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Tag: title ix

  • Swimmer’s Death Highlights Campus Safety Risks

    The University of Missouri takes center stage today as President Tim Wolfe held a news conference to discuss the possibility of hiring impartial investigators to uncover the hidden truths behind the death of student and swimmer Sasha Menu Courey. Courey committed suicide while residing in a mental health institution in Boston in June of 2011, after allegedly being sexually assaulted by up to three UM football players.

    Courey, a native of Toronto, was at the University of Missouri on a swim scholarship. Following the alleged rape, Courey attempted to reach out to campus health and safety personnel, including a rape crisis counselor and campus therapist. In addition to the mental health specialists, Courey also consulted a campus nurse and two doctors. However, these discussions occurred eleven months after the attack that was said to have happened in February of 2010.

    Although Courey consulted campus medical officials, because she did not make a formal report, and because her privacy was legally maintained by healthcare laws, her own parents were unaware of the sexual assault until after her suicide. Upon discovering a reference to the assault in an online chat forum with a rape crisis counselor, the University contacted Courey’s parents in an attempt to ascertain their wishes in regard to opening an investigation. The University did not receive a response from the parents, and felt that they had taken the investigation as far as they could. However, in response to an ESPN report on their program, “Outside the Lines”, University President Wolfe has decided to recommend the hiring of independent counsel to investigate the handling of what he calls, “…a tragic situation that’s personal to me.” He adds that “What’s important to us at the University of Missouri is the safety of our students. We take this very seriously.”

    Although the sincerity of the university President is no doubt appreciated, many are wondering at the absence of comments from University of Missouri Athletics Department Director Mike Alden. After all, Courey was receiving a scholarship for her participation on the university’s swim team.

    The University issued a press release today, attempting to answer a few of the most commonly asked questions concerning the incident at large.

    Image via Youtube

  • CU-Boulder Fines Rapist $75, Makes Him Write Essay

    The University of Colorado at Boulder is facing a Title IX investigation for allegedly mishandling a sexual assault case. Having found a student guilty of “non-consensual sexual intercourse,” the university suspended him for eight months (though they gave him a month to get off campus), made him write a 5-7 page paper reflecting on the incident, and charged him $75.

    Yeah, it’s not a get out of jail free card, exactly, but it’s not far off.

    The victim in the case, Sarah Gilchriese, has taken the university’s leniency up with the feds, alleging a Title IX violation (Title IX is a federal gender equality law). “We intend to conduct a prompt investigation of this complaint,” wrote Thomas Ciaspusci of the federal Office of Civil Rights in a letter to Gilchriese. “If our investigation establishes that there has been a violation of law, we will attempt to negotiate a remedy.” If the office finds a violation, the case may be referred to the Justice Department for prosecution. The university may also have federal funding cut.

    The incident occurred in February and was reported in March, at which point the offender was found guilty and his punishment handed down. While Gilchriese complains that the sentence was unforgivably light, of more immediate concern was the fact that the university failed to remove the guilty party for four weeks. During this time, he repeatedly approached Gilchriese, forcing her to turn to the courts to obtain a restraining order.

    Despite the university’s failure on several counts, Dean of Students Christina Gonzales claims that CU’s Title IX procedures are more than effective. “A lot of universities are replicating our [training] process,” she claims.

    Colorado joins several universities that have had similar embarrassments of late. Southern Cal, Berkeley, UNC, and Swarthmore have all suffered similar complaints, prompting some activists to call for stricter punishments, both for offenders and for the sorts of colleges that think that $75 and a 5-page paper is punishment enough for rape.