Mentally Impaired Student Wins Housing Claim Against Oakland University

Rochester Hills, MIAn Oakland University (OU) student with a cognitive impairment has won a housing lawsuit against the Michigan institution for not allowing him to live on campus.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Micah Fialka-Feldman, a 25-year-old Huntington Woods student, has a mild cognitive impairment that hinders his ability to read and write. He is enrolled in OU's special education program called OPTIONS, which allows college-aged students with disabilities to take ungraded collegiate classes for the same cost as regular tuition.

In the fall of 2007, Fialka-Feldman made arrangements to stay in an on-campus dorm, only to see the university withdraw its housing offer days before his move-in date. The University claimed that because Fialkas-Feldman is not enrolled in a degree-granting program, he is ineligible for dorm residency.

A recent ruling from US District Judge Patrick J. Duggan found that OU was in violation of the federal disability rights law. Judge Duggan told the Detroit News that the school's assumption that Fialka-Feldman would be unable to follow housing rules "appears to be grounded on prejudice, stereotypes and/or unfounded fear."