Lawsuit: This Is A College, Not A Convent

A 23-year-old woman expelled from a Roman Catholic college for spending the night off-campus with her fiance has sued the school for invasion of privacy and civil rights violations.

Aliya Peerzada said officials at Thomas Aquinas College, a 225-student co-educational school north of Los Angeles, selectively enforced the rules.

“She enrolled in a college. She didn’t enroll in a convent,” said Andrew Koenig, her attorney.

The college teaches the work of Plato and Karl Marx, and, although it is open to all faiths, bases its student conduct rules on doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.

There are curfews, dress codes and strict rules against alcohol use or fraternizing in the dormitories of the opposite sex.

Students can stay off campus at night only if they sign out.