email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022: "I called campus safety about this." Campus safety logs referenced for exact times.
[11] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Alayna Session-Goins, May 7, 2022: "Please look into everything I have said but I will follow up about this."
[12] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 7, 2022: "Your office not doing anything about this, aside from probably a slight 'Hey we know you're doing this' warning I'm guessing after I spoke to Dean Greer has led to other students to behave in a similar way to him and caused a bunch of issues for me."
[13] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 9, 2022: "I am happy that this is finally a conduct case and may possibly get addressed almost two semesters after my initial complaint."
[14] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 15, 2022: "I described to Dean Hannant that I think it should be an OSA issue sometime last fall. I remember telling people that I have to go through Title 9, being told to not do it, calling again and asking, and being told it has to go through title 9 because it's harassment."
[15] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 15, 2022: "Now, I am being told that the procedure is I have to go through Title 9 before it could be handled by OSA. So I have been told three different procedures."
[16] Email from Vince Greer to Olalekan Adeyeri, May 9, 2022: "Because of the nature of the complaint, when any incident veers in the direction of potential harassment we are mandated to involve Title IX to decide if it meets that threshold. Once that was determined it did not qualify as a Title IX case I took you up on your offer to push for a voluntary mediation with the other party."
[17] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 9, 2022: "I hope to contribute to the Pitzer community and form relationships with the people I meet at Pitzer when I have the opportunity to. I am also extremely sorry if I came off as strong."
[18] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 9, 2022: "I am not doing this to get him in trouble, but because I have to call out things like this. If it's not possible for your office to move forward with this, I understand."
[19] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Jeff Groves, July 28, 2022: "I have never been disciplined in college or high school or elementary school before... However, I am happy to do whatever it takes to show that I belong in the maker space and if it's not possible for me to be unsuspended from the makerspace I understand."
[20] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Jeff Groves, July 13, 2022, 1:34 AM: "I haven't written to them to circumvent the ban from the MakerSpace but to understand why I was banned as I wasn't given an explanation. Please provide proof that I have harassed the shop proctors."
[21] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Phil Zuckerman, June 9, 2022: "There was a time when I was harassed by a set of people who I was suitemates with for my first three days on campus (I didn't know them before) and tried my best to avoid conflict with while we were suitemates... When I reported this to my school's OSA, I was told three different procedures that almost prevented any investigation and delayed an investigation by two semesters."
[22] Email from Jeff Groves to Olalekan Adeyeri, July 13, 2022, 1:30 AM: "I am aware that you have written to multiple makerspace stewards multiple times asking them to help you circumvent the suspension decision by the shop management." Note: This characterization was disputed in citation [20].
[23] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 15, 2022: "Why did the procedure to handle this change?"
[24] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, June 5, 2022: "Could you please explain why I was told by two or three different OSA people that it's not possible for me to file a conduct case when I first reported this in November?"
[25] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Alayna Session-Goins and Stephanie Hannant, May 7, 2022: "Now, I'm a bit concerned about why I was told that I need to go to Title 9 about this after explaining on the phone multiple times to first Dean Hannant since November after the suspected window throwing and Dean Greer, and maybe one other dean that this isn't a Title 9 issue and should be addressed by OSA."
[26] Involuntary Leave of Absence letter from Sandra Vasquez, Vice President for Student Affairs, August 9, 2022. The letter lists as behavioral concerns: "Repeated and insistent communications," "Failing to comply with reasonable requests by staff members to meet in-person and via Zoom," and "Refusing to accept academic and departmental decisions." Note: Each of these followed the student's own complaints about safety concerns, as documented in the email correspondence.
[27] Email from Vince Greer to Olalekan Adeyeri, May 9, 2022: "According to our records, since being assigned the case, Dean Alayna has made 7 attempts to meet with you and you have canceled 6 of those times." Note: The student disputed this claim in his May 15 email, stating "I didn't miss 6/7 meetings."
[28] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry dated 8/30/21: "The next Monday, I begin the process to change roommates." Entry dated 8/31/21: "As I am leaving Rob Levine asks why, I said it's because he's scary."
[29] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022: "I have not only noticed this person doing similar acts of intimidation to me, but to others as well, possibly leading to an uncomfortable environment for not just me but others as well."
[30] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry dated 9/10/21: "Two weeks later he points at my window and says that's where he lives."
[31] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript / personal narrative account: "These students and their acquaintances somehow connected with people I was working with outside of school, in the startup world, and began circulating a narrative that I was dangerous or unstable." Corroborated by the student's account of learning about concerns from external contacts before being informed by the institution.
[32] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript / personal narrative: "I would learn about what I was being accused of or that there was a problem from people outside of the school, despite asking everyone."
[33] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript describing text messages: "I would start to get texts of, like, my vague address, my vague but accurate address, from, like, random numbers." Further detail: "Whenever it would respond, it would respond back, and not immediately after, but at, like, random times, which means, like, someone's reading it and deciding to respond."
[34] Email from Jeff Groves to Olalekan Adeyeri, July 13, 2022, 9:38 AM: "If you don't understand your suspension of shop privileges, you should talk to Drew Price, the shop manager." Note: The student's academic course equivalency requests are referenced throughout the correspondence as distinct from the makerspace issue.
[35] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript / personal narrative: "I sent one email that I included and then two days later, another email to follow up and I think one more email to follow up with the faculty. Nothing else."
[36] Involuntary Leave letter, August 9, 2022, from Sandra Vasquez: "You were Refusing to accept academic and departmental decisions, such as in the case of HMC computer science major decision, which specifically you were told your continued behavior came across as 'dishonest and harassing.'" Note: The student characterized this as routine course equivalency requests, not a dispute over major decisions.
[37] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript / personal narrative: "He cancels the meeting and then sends like a really weird message to me and like a bunch of like random people CC'd. I think he CC'd like the gardener or something like that. It was very strange."
[38] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript / personal narrative: "The deans of Pitzer said, like, I wasn't threatening at all, and they, they made it clear I wasn't threatening, I didn't threaten anyone. But he insisted that they send a safety alert."
[39] Involuntary Leave of Absence letter from Sandra Vasquez, Vice President for Student Affairs, Pitzer College, August 9, 2022: "Therefore, consistent with the Involuntary Leave of Absence Policy of Pitzer College and following consultation with other college officials, I am giving you notice that you are being withdrawn from your courses immediately and will not be able to be on Pitzer's campus, in the Pitzer residence halls, or at Pitzer@CCA since you will no longer be a student."
[40] Involuntary Leave letter, August 9, 2022: "There have been several other instances of concerning behavior that we have tried to discuss with you and offer supporting resources." Note: No specific examples of these "other instances" were provided in the letter or shared with the student prior.
[41] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Jeff Groves, July 28, 2022: "Could you please send me the screenshot photos of the alleged harassment?" Note: No screenshots or specific examples were provided in any documented response.
[42] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript / personal narrative: "Not a single time could he include an example of the concerning emails in the records I saw. There was even another point where another dean asked, hey, can you email him directly? Can you forward me all the emails he sent to your faculty? And that was not included."
[43] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022: "I am not sending you this because I want him to get in trouble, but to try to prevent this from happening again. This person intentionally violated my boundaries multiple times."
[44] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 3, 2022, timeline entry for week of 9/14/21: "My other roommate, Skyler Sulkis, I overheard saying 'he doesn't want to be part of the community' to someone else."
[45] Discord conversation with Felix M (makerspace head steward), June 26, 2022, 5:19 PM: "Don't talk to more people. It doesn't matter what other folks think, it is up to the shop management. Please stop messaging people." And at 5:23 PM: "If you talk to friends that's different. Reaching out to people to talk to them like this is pulling extra people in where it is not their business. Please stop."
[46] Email from Jeff Groves to Olalekan Adeyeri, July 13, 2022, 9:38 AM: "In one string of messages, a steward reported to you about feeling harassed, and also counseled you to talk to shop management and cease communicating with proctors and stewards about the ban, but you continued to message that steward and indicated that you were still communicating with other proctors."
[47] Adeyeri, O. "Apparent Outcome" section, Comprehensive Documentation: "Over four of the administrators involved in this—some with careers spanning over a decade at the school—within a year of my final email, had left their positions. A couple are independent consultants, and hold interim jobs in their existing or lower position." Note: Named administrators in the email correspondence—including Alayna Session-Goins (Associate Dean of Students & Director of Campus Life), Vince Greer (Dean), Sandra Vasquez (Vice President for Student Affairs), Stephanie Hannant (Dean), and Gabriella Tempestoso (Associate Dean)—were all involved in the case.
[48] Adeyeri, O. "Apparent Outcome" section, Comprehensive Documentation: "A new class president was elected, campaigning on a platform to improve the school's career and computing accessibility—issues, as well as inclusivity, I had persistently highlighted."
[49] Adeyeri, O. "Apparent Outcome" section, Comprehensive Documentation: "Because of October 6th and subsequent protests and similar to my experience and of others at the time issues of physical harassment at schools, the school did put in place measures to stop physical harassment and things similar to what I experienced."
[50] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript / personal narrative: "I try my best to be like very brief, polite, to understand concerns, and I really do think it's very intentional and to the benefit of some people for things to kind of like go in this direction despite how hard I try to be like brief, polite, and stuff like that, and to understand concerns."
[51] Adeyeri, O. Comprehensive Documentation of Events at Pitzer College (2021–2022), "Initial Context" and "Broader Community Impact" sections. Includes the full timeline, pattern analysis, broader context of experiences across institutions, and reflection on the widespread nature of similar incidents given small class sizes. Also references: "Students I had spent no more than ten minutes with... acted as if they had an inside view."
[52] Email from Alayna Session-Goins to Olalekan Adeyeri, May 6, 2022: "I am sorry that you have been able to find the time to meet with me this semester, but thank you for documenting your concerns to me in writing. We will look into your concerns that you have listed out below and determine next steps." Note: This confirms the institution received and acknowledged the student's documented complaints.
[53] Email from Phil Zuckerman (former advisor, Dean) to Olalekan Adeyeri, July 8, 2022: "I don't have any thoughts on this matter... If you are experiencing any harassment, please contact OSA." CC'd to Gabriella Tempestoso, Sandra Vasquez, and Vince Greer. Note: This redirected the student back to the same office whose handling of his complaints he had raised concerns about.
[54] Email from Vince Greer to Olalekan Adeyeri, June 5, 2022: "I prefer not to go back and forth and so I will ask my Dean who was previously working with your case to resume an attempt to meet with you. I know you all attempted to meet previously several times but it was unsuccessful so perhaps we can resume this if you are willing and available this time around this summer."
[55] Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Vince Greer, June 5, 2022: "Maybe you just want this to end or ultimately nothing will be done. Two people I tried very hard to avoid conflict with harassed me. I am very worried that this could happen again and things similar to this are occurring."
[56] Adeyeri, O. "Reflection" section, Comprehensive Documentation: "The forced pivot from investigating intimidation to questioning my 'attitude' or 'communication style' felt deeply unfair." And: "My fundamental safety concerns were never properly acknowledged—there were no guarantees or concrete measures established to prevent similar situations from recurring."
[57] Adeyeri, O. "Moving Forward and Lessons Learned" section, Comprehensive Documentation: "I've lived in many places across the world for several months, and I've never felt as unsafe as I did here. What made it so scary was the refusal of certain members in the community to acknowledge this issue." Also: "The idea that students I had never met before or barely interacted were physically intimidating me and harassing me, made these concerns very urgent."
[58] Adeyeri, O. "Broader Community Impact and Values Conflict" section, and Audio transcript / personal narrative: "They probably inflated the degree of our connection... And then they began to ensure what was going on at the school with those people, even though I had no idea." Also: "I would learn about what I was being accused of or that there was a problem from people outside of the school, despite asking everyone."
[59] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript, analysis of text message behavior: "I wasn't asked at any moment to, like, click on something. It was just someone trying to, like, fuck with me... whenever it would respond, it would respond back, and not immediately after, but at, like, random times, which means, like, someone's reading it and deciding to respond. It's not just, like, they send a bot."
[60] Adeyeri, O. "Reflection on My Experience" document, "Academic Department Issues" section: "I attempted to declare a combined major in Computer Science and Physics, which required departmental approvals across consortium campuses... I contacted another department to confirm remaining requirements and equivalencies. Despite having approval from the first department, this communication with the second department was flagged as 'harassment' by some faculty, though no examples or specific guidance were provided."
[61] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript / personal narrative: "He insisted that they send out a safety alert, and they sent a safety alert... that said, like, if you receive an email from this person, please forward it to this dean or something like that." Also, from the Involuntary Leave letter [26]: characterization of academic follow-up emails as "dishonest and harassing."
[62] Adeyeri, O. Audio transcript, summary of FERPA records: "The FERPA records were able to confirm that there were many instances of like phantom threats or fake and overblown threats... for instance, like the machine shop or like whatever made him throw a rock at my window and follow me home, or like the professor who said I, I sent too many emails when there weren't even emails or something like that."
[63] Adeyeri, O. "Final Reflective Statement," Comprehensive Documentation: "Their inability to acknowledge my very serious and grave concerns immediately juxtaposed with their sensitivity to my communication style, was I think its own form of complicity, and I think even an active involvement in the issues I expressed through being indicative of an unbalanced cause for concern and by creating an inability for me to address my concerns respectively."
Web-Sourced External References
[64] Bessemer Venture Partners Fellows Program. The 2022 cohort selected 20 students from over 2,000 applications (~1% acceptance rate), connecting third-year undergraduates with engineering/product/data science internships at BVP portfolio companies. Source: https://twitter.com/BessemerVP/status/1547271355539734528.
[65] Pitzer College has approximately 1,178 undergraduates, an average class size of 15–16 students, and a 10:1 student-faculty ratio. 100% of classes are taught by faculty. Pitzer's five official core values are: Social Responsibility, Intercultural Understanding, Interdisciplinary Learning, Student Engagement, and Environmental Sustainability. The mission statement reads: "Pitzer College's mission is to produce engaged, socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education." Sources: pitzer.edu/about/fast-facts; pitzer.edu/about/mission-and-values/; pitzer.edu/documents/spring-2024-fact-sheet-english.
[66] A December 2022 article in The Student Life (the Claremont Colleges' student newspaper) reported on continuing Title IX accountability failures at Pitzer. Title IX Task Force co-chair Professor Sumangala Bhattacharya resigned, calling the lack of progress "disheartening" and criticizing the administration's focus on "top-down messaging" rather than substantive reform. This followed December 2021 revelations of harassment and assault that triggered demands from five student organizations for zero tolerance policies and reevaluation of the Title IX Coordinator. Source: tsl.news/pitzer-title-ix-update-december-2022/; tsl.news/accountability-for-assault-at-pitzer/.
[67] Title IX covers only sex-based discrimination. Under the 2020 Final Rule, schools are legally required to dismiss complaints that don't meet the definition of sexual harassment for Title IX purposes. Dismissed complaints may be referred to other offices "in any manner the school deems appropriate under the school's own code of conduct." There is no federal law requiring schools to address non-sex-based harassment with the same procedural rigor as Title IX, creating significant jurisdictional gaps for students reporting non-sexual intimidation or harassment. Source: ed.gov Title IX Final Rule Summary; aauw.org/resources/legal/laf/title-ix/.
[68] Pitzer College's Student Code of Conduct references sanctions "from a warning to being expelled" and outlines circumstances including "when a student's physical or emotional health has become threatened or has become potentially dangerous to others, and/or when the college feels the student may be incapable of making safe healthy decisions." Source: pitzer.edu/offices/student-affairs/staff/student-code-conduct.
[69] A 2020 study published in PubMed Central found that of harassment reports in academe, 34% resulted in no action taken, and 8% triggered retaliation against the reporter. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7064221/.
[70] Under FERPA (34 CFR Part 99), students have an unambiguous right to inspect and review all their education records. Schools must comply within 45 days of a request. "Education records" is defined broadly to include disciplinary records, internal communications, emails, and any notes shared beyond the sole maker. Schools may not charge a fee to search for or retrieve records. Students may file complaints with the Student Privacy Policy Office within 180 days. Source: studentprivacy.ed.gov; U.S. Department of Education FERPA regulations.
[71] The U.S. Department of Education officially defines retaliation against complainants as including "threatening expulsion against any individual who exercises his or her rights" under Title IX or related statutes. Retaliation is independently prohibited even if the underlying complaint is ultimately not sustained. Source: ed.gov/laws-and-policy/civil-rights-laws/protecting-students/retaliation-3.
[72] Professor Jennifer Freyd's DARVO framework (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) describes the institutional pattern of casting complainants as the problem. A Know Your IX survey found that 15% of survivors who reported were punished or threatened by their schools, and 70% experienced adverse effects on safety and privacy after reporting. The American Bar Association reports schools are "more than twice as likely to discipline girls who are survivors than nonsurvivors" for conduct both related and unrelated to their reports. An investigation by Ronan Farrow identified 22 students at 10 schools placed on forced medical leaves of absence, with lawsuits at Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale alleging ADA violations. Sources: dynamic.uoregon.edu (Freyd research); highereddive.com; americanbar.org; marychristieinstitute.org.
[73] The Claremont Colleges consortium enables students to take approximately 6,000 courses at campuses other than their home campus each year, about 16% of total offerings, across over 2,700 courses. Cross-registration is a standard feature of the consortium, with shared academic calendars and registration procedures. Students also share a two-million-volume library, campus safety, and health services. Source: pomona.edu/about/claremont-colleges; cmc.edu/registrar/cross-registration.
[74] The Pitzer College involuntary leave policy is referenced in the Student Handbook, and the Mental Health Hospitalization Guide confirms a re-entry process managed by the Assistant Dean of Students & Case Manager. Forced medical leaves of absence are a documented concern across higher education, with the Mary Christie Institute and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law identifying patterns of students being removed from campus for mental health reasons without adequate due process. Source: pitzer.edu/offices/mental-health-well-being/crisis-support/mental-health-hospitalization-guide; marychristieinstitute.org/analysis-forced-medical-leaves-of-absence/.
[75] Public records confirm the departure of at least three administrators named in the narrative. Sandra Vasquez (VP for Student Affairs, appointed July 2021) departed by mid-2023; an interim replacement served during 2023–24 before Andrés Fernández was appointed VP in July 2024. Vince Greer (AVP & Dean of Students, appointed December 2021) returned to Claremont McKenna College in 2023. Gabriella Tempestoso (Associate Dean of Students) departed and is now employed as a Crisis Therapist in Oceanside, CA. Additionally, President Melvin Oliver retired in February 2023. Sources: pitzer.edu/news/sandra-vasquez-vp-student-affairs; pitzer.edu/news/vince-greer-assistant-vp-dean-students; cmc.edu profile; pitzer.edu/student-life/student-affairs-staff/.
[76] Pitzer student government elections during 2022–2023 reflected themes of accessibility and inclusivity. The spring 2022 election was scrapped due to misconduct allegations. In the April 2023 election (34.7% turnout, nearly 4x the prior year), VP of Diversity candidate Lola Latan campaigned to "normalize the experiences of the vast BIPOC, neurodivergent student population" and specifically mentioned academic accommodations and tuition payment accessibility. Source: tsl.news/pitzer-senate-elections-scrapped/; tsl.news/harvey-mudd-pitzer-cmc-release-election-results/.
[77] On October 1, 2022, a hazing incident occurred on CMC's campus involving the CMS men's soccer team subjecting new members to acts described as "demeaning and potentially dangerous." On October 6, 2022, CMS Athletics launched a formal investigation in partnership with CMC and Harvey Mudd Deans of Students Offices. By October 12, the entire fall 2022 season was canceled, and CMC Dean of Students Dianna Graves issued a campus-wide statement emphasizing that events must be "conducted in a safe, responsible, inclusive manner." Source: edsource.org/claremont-mckenna-harvey-mudd-cancels-mens-soccer-season-over-hazing-incident; tsl.news coverage.
[78] In spring 2022, a series of incidents involving harassment and bullying on the Pitzer Student-Talk listserv led to the platform being temporarily paused and later returned with an opt-in policy and community guidelines. A 2019 MoveOn petition accused Pitzer of failing to protect a Black trans student from hate mail and alleged that Dean Vasquez retaliated. Sources: tsl.news/pitzer-student-talk-changes/; sign.moveon.org/petitions/drop-investigation-protect.
[79] In December 2021, a 20-page public document detailing allegations of abuse by a Pitzer student triggered demands from five student organizations for zero tolerance policies and reevaluation of the Title IX Coordinator. President Oliver established a Title IX Task Force in response. Source: tsl.news/accountability-for-assault-at-pitzer/.
[80] Jeffrey D. Groves is confirmed as the Louisa and Robert Miller Professor of Literature at Harvey Mudd College and served as the inaugural faculty director of the HMC Makerspace from 2020 to 2023. He previously served as VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty (2012–2017). Phil Zuckerman is Professor of Sociology and Secular Studies at Pitzer College (since 1998) and has held the title of Associate Dean since 2019. He founded the nation's first Secular Studies program in 2011. Sources: hmc.edu/hsa/faculty-staff/groves/; pitzer.edu/academics/faculty/phil-zuckerman; pitzer.edu/documents/phil-zuckerman-cv-june-2025.
[81] The summer of 2022 featured exceptional heat waves across Southern California. Claremont's average summer highs are 88–90°F, but 2022 brought multiple events with inland areas reaching 107°F+, including NWS forecasts of 101°F specifically for Claremont. CNN described the September 2022 event as potentially "one of the worst heat waves on record, period, in any month." Sources: npr.org (June 2022 heat wave coverage); cnn.com (September 2022); weatherspark.com/h/y/1933/2022; nbcpalmsprings.com.
[82] Pitzer College's total cost of attendance for 2025–26 is 64,888 tuition/fees + 2,754 books/personal = 82,000–$83,000. Sources: usnews.com/best-colleges/pitzer-college-1172/paying; pitzer.edu/documents/spring-2024-fact-sheet-english; univstats.com/colleges/pitzer-college/cost-of-attendance/.
[83] The Harvey Mudd College Makerspace is an 8,000 sq. ft. student-run facility on the first floor of the McGregor Computer Science Center, serving over 1,200 community members annually. It is accessible to "7C students, faculty and staff" 24/7. A suspension/ban policy explicitly exists: "Failing to successfully complete the quiz prior to use is an honor code violation, and may result in a suspension or ban from the Makerspace." Sources: hmc.edu/makerspace/; make.hmc.edu/.
Additional Supporting Documentation
Note: Items D, E, F, and M have been withheld from this version.
A. Pitzer College Unofficial Transcript confirming Good Standing, Cumulative GPA of 3.71, with courses across Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Economics, Engineering, Music, Writing, Religious Studies, and Digital Media Studies.
B. Readmission Application to Pitzer College, submitted circa March 2025, including the student's account of withdrawal reasons and conditions for return.
C. Email from Dean Readmission Office outlining return requirements: "You will not be able to audit, attend or register for any course, attend any Pitzer or The Claremont Colleges events, lectures or programs, without re-applying to the Dean of Students and providing medical support from attending professionals."
G. Email from Alayna Session-Goins to Olalekan Adeyeri, April 28, 2022: "I am sorry that I did not reflect this on my calendar for Friday April 29th when you cancelled Thursdays meeting and rescheduled on Friday." And May 2, 2022: "I am sorry we missed each other on Thursday. I logged in two times and you were not present in my Zoom room, so I left." Note: These emails document the meeting scheduling difficulties from the administration's perspective.
H. Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 19, 2022: "I don't have a list and I was hoping that you could proceed with the investigation. I would like to know why Skyler decided to do the things I listed." Note: This documents the student's request for an investigation to proceed.
I. Email from Vince Greer to Olalekan Adeyeri, May 9, 2022: "If you do not feel comfortable meeting with Alayna for any reason please let us know and I am happy to find time to meet again this week but it is imperative to recognize we have a formal process we must follow when dealing with a conduct case."
J. Resume/CV listing awards including: Evercore Sophomore M&A Event Participant (2024), Kleiner Perkins Engineering Fellow Finalist (2022), Bessemer Venture Partners Fellow Participant (2022), ASNR Cornelius G. Dyke Award (2021), Twitter Product Pitch 2nd Place (2020), Ripple Ventures Fellow (2020), UPS Hackathon High Tech Award Winner (2019), James E. Casey and George D. Smith Scholarship (2019), Mass Dept. of Education John and Abigail Adams Scholarship (2018).
K. Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Phil Zuckerman, July 8, 2022: "I can show you a .pdf of the feedback from my teammates in a course I took. I am not a bad student. If this happens again, what should I do considering how reporting this has gone? I literally go to the apartment and to class and I'm concerned considering this and how reporting it has went."
L. Pitzer College annual tuition, referenced in source documents as a "89,792–$90,742 total cost of attendance. See [82].
N. Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Jeff Groves, July 13, 2022, 8:00 AM: "Also, thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this by taking the time to email me about this, and for offering to meet with me." Note: This demonstrates the student's consistently courteous tone even when disputing the characterization of his actions.
O. Email from Olalekan Adeyeri to Deans, May 20, 2022: "I don't know if this is worth mentioning. The person who I was a roommate with for 3 days, opened something that belonged to me and placed something inside of it." Note: Additional documented concern about roommate behavior.