Bryn Mawr students sue the university over ‘deliberate indifference’ to their disabilities

Ringing the bell at the top of Bryn Mawr College’s first building ahead of graduation is a rite of passage for students.

“You are welcome to ring the Taylor Hall bell after you’ve completed all your work,” the school’s website tells students. “The bell’s rope will be available during finals week for you if you are interested in doing some celebratory ringing!”

But not all students are able to participate, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week that contends that the private, women’s liberal arts school in Lower Merion demonstrates a “deliberate indifference to the needs of students with disabilities.”

The entryway to Taylor Hall includes steps with no ramp, according to the lawsuit, and a “steep” internal staircase makes it impossible for students who use a wheelchair or crutches to reach the bell.

“Perhaps nothing is as telling as the total exclusion of disabled students from participation in one of the college’s oldest and most well-known traditions,” the complaint says.

Six current and former Bryn Mawr students sued the school, alleging multiple violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is a proposed class action that asks for changes in the college’s accommodations policies and unspecified monetary damages.

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The complaint says Bryn Mawr particularly fails students with “invisible disabilities‚” conditions and diseases that can’t be seen externally. The college allegedly did not provide adequate gluten-free options, extended testing times, accessible dorm rooms, and virtual access to classes, among other issues, to students who required such accommodations.

Samara Sit, Bryn Mawr’s chief communication officer, said in a statement that the school cares deeply for all students, including those with a disability.

“The College is committed to the full participation of all people in all aspects of campus life,” Sit said. “We support eligible students, faculty, staff, and visitors with disabilities through a wide range of accommodations.”

In the lawsuit, the students describe the ways the school allegedly failed to accommodate their needs.

Hope Richards-Cordell, who has celiac disease, a gluten sensitivity, informed the college of her condition when she enrolled and paid for a meal plan that promised three meals a day, according to the complaint.

But Richards-Cordell’s problems obtaining food she could safely eat started on her first day as a student in fall 2021, according to the suit, when she wasn’t granted access to a specialized “gluten-free room” for dining. It took the college more than three weeks to grant her access, only for the student to learn that there was no hot food offered there at all.

Richards-Cordell ate food that was labeled gluten-free from the main food area, frequently vomiting after meals because of cross contamination. She became sick and failed two classes in her first semester, eventually taking medical leave.

When she returned to the college in spring 2023, the gluten-free room only had hot food on weekday evenings, limited to plain grilled chicken with rice and a vegetable. When students inquired whether the school could provide all of the gluten-free offerings from the main area, just prepared to ensure no cross contamination, administrators responded that it was impossible because the kitchen was “short staffed,” the lawsuit says.

In addition, other gluten-free offerings were “not only unhealthy, but downright harmful to students’ health,” the suit says. The complaint includes an image of gluten-free waffles covered in mold.

“Richards-Cordell fell ill and frequently vomited in response to food labeled ‘gluten-free’ but that had not been protected from cross contamination,” the complaint says.

She withdrew from the school at the end of the semester after having spent more than $1,100 to buy food despite paying for a meal plan.

Other students with ADHD, autism, mental-health challenges, and mobility issues say the college refused to accommodate their disabilities. They contend that when they advocated for themselves and other students, they were admonished by Bryn Mawr administrators.

Eden Quainton, a New York-based attorney representing the students, said that despite Bryn Mawr’s wealth, the school’s Access Services office is understaffed and operates without oversight. The school generated more than $50 million in investment income in 2023 on its $1.1 billion endowment, according to the complaint.

The lack of resources is not a testament of budget constraints, the lawsuit says, but of priorities.

“The chief investment officer of the college earns well in excess of $1 million per year, more than four times the budget of the entire Access Services Department, underscoring the unimportance of the needs of divergent students to the Board of Trustees,” the complaint says.