Katharina Buczek
“Katie’s suicide was completed without planning, and solely in response to the shocking and deeply distressing information she received from Stanford while alone in her room without any support or resources.”
On top of the wrongful death claim, the lawsuit has also charged Stanford University– as well as the school’s president, deans, association deans, vice provost, and general counsel– with Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress and other related actions.
In a statement initially released on November 25 and updated on December 1, the university vehemently denied playing a part in any wrongdoing.
“The Stanford community continues to grieve Katie’s tragic death, and we sympathize with her family for the unimaginable pain that Katie’s passing has caused them. However, we strongly disagree with any assertion that the university is responsible for her death. The complaint brought by the Meyer family, unfortunately, contains allegations that are false and misleading.”
According to the statement, the university claims that after Katie was informed of her disciplinary review, the Office of Community Standards (OCS) offered her “an advisor to work with her throughout the process and told her she could have a support person of her choosing with her in any meeting or conversation with OCS.”
Stanford also refuted the claim that OCS had not communicated with Katie prior to February 28– the evening she took her life.
The statement detailed how days earlier, the head of OCS “informed Katie that a decision would be made by February 28 whether to proceed to a hearing.”
Then, the twenty-one-year-old was reportedly given until that date to provide any additional information for consideration.
“Katie provided no information, and OCS informed her on the evening of February 28 that the matter would move to a hearing.”
In terms of what was included in the email correspondence, the university alleges that Katie was “explicitly told” that the notice was not a conclusive determination that she had done anything wrong. Stanford also maintains that OCS reportedly offered to meet with Katie the discuss the matter further.
“She was also given a number to call for immediate support and was specifically told that this resource was available to her twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week,” the statement added.
