In August, as students busied themselves with preparing for the fall semester, the Title IX office released important information regarding recent changes to the college’s Title IX policy and procedure. The changes were summarized in an email to the Swarthmore community on
In an email sent on Sept. 22, President Valerie Smith assured students, faculty and staff that college IX policy would remain in effect despite the rescission of Obama-era guidelines for college investigations of sexual misconduct, which was announced earlier that day by
This August, the Task Force on Sexual Misconduct submitted a 33-page report presenting its findings on campus attitudes and policies related to issues of sexual abuse and violence. Incorporating insights from 16 months’ worth of open dialogue, document-based research and private conversations
Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG. The Task
One student alleged that after someone sexually assaulted her, the school would not move him out of her dormitory. Another alleged that after telling Dean of Students Liz Braun about her assault, Braun never reported it, even though she is required by
The college has fired back in its first full response to a lawsuit filed January 23 by an expelled student. This Friday, the college filed a motion to completely dismiss the complaint filed by John Doe (a pseudonym used by the student), which
On Monday, the college submitted its first response to the lawsuit filed against it last month by a former student. The suit claims that the then-student was wrongfully expelled in a knee-jerk reaction to Title IX and Clery Act complaints filed last
Administrators at all levels allegedly implicated; college vows to fight in court A carefully constructed and vivid picture of the college administration’s reaction to the controversy surrounding its handling of sexual assault last spring emerges from the lawsuit filed by a former
The college is considering instituting a hearing process for sexual assault cases that would not require the complainant to sit in the same room as the respondent, college officials told Phoenix staff in a press conference earlier this week. They also said
After nine months reviewing the college’s sexual misconduct policies, Margolis Healy and Associates (MHA) completed a final report of its recommendations for making the campus safer and ensuring compliance with Title IX, the Clery Act and the Campus SAVE Act. The report
