Emerson College in Boston has already found itself on the wrong side of Title IX compliance after being accused of mishandling sexual assault complaints. Some investigating by the campus paper has found that there was also a complaint against the school (and 99 other New England colleges and universities) alleging insufficient athletic opportunities for female students.
The mass complaint format is not new. We have seen it in states including Washington, California, Idaho. All these were aimed at high schools. The commonality is that they have all been done by an entity calling itself The Old Guys for Title IX. Friend of the blog Herb Dempsey, who counts himself as a member of The Old Guys, spoke to the Emerson paper about the complaints--all of which have been dismissed. The Office of Civil Rights does not believe the complaints have sufficient evidence to prove denial of opportunities. And based on the comments of students at Emerson who were interviewed in the article, they don't feel wanting either. The numbers show the opportunities provided to female students are not proportional to their representation in the undergraduate population. The participation gap (based on 2013 numbers) is 16% or 39 opportunities.
This does not mean Emerson is not in compliance, but we don't actually know that because, now that the complaint has been dismissed by OCR, they don't have to prove either prong two or three. As an Emerson alum (from the grad program admittedly), it didn't seem that athletics was an integral part of the Emerson experience. This, of course, does not mean that the female students are less interested than the male students who attend the liberal arts school. But Emerson should be required to ask, at least. If, as one student contends, students are more focused on the arts (and that is somehow more applicable to female students) and everyone is fine with what exists right now, it should not be too difficult for Emerson to assess that. With such a drastic participation gap, Emerson is setting itself up for future problems. Even if the complaint by The Guys was not successful, a future student complaint might be considered by OCR. And if Emerson has not chosen a prong and has data at the ready to prove it is indeed in compliance, it will be vulnerable. It continues to astound me that athletic departments are not crossing their t's and dotting their i's when it comes to Title IX. It does not matter if the program is not "big time" or even if it is a smaller part of student life, it still has to comply with the law.
Showing posts with label Emerson College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emerson College. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
OCR to Investigate Sexual Assault Complaints Against Emerson College
The Department of Education has confirmed that it will investigate three Title IX complaints filed against Emerson College in Boston, in which female students allege that the school failed to promptly respond to reported sexual violence. The complaints, filed last October -- and one of which we blogged about then -- have been consolidated into a single investigation, the scope of which will reportedly include interviews with the complainants and with college staff and potentially a visit to the college.
One of the students' complaints alleges that she was raped at an off-campus party by an Emerson College student and an MIT student, and was later dissuaded from reporting it to the police by Emerson college staff. The college moreover failed to take any action against the accused Emerson student, allowing him to attack her a second time. The second student alleged that she was raped by a fellow student, and when she reported it a year later, the investigation was mishandled and insensitive. The third student also alleged that the college failed to adequately investigate a reported sexual assault, as well as denied her academic accommodations that would have helped her get through a stressful time.
OCR will investigate these claims to determine whether the college complied with its obligation under Title IX to end sexual violence, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects.
One of the students' complaints alleges that she was raped at an off-campus party by an Emerson College student and an MIT student, and was later dissuaded from reporting it to the police by Emerson college staff. The college moreover failed to take any action against the accused Emerson student, allowing him to attack her a second time. The second student alleged that she was raped by a fellow student, and when she reported it a year later, the investigation was mishandled and insensitive. The third student also alleged that the college failed to adequately investigate a reported sexual assault, as well as denied her academic accommodations that would have helped her get through a stressful time.
OCR will investigate these claims to determine whether the college complied with its obligation under Title IX to end sexual violence, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
A new complaint and activist connections across colleges
The last year plus has been a watershed one in terms of the attention to and awareness of sexual assault on college campuses. It is difficult--and likely unnecessary--to figure out which set of complaints, which campus activism set off the firestorm. And new complaints are emerging at a fairly steady pace. Erin wrote about the group of complainants that came forward at UConn just this week. We can also add Emerson College to the list of schools dealing with complaints. A student came forward this fall stating in a complaint that the school had taken a long time to investigate her claim of sexual assault against a fellow student in the fall of 2012 and that during that time he assaulted her again. The college responded to Sarah Tedesco's inquiries about the process by telling her to stop making such a big deal out of it even as she continued having to live in the same residence hall and when she began receiving anonymous threats. They encouraged her to handle the matter the internally and not involve local police. The school eventually found the accused not responsible. Tedesco is joined in the complaint by other Emerson students who also recount some serious mishandling of cases and some pretty heinous judicial processes.
Tedesco, like many other women and men who have been part of the complaint process nationwide, have joined others across the country to raise awareness not just of their respective schools, but of the problems institutions of higher education seem to have with informing their own staff about how to handle cases of sexual assault and harassment and creating a non-hostile environment on their campuses.
This solidarity has been quite productive and, I would imagine, quite healing for survivors. One of these women, Angela Epifano, a former Amherst College student who came forward with her story of sexual assault and the subsequent mishandling of her case, spoke about the new community that has emerged in just the past year around activism to fight sexual violence on campuses. "I never thought it would go viral" she said of her account in the school paper. But the visibility of her case created greater visibility for others. One of the women who is part of the complaint at University of North Carolina, Annie Clark, has been part of the rapidly growing community of activists who have been communicating through various channels for less than a year.
"Before this movement, I had never even heard of Occidental College. Now, I've helped them write their own complaint, and I now have best friends there. The connections have been amazing."
While it is hard to enjoy the growth of the movement because it means so many people have been victims, it is encouraging to see effective activism at work.
Tedesco, like many other women and men who have been part of the complaint process nationwide, have joined others across the country to raise awareness not just of their respective schools, but of the problems institutions of higher education seem to have with informing their own staff about how to handle cases of sexual assault and harassment and creating a non-hostile environment on their campuses.
This solidarity has been quite productive and, I would imagine, quite healing for survivors. One of these women, Angela Epifano, a former Amherst College student who came forward with her story of sexual assault and the subsequent mishandling of her case, spoke about the new community that has emerged in just the past year around activism to fight sexual violence on campuses. "I never thought it would go viral" she said of her account in the school paper. But the visibility of her case created greater visibility for others. One of the women who is part of the complaint at University of North Carolina, Annie Clark, has been part of the rapidly growing community of activists who have been communicating through various channels for less than a year.
"Before this movement, I had never even heard of Occidental College. Now, I've helped them write their own complaint, and I now have best friends there. The connections have been amazing."
While it is hard to enjoy the growth of the movement because it means so many people have been victims, it is encouraging to see effective activism at work.
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