Feds Open Investigation Against Occidental College Amid Campus Sexual Assaults Crisis

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has written to two Occidental College professors, informing them that the college is under federal investigation for allegedly mishandling complaints from dozens of Oxy students that they were raped or sexually assaulted on campus.

Occidental College Politics Department Chair Caroline Heldman and Sociology Department Assistant Professor Danielle Dirks told Highland Park-Mt. Washington Patch that they received a three-page letter Wednesday from the San Francisco branch of the Office for Civil Rights, saying that the office has opened an investigation against Oxy to determine if the college discriminated against the complainants on the basis of sex, thereby failing to comply with Title IX regulations.

Because Oxy receives federal funds, it is subject to Title IX laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex, the OCR noted in its letter, adding that it has “reviewed the extensive supplemental documentation” provided by the two professors on April 18 on behalf of the students who were allegedly assaulted.

The OCR letter acknowledged that the complaint against Oxy includes the following allegations:

1.  Students at the College have been subjected to sexual harassment and sexual violence by other students and a College staff member, and the College has failed to respond appropriately and effectively to notice of the sexual harassment and sexual violence. 

2.  The College has failed to respond adequately to internal complaints filed by students alleging that students had been subjected to sexual harassment and sexual violence, dating back to the 2010-2011 academic year.

3.  Students who have filed complaints with the College regarding sexual harassment and sexual violence have been subjected to intimidation and retaliation by College administrators and by other students, including further sexual harassment by other students, and the College has failed to respond appropriately and effectively to notice of the intimidation and retaliation.

4.  Employees and students who have advocated that the College change its policies and procedures with respect to preventing and responding to sexual harassment and sexual violence have been retaliated against by administrators at the College.

5.  The College’s consistent failure to respond adequately to complaints by students of sexual harassment and sexual violence has created a hostile environment on campus on the basis of sex.

6.  The College has not adopted and published grievance procedures providing for the prompt and equitable resolutions of complaints of sex discrimination, including sexual assault and sexual violence.

The Office of Civil Rights warned that federal regulations prohibit the college from retaliating against the two professors or anyone who participates in the investigation.

“Contact OCR if you think such actions occur,” the letter said, referring to any form of intimidation, threats, coercion or harassment suffered by the professors or others who help in the investigation.

The complaint against Oxy alleges retaliation by college authorities against Professor Dirks for supporting 36 students who say they were raped or sexually assaulted from 2009 through 2013. Dirks told Patch recently that the alleged retaliation against her included the sudden disappearance of her belongings from her office.

Since the federal complaint was filed last month, the number of alleged survivors has increased to 42, according to the Oxy Sexual Assault Coalition, an online activist and advocacy group devoted to raising awareness of what it calls a “sexual assault epidemic” on campus.

"We understand that the OCR’s quick response has been one of the fastest in Title IX history," the coalition said in an article on Wednesday. "We look forward to assisting them with every stage of their investigation into Occidental’s mishandling and treatment of sexual misconduct."

• Click here to access the Oxy Sexual Assault Coalition website, which contains a PDF copy of the Office of Civil Rights letter.
• Click here to read Oxy President Jonathan Veitch’s May 1 announcement of new steps taken by the college to combat sexual assaults on campus.
• Click here to read about the Oxy faculty’s vote of no confidence in the college counsel and students’ dean.
• Click here to read a series of recent open letters from Oxy President Veitch to the campus community regarding the sexual assaults scandal.
• Click here to read details about an April 18 news conference at which six Oxy students, including Logan, read statements about their alleged rape or sexual assault.
• Click here to read about an April 19 "Sleepover For Sexual Assault Awareness" at the Occidental College campus.
• Click here to read about an Oxy senior who says she was raped and that she “encountered lots of barriers” coping with her trauma at college.