Federal Judge Rejects Bias Suit Against Portland State

A federal judge in Oregon has rejected a race and national origin discrimination suit by a student who failed a final chemistry exam after Portland State University officials determined he had sent someone else to take the test.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Paul Papak ruled that Mohamad Hariri had offered no evidence of a discriminatory motive and said the university had a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for his zero on the test and a D in the course.

Hariri, who is an Arab American of Lebanese and Syrian ancestry, earned a bachelor’s degree in general science at Portland State in 2013 and applied unsuccessfully to dental programs. In an effort to raise his GPA, he then enrolled as a postbaccalaureate student to retake four courses he had done poorly in, the decision said.

The grading and cheating dispute involved a large chemistry class where someone, whom the proctor did not recognize, handed in the final exam with Hariri’s name, according to the decision. The apparent ringer did not show the required photo ID and left the examination room without talking to the professor.

Hariri insisted he had taken the test himself, but Portland State retained a forensic document examiner who opined that someone else wrote the exam. Its senior student conduct officer investigated, sustained the allegation of cheating and imposed a one-year suspension.

Hariri again applied to several dental schools, all of which rejected him.

His suit alleged violations of Title VI and his due process rights.