Category: Title IX

Tuesday, May 18th, a former Baylor volleyball player filed a lawsuit against Baylor University claiming she was raped by multiple football players in 2012.  The lawsuit asserts Baylor violated Title IX which is a federal law which prevents sex discrimination in the educational setting. Sex discrimination can include rape and sexual assault.  Schools that received federal funding are subject to Title IX’s requirements.

The plaintiff claims the Baylor football team engaged in a practice of hazing which involved freshmen football recruits bringing freshman women to house parties, hosted by members of the football team, and subsequently drugging and then gang raping the women.  The plaintiff alleges that photos and videos of several, semi-conscious girls were circulated amongst the football team. According to ESPN, “The lawsuit says a 21-second videotape of two female Baylor students being gang-raped by several football players circulated among the team.”

Stanford University has ended its professional relationship with an attorney, Crystal Riggins, who spoke out publicly against the university’s internal process for handling sexual assault complaints.  Riggins was one of six attorneys who provided legal guidance to students and was the only attorney who exclusively represented accusers.  The university provides attorneys for students involved in sexual assault complaints under Title IX, a federal law that protects victims of sexual assault on college campuses.

In a New York Times article on December 29, Riggins expressed frustration about Stanford’s requirement that a three-member panel unanimously find an accused student guilty of sexual assault.  “It is very difficult to get a 3-0 decision from a panel, and these young women are terrified and traumatized and just want it to be done,” said Riggins.

A former student at Indiana University Bloomington has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, claiming that the university failed to properly handle and investigate her report of being sexually assaulted.  Hailey Rail was an 18-year-old freshman at the time of the assault.  Immediately following the incident, Rail went to the hospital for examination, filed a report with the police, and made a complaint to the university.  Federal guidelines recommend that complaints of campus sexual assault be investigated within 60 days to protect the students involved.  IU took nearly twice that amount of time to investigate Rail’s complaint.  The university claims the delay was necessary to the case due to holiday breaks and to interview more than 30 witnesses.  Ultimately, Rail’s assailant was found not guilty.

The U.S. Department of Education has received four complaints from women alleging that their college universities mishandled their sexual assault complaints.  The complaints are against American University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Indiana University Bloomington, and Monmouth University.  The Department of Education has not released any details on the claims as they are under investigation and being kept private to protect the students involved.

Florida State University has reached a settlement in a Title IX lawsuit with a former student who claimed that the university failed to properly investigate allegations that she was raped by former football quarter back Jameis Winston. The settlement was announced the day before Winston’s accuser, Erica Kinsman, was scheduled to give a deposition in the case. FSU President John Thrasher released the statement, “Although we regret we will never be able to tell our full story in court, it is apparent that a trial many months from now would have left FSU fighting over the past rather than looking toward its very bright future.” FSU is making a five-year commitment to sexual assault awareness and prevention, and will publish annual reports over the next five years about these programs. The university has formed a Sexual Assault Task Group, hired a full-time Title IX coordinator, added six positions to improve campus safety, and now requires all incoming freshmen to complete an online course that encourages them make more informed choices about sex and relationships.