Judge Orders Oakland U. to House Student With Disability

Oakland University discriminated against a disabled student by refusing to let him live in a campus residence hall, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Micah Fialka-Feldman had sued the Michigan public university a year ago after it declined him access to a dorm, requiring him to take two-hour-long bus rides to get to and from his non-credit classes in a program for cognitively disabled students. Oakland argued that its policies limited dormitory access to degree-seeking students. But U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Duggan ruled Tuesday that since Fialka-Feldman's disability restricts him to the non-degree program, the university's policy amounts to discrimination on the basis of his disability. A university spokesman told The Detroit News that its officials were weighing their options in response to the judge's ruling.