Friday, October 2, 2009

Federal housing agency alleges Millikin University discriminated against blind student

Chicago Tribune
By Sara Olkon
Tribune reporter
October 2, 2009

Millikin University, a small, private college in Decatur, faces federal housing discrimination charges for allegedly refusing to allow a blind student with epilepsy to live in a dormitory with her trained service dog, officials with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said Thursday.A spokeswoman for the university, which has about 2,300 undergraduate students, denied the charges."The University acted appropriately and in no way discriminated against the student," spokeswoman Amy Hodges said in a statement. HUD brought the charge on behalf of Catherine Nielsen, who in 2006 was a Millikin student. Nielsen obtained a service dog named River from a nonprofit organization to assist her in the event she suffered an epileptic seizure. Nielsen could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Full Story: www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-hud-violation-02-oct02,0,932443.story

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