Emory is still under Title IX investigation
Emory is the only institution in GA on the federal government’s watch list, which includes 54 other colleges across the country
On March 1st the US Department of Education (DOE) released a list of colleges and universities with ongoing investigations regarding Title IX and sexual violence. Emory University was the only college in GA on the list.
Fifty-four other schools are included on the list including Vanderbilt, Pennsylvania State, Dartmouth, Florida State and others. This list reflects institutions that have been under investigation since May 1, 2014 and will be regularly updated and made available for public review.
Assistant Secretary for DOE’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Catherine Lhamon said: “I also want to make it clear that a college or university’s appearance on this list and being the subject of a Title IX investigation in no way indicates at this stage that the college or university is violating or has violated the law.”
Investigations can begin because of complaints brought to or the initiative of the OCR. No case specific details about the institutions under review were provided, including what specifically elicited the investigation or what has been found thus far.
The goal in releasing this information is primarily to increase transparency about federal government’s enforcement activates around issues of sexual assault on campuses across the country which was a key goal of President Obama’s Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.
The report did say that schools who violate Title IX and refuse to address problems identified by OCR can lose federal funding or be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for further action. So insomuch as we have not seen any announcements of Emory facing such repercussions we can infer that there is still work to be done as the investigation continues.
As a part of a three-year initiative started in 2014 all faculty at Emory have undergone Title IX training. Staff members in programming offices across campus can also be a resource for students seeking guidance or support around issues related to Title IX.
Bottomline – if you have questions or feel like you could use some help it exist and any number of people are willing and able to help. Do not stay silent.
There are trained and appointed Deputy Title IX Coordinators in each school students can report to. Priscilla Echols is the Deputy Coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences. Find a complete list here http://sexualmisconductresources.emory.edu/coordinators/.
Students can also reach out to Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA) around campus or attend their weekly meetings Wednesdays 6-7pm in Callaway C203.
Alternatively, they can call the Emory Helpline, anonymous and confidential hotline staffed by Emory students who’ve been trained by CAPS, at 404-727-4357.
The line is open every night from 8:30pm-1:00am. There are also many 24 hour hotlines students can call including the Dekalb Crisis Center at 404-377-1428. The Office of Health Promotion has a more thorough list of resources that can be found here: http://studenthealth.emory.edu/hp/respect_program/get_help/resources.html.