Columbia Students Reveal University Missteps In Sexual Assault Investigations
Category: COLLEGE
A HuffPost examination of Zachary's case, as well as those by two others students -- based on hundreds of pages of Columbia's investigative reports and emails exchanged between university officials and students -- shows that Emma Sulkowicz's case is not an isolated incident. These documents show that both before and after the investigation of Sulkowicz's alleged sexual assault, Columbia has taken missteps in handling other cases, failing to adhere to federal guidance and standards.

Title IX, the federal law that mandates gender equality in education, advises sexual assault cases be fully resolved within 60 days of the initial reporting. Columbia's policy goes further, stating that investigations will take no longer than 30 days and that once the investigation is over, a hearing will wrap up a case two weeks later.

According to university documents, Zachary's case took seven months. In another case from 2014, a transgender Columbia sophomore said xe* waited over six months for the investigation to be resolved. And, Sarah, a rising senior, filed two sexual assault cases in 2013. One took four months to resolve; the other took six.
By Tyler Kingkade and Jon Strauss, 2015-06-15