The university has also retained a former prosecutor and nationally recognized consultant on sexual misconduct issues to guide the campus on issues related to their handling of sexual assault complaints.
If we are to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating sexual assault and violence from this campus, we must all work together," he said. Published: Updated: Bio Jobs: Find a job that changes lives, even yours. Increase Text Size Print this story. Close Comments.
Under Title IX , the federal law that prevents sexual harassment and discrimination in education, schools must do their own investigation into reports of sexual assault on campus, independent of any police investigation. I filed the Honor Code report for harassment and sexual misconduct. My abuser confessed to an administrator that he raped me, and he got suspended from school. The length of his suspension depended on his cooperation — it could have only been a few weeks — but, he refused to cooperate and the university determined he was a threat to my safety, so it was longer.
An official hearing was set for that spring. I was relieved that he was off campus, but I was still reeling emotionally, in a dark place. I was given a student representative, a senior undergraduate who clearly had no experience working with survivors of sexual violence. To my dismay, while managing my case, he gave some detailed notes I had written about my abusive relationship to my parents, without my consent. I never would have wanted them to see something so graphic and disturbing. It deeply upset them to read about my experience.
In the spring of my first year, my abuser's hearing began before the University Hearings Board. Two students, two faculty members, and an administrator heard the case. No one on the panel seemed to have experience with such a case. They heavily implied that a boyfriend could not rape his girlfriend and that staying in such a relationship equated to consenting to any and all sexual activity.
Today, if someone said that to me, I would say: "How dare you blame me for what he did? During the hearing, I testified via Skype, at the school's suggestion, so I didn't have to be in the same room as my abuser. What I didn't realize is what a disadvantage this would put me at — he sat in the room with the people deciding the case, allowing him to interact with them personally in ways I could not.
When I got emotional during the hearing, I was told to stop because I was being "distracting," but he was allowed to cry. Some fellow students testified to his harassing behavior toward me, backing up my account. In addition, two people — his roommate as well as the school administrator — testified that he had confessed to rape. I was sure that with the sheer amount of evidence against him, he would be found guilty. I was wrong. Instead, he was found not guilty of sexual misconduct, just guilty of harassment , a less serious infraction.
When I heard the verdict, I was in shock and felt physically ill. It simply made no sense. I felt betrayed by the school I love. That fall, I returned for my sophomore year with a sense of dread. I knew he would be back sometime that year. I loved the campus, the town, and I had made a solid group of friends. I realized that I was not alone — there were extensive problems with the school's handling of reports of sexual assault.
I also learned that you can file a Title IX complaint with the government when schools mishandle reports of sexual violence. An assistant dean of students joined us in the complaint — she said the school had encouraged her to under-report cases of sexual assault to the government.
Schools are required by law to report such crimes. The university brought in a high-profile consultant to review its policies. The government began an investigation. My abuser was back on campus spring semester. I'd moved out of the dorms, but was still on campus every day, and the thought of running into him made me feel paranoid and sick.
School no longer felt safe for me; I felt a pervasive fear. I was always wondering: Is today the day I'm going to see him? One time, I was eating with a friend and my abuser sat down at a table near us, waiting until we were done, reminding me he was there. Henry Clay Turner, Gambill's attorney, said they still expect federal officials to "conduct a thorough, credible investigation" in response to a complaint they filed in March -- the third against UNC -- claiming the charge was retaliation.
Gambill said she plans to remain vocal about how colleges handle reports of sexual misconduct. The U. Department of Education opened two separate investigations into UNC in response to her complaint, and students at several other colleges have since filed similar complaints against their institutions.
Retaliating against whistleblowers like Gambill is expressly forbidden by federal statute. Carol Folt, interim president of Dartmouth College, will replace Thorp when he steps down on June Coincidentally, Dartmouth was one of several schools accused in of underreporting sexual assaults with a federal Clery Act complaint.
Some of the Dartmouth complainants were hit with their own honor code charges for an anti-rape demonstration, however, the students said they believe their conduct violation charges were in fact retaliation. News U. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism.
0コメント