SU faces another Title IX complaint following a visit from the Office for Civil Rights
A graduate student ‘alleges that she has been subject to a hostile work environment…’
Prior to the beginning of the Spring 2017 semester, Syracuse University representative Shelia Johnson-Willis sent an email to the student body explaining that the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) would be coming to campus as part of a federal investigation against the University. The investigation was opened last spring after a former student filed a complaint with the Department of Education, claiming that the University did not “respond promptly or equitably” to their claim when it was filed at SU on May 5, 2015. The investigation against the University opened on June 22.
During the first of two meetings held by the OCR, many students agreed that the University should be looking for ways to more appropriately handle sexual assault cases. Amy Randhawa, Grace Kim and Joy Purcell, three attorneys from the OCR, met with students in Schine to gather input on on-campus resources and how they thought the University has handled the investigation. The second meeting was held this morning, 25 January, at 9:30am.
While the OCR was on campus this week, University officials were made aware of another Title IX complaint that was filed by a graduate student who “alleges that she has been subject to a hostile work environment in her academic department.” As of now, the OCR has not determined the merit of the complaint and will likely be back as part of a federal investigation. More information has not been made readily available to the student body at this time.
In the most recent email from Johnson-Willis, the University has stated that it will handle this allegation and investigation as seriously as the last one.