Cecilia Palumbo

16 December 2022

In 1973, President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law, which asserts that no person should face discrimination on the basis of sex through exclusion from any activity or educational program that receives federal reserves.[i] The original intent was to eradicate disparities between treatment in men’s and women’s NCAA sports along with initiating a culture of inclusion and equality among sexes. Later, in the 1990’s, the government expounded that Title IX extended to sexual harassment and sexual assault on the grounds that such disorderly conduct impeded access to equal education.[ii] Title IX’s prohibition allowed a space for students, especially women, to feel comfortable expressing discontent regarding sexual assault, gender-based bias, and other maltreatment. Every federally funded campus is obligated to adopt grievance procedures that enable students to file a report for any gender-based discrimination including sexual harassment and assault. Furthermore, every individual is given the right to an impartial investigation and appeal process. [iii]

Although Title IX has carefully outlined policies and procedures that give a clear understanding of how higher education should handle complaints, this has not fully prevented universities from mishandling the application and enforcement of the law. There is also a lack of consequence for universities that neglect to provide proper repercussion for the accused. Title IX has no provision that holds schools accountable for improperly managing complaints; as a result, it leaves in its wake a cycle of abandoned assault reports and perpetrators walking free. Accused persons should face greater consequences for their actions. Lastly, schools should be more proactive about compensating students that have suffered due to the administration’s mismanagement of sexual misconduct cases.

In 2017, Purdue University came under fire when a complainant filed a sexual assault report against a fraternity member. Both the victim and the perpetrator in question wished to remain anonymous with the respective pseudonyms Nancy Roe and John Doe. The alleged assault took place at a party in which Nancy Roe had been intoxicated and consumed the equivalence of 18 drinks, some of which were served to her by John Doe. The accused walked Roe back to her residency and had intercourse with her. Directly afterwards, Doe recorded their conversation because he claimed he knew that she would later insist that what happened was non-consensual. Roe filed an assault claim at the end of the week and recounted that she was too inebriated to consent. The Title IX office at Purdue investigated the incident and concluded that John Doe was guilty of sexual exploitation for recording Roe without her consent but was innocent of sexual assault. John Doe’s punishment included a 10-page essay on the importance of asking for consent before sex and sexual exploitation. Roe, on the other hand, was expelled then given a two-year suspension for allegedly making a false statement. The administration did not believe she was “incapacitated” as she had originally stated in the report. The administration reasoned that Roe and Doe walked back to her dorm; if she was able to walk then she was not drunk enough to label the intercourse as non-consensual.[iv][v][vi] In addition, they judged her to be an unreliable witness as she depended on her friends and other deponents to affirm her story since she was too drunk to fully recall every detail.[vii] When Purdue’s lawyers played the recording, Roe’s speech was slurred, and Doe’s voice remained clear and comprehensible. After Roe was found guilty, she transferred to a different university, effectively rendering her incapable of graduating on time. [viii]

The following year, Roe appealed her case and filed a lawsuit against the school. In 2022, Purdue was found guilty of failing to provide due process. The jury concluded that the university both violated and disregarded Roe’s rights. Roe was granted 10,000 dollars as compensation for the damages and trauma Purdue subjected her to. The basis of the new conclusion was that Purdue violated Title IX by giving the plaintiff unfair punishment and unequal treatment during the original investigation. Purdue discriminated against Roe for being a woman by treating her unfairly and retaliating against her after she sought justice for her assault. The original report exposed there was an unwritten rule in Purdue’s regulations that allowed women to face consequences if their stories did not meet the standard of school administrators who make the final call. This unequal treatment is evidently a clear violation of Title IX, and Purdue perpetuated the notion that women’s voices should be stifled.[ix][x]

Purdue should have faced more consequences for the way they approached the case. The severity of Roe’s punishment compared to the accused is evidence of their lack of mindfulness. Their original decision sends the message that sexual assault is not a serious offense on their campus. An alleged assailant was given a 10-page paper on why sexual assault is wrong, whereas the presumed victim was expelled. This was an extremely blatant form of gender bias, and it highlights how sexism has become a normality, one that is undeserving of repercussion. The university decision makers were quick to pick apart and admonish Roe’s story, meanwhile Doe was able to walk away unscathed. Furthermore, a university should not adopt a rule that allows for a victim to be punished if their assault is not deemed an actual assault by administration. This prematurely determines the fate of every single victim. It sets a precedent that reporting could result in ramifications for the complainant, which is inherently detrimental and could possibly scare away victims from speaking out. The only power a victim can wield after such trauma is their voice, and the last thing universities should be doing is silencing them.

The accused should have experienced more repercussions for his actions; Doe was punished with an essay and Roe was reprimanded with expulsion. In her appeal, Purdue was found guilty of sex discrimination, a direct violation of Title IX, as the disparities between the penalties were evident of malicious intent towards women. Doe should not have been the unscathed individual in the situation. This notion of rapists facing subpar reverberations is unfortunately evident in history. For example, in 2016 Brock Turner was a member of Stanford University’s swim team when he was convicted of three counts of felony assault: intent to assault and rape an inebriated person, penetrating an individual with an object, and penetrating an intoxicated individual with an object. When he was convicted, he faced up to fourteen years in federal prison; however, since he was a Division I swimmer, the judge reduced the time to six years, as it would be less harmful to Turner. The result of the prosecution was six months in jail, the possibility of being released early on good behavior, and three years of probation upon freedom. During his trial, Turner’s father pleaded with the judge in a letter that described the assault as “20 minutes of action” and disturbingly stated the incident is destroying his son’s life.[xi] His description of the rape is intensely condescending and mitigates the severity of the crime. Moreover, he only acknowledges his son’s future with no regard to the victim’s permanent trauma and sequestered bodily autonomy. Both situations support the trend of rapists avoiding the sentencing they deserve.

Although Nancy Roe was granted a degree of compensation for how she was treated, she was still forced to endure years of trials in order to secure basic human rights. Despite the jury ruling in favor of Roe, they failed to mention that she qualified for reparations. She was still given financial compensation; however, it was arguably not adequate in light of the trauma she faced. This was further emphasized by Purdue’s stubborn, unmoving stance on their Title IX regulations and how they fervently postulated that the judge made the wrong decision. It is deplorable how an entire institution was unable to own up to their actions despite being found guilty in a court of law; not only does their statement insult the validity of the judge’s decision, but it is also symbolic of how sexual assault is inherently downplayed and the victim is seldom ever granted proper justice.

Amendments for Title IX have been supported by many universities around the country. Namely, American University hit the spotlight when students from It’s On Us, a sexual assault awareness and education organization, arranged a walk out in protest of insufficient action from the school regarding sexual assault reports. In order to make the campus a safer environment, activists urged that the administration start respecting victims and giving credence to their stories. Around a thousand students signed a list of demands that ultimately present the integration of a Survivor’s Bill of Rights. The law would expand on Title IX’s precedent by emphasizing the need for accessible resources to aid survivors. It would also include an enhanced set of survivor rights to further protect victims. In addition to the bill, students have advised the university to integrate trauma-informed training led by third-party facilitators such as Its On Us and other operations with similar purposes. They also requested counselors who specialize in sexual violence and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to be available for student use. Lastly, students called for the Title IX website to be updated on a monthly basis with informative guidelines on the Title IX process.[xii] Society is not prioritizing this issue as it should, despite there being an evident need for change.

The demand for change is rampant all over the country, including here at the University of Pittsburgh. The school has issued crime reports for three campus related assaults so far in the Fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. The third reported assault took place in a stairwell in the Cathedral of Learning at around 4pm in the late afternoon of October 3^rd, 2022. This sparked an uprising amongst students as they began to stage protests outside of the famed academic building. The university hosted a student town hall meeting in response to student’s safety concerns; the meeting was attended by the Student Governing Board, Pitt Police, Student Affairs, and the Office for Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion. Beyond increasing security and cameras, students demanded more action. There was discussion on targeting Greek Life in the efforts of prevention, as it fosters a great deal of rape culture. However, panelists revealed there is no current required sexual violence education for sororities and fraternities. The proposed solution by activists was to include a one credit course that follows the same algorithm of the Anti-Black Racism course. Student representatives also emphasized that 90% of rapes go unreported, alluding to the fact that the current Title IX office historically does not do enough to support victims of sexual violence; students feel as if nothing will come out of reporting. [xiii] Crime alerts are also not an accurate measure for students to go off when considering the frequency of assaults on campus, as they are not issued for every case. After the council meeting, students claimed they were unsatisfied with the panel’s answers to their questions and critiqued that panelists were using systems that were already integrated as response to concerns. The issue that led to the town meeting in the first place was that those systems were not adequate.[xiv][xv]

A common misconception about Title IX, and many feminists led movements, is that it promotes negative propaganda to disadvantage men. The very essence of Title IX is to create an environment where both sexes are presented with equal opportunity and fair treatment; it protects everyone. Purdue misinterpreted and manipulated Title IX in order to weaponize it against Roe in a court of law. The institution’s attorneys argued that Roe’s claims were insufficiently filed under Title IX because the false statement rule is applicable to all persons. This was clearly a weak attempt to dodge the accusation by throwing Title IX back in the victim’s face. Title IX’s integrated set list of rules was not even enough to protect Jane Roe. Furthermore, the need for movements such as MeToo is disheartening as it proves women are still treated like second tier, inferior citizens; a man’s word is still valued over that of a woman. The case remains controversial as Purdue stands by the integrity of their Title IX policies. It is unacceptable that a well-known university with an undergrad enrollment of nearly 38,000 students [xvi] is setting such a shameful example. Purdue exploited the shortfalls of this law, as they let an accused sex offender walk free with little to no consequence. Title IX policies should adopt standard ramifications for guilty perpetrators, and universities should be unable to assimilate rules that subject students to scrutiny and consequence for reporting their assault.

---

[i] “Title IX Timeline: 50 Years of Halting Progress across U.S.” AP NEWS. Associated Press, June 13, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/title-ix-timeline-5fc023ca41d7d8c2489de24a23413938.

[ii] Powell, Alvin. “How Title IX Transformed Colleges, Universities over Past 50 Years.” Harvard Gazette. Harvard Gazette, June 23, 2022. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/06/how-title-ix-transformed-colleges-universities-over-past-50-years/.

[iii] “Know Your Rights: Title IX Prohibits Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Where You Go to School.” Home. US Department of Education (ED), January 5, 2021. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/title-ix-rights-201104.html.

[iv] Thorp, Benjamin. “Purdue Found Guilty of Retaliating against Student Who Came Forward with Assault Allegations.” WFYI Public Media. WFYI, September 24, 2022. https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/jury-finds-purdue-university-guilty-of-retaliating-against-student-who-came-forward-with-assault-all.

[v] Criminal Justice. “Roe vs. Purdue Asks Whether Former Student Was Too Drunk to Consent in 2017 Rape Allegation.” Purdue Exponent, September 21, 2022. https://www.purdueexponent.org/city_state/article_9e6b6502-d114-51df-8a08-858a7a438a60.html.

[vi] “Purdue, ‘Jane Doe’ Settle Federal Title IX–Related Lawsuit.” Purdue Exponent, October 2, 2020. https://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_880e5efa-04ba-11eb-9e4a-0f2026f6116a.html.

[vii] “Purdue, ‘Jane Doe’ Settle Federal Title IX–Related Lawsuit.” Purdue Exponent, October 2, 2020. https://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_880e5efa-04ba-11eb-9e4a-0f2026f6116a.html.

[viii] Magistrate Judge John E. Martin United States District Court. “Doe v. Purdue Univ..” Legal research tools from Casetext, April 18, 2019. https://casetext.com/case/doe-v-purdue-univ-1#:~:text=Plaintiff%20Roe%20alleges%20that%20she,maliciously%2C%22%20and%20expelled%20her.

[ix] Thorp, Benjamin. “Purdue Found Guilty of Retaliating against Student Who Came Forward with Assault Allegations.” WFYI Public Media. WFYI, September 24, 2022. https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/jury-finds-purdue-university-guilty-of-retaliating-against-student-who-came-forward-with-assault-all.

[x]  “Jury Finds in Favor of Nancy Roe against Purdue.” Purdue Exponent, September 23, 2022. https://www.purdueexponent.org/city_state/article_4897c866-3b6c-11ed-afba-db2c9357ddef.html.

[xi] Koren, Marina. “Telling the Story of the Stanford Rape Case.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, June 9, 2016. https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/stanford-sexual-assault-letters/485837/.

[xii] Mattalian, Sarah & Corliss, Kate. “Students Walk out to Protest University’s Response to Sexual Violence.” The Eagle, November 14, 2022. https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2022/11/students-walk-out-to-protest-universitys-response-to-sexual-violence.

[xiii] “Campus Sexual Assault.” Campus Sexual Assault | Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). Accessed November 28, 2022. https://pcar.org/about-sexual-violence/campus-sexual-assault.

[xiv] Ross, Alexandra. “Pitt Hosts Student Town Hall to Discuss Safety, Sexual Assault on Campus.” The Pitt News, October 20, 2022. https://pittnews.com/article/176231/news/pitt-hosts-student-town-hall-to-discuss-safety-sexual-assault-on-campus/.

[xv] Folts, Emma. “Pitt Held a Town Hall on Sexual Violence. Students Didn’t Feel Heard.” PublicSource, October 21, 2022. https://www.publicsource.org/university-pittsburgh-pitt-town-hall-sexual-violence-assault-roundtable-red-zone/.

[xvi] “Purdue Sets All-Time Student Enrollment Record in West Lafayette.” Purdue University News. Accessed November 10, 2022. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2022/Q3/purdue-sets-all-time-student-enrollment-record-in-west-lafayette.html.

Image via Pexels Free Photos.