A huge part of the college experience is finally being away from our parents, being free to make our own decisions regarding small to very large aspects of our lives. But a huge part of this freedom, too, is keeping ourselves safe. This responsibility falls into the hands of our school, as well, seeing as we are their students, their charges each year. Our school – our home – should be as transparent with us about the resources available to us and their actions that will affect us.
With the start of the new school year, the University of Rochester has come under more direct scrutiny from its students for failing to disclose (until recently) to its student population serious matters that directly affect us. That is, the UofR is under a Title IX investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and has been since May.
This investigation has been a result of the mistreatment of a female student by the administration back in October 2014. Firstly, there was obvious physical mistreatment by our Public Safety officers (ironic, I know), and then even further mistreatment by the administration itself for failing to validate the student’s previous sexual assault claims and subsequently her incident with PubSafe. Then in November 2014, the student sent a letter to the Huffington Post providing details of her mistreatment, and of the hearing that had decided she was not “drunk enough” to have been “incapacitated” and therefore sexually assaulted. (See HuffPo article here).
Certainly this incident alone is enough to criticize the school for its actions and policies. Had the school just treated the student humanely, their Title IX investigation could have been avoided. The administration extended their mistakes, however, by keeping the investigation news quiet, even from their current and future students. I spoke with a few freshman girls a couple weeks ago who had never heard of the student’s case or of the investigation. It took students posting about the case on social media, and a student’s question at a Town Hall Meeting with the President for President Seligman to release any information to the student body. Students finally received an email on September 24 that discussed the University’s concerns about sexual assault and the actions they have taken to provide more resources to students. They even gave a small paragraph shout out to student led movements and groups, like MOVE (Men Against Violence Everywhere) and SEGway (Survivor Empowerment Group). But out of seven small paragraphs in this little email, only one addressed UR’s own investigation. The following paragraphs outlined loosely what President Seligman “plans” to do from here – whether he carries out those plans or not will undoubtedly remain a point of focus.
Before this whole incident, not many students had heard of Title IX, let alone knew what services it could provide. Title IX is a part of the Education Amendments of 1972 that “protects people from sex discrimination in educational programs and activities at institutions, like the University of Rochester, that receive federal financial assistance.” It is an invaluable resource to all students, one that should be widely advertised. It is up to students to stand up for ourselves and to demand that we are treated fairly and humanely.
University of Rochester Title IX Page