By Jeremy F. van der Heiden

In response to a new report published by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the student body rallied around Tufts University’s administrative building May 1 to protest the school’s Title IX status.

Part of the Education Amendments enacted in 1972, Title IX prohibits discrimination of any type because of an individual’s gender or sexual orientation, and also covers the actions an institution must take when a complaint has been filed. This applies to any type of educational program or activity that receives financial assistance from the federal government.

The OCR released a comprehensive review May 1 of possible violations, specifically in terms of Title IX requirements that relate to sexual violence. Notably, 55 higher education institutions were named in the investigative report, with Tufts University being among them.

“We are making this list available in an effort to bring more transparency to our enforcement work and to foster better public awareness of civil rights,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon explained in a statement. “We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue. I also want to make it clear that a college or university’s appearance on this list and being the subject of a Title IX investigation in no way indicates at this stage that the college or university is violating or has violated the law.”

The OCR noted that the investigative report and associated list were put forth in efforts to further drive the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault that was launched by the Obama administration.

As a result, more than 100 students were reported to attend a protest that circled the administrative building, while representatives of the undergraduate classes and the school itself spoke inside.

A joint statement from Tufts officials and student organizers explained that the two collective parties completed a productive and successful dialogue regarding the school’s Title IX status. The specific issue which students were protesting related back to the university’s decision to forfeit its signature of a Voluntary Resolution Agreement for Title IX compliance, which has a stipulation that demands schools resolve any complaints within 60 days.

University administrators stated that the revocation of signature constituted a Voluntary Resolution Agreement, but that the school has every interest in continuing talks with the OCR and re-signing the document. In fact, President Anthony Monaco approved the creation of a Response and Resource Coordinator that will be developed by a Task Force to ensure that the school is on the right track toward compliance.

“Nothing we can do as an institution is more important than ensuring the safety of all members of our community,” Monaco explained in a statement, as read by Provost David Harris at the rally. “I am very grateful to the many people who have spoken candidly about their own experiences. You have helped educate us about the impact of sexual misconduct and where our policies and procedures could be improved.”

The administration noted that the conversation will continue on into the summer, and regretted that certain actions it took caused unrest among the school’s student body and community. Other actions will include a complete review of Tufts guidelines for disciplinary sanctions that relate to cases of sexual misconduct, working with the Task Force to ensure total compliance before the beginning of the fall semester.

Currently, the school’s sexual misconduct adjudication process policies dictate a response time between 60 and 90 calendar days, but the report stated that some cases have taken between 120 and 240 days to resolve. The administration stated that it will work toward compliance with the 60-day rule, as well as the notification statute for any adjudication process that exceeds this limit.

Both Tufts administrative members and the student organizers agreed that the discussion will continue until the school has re-signed the Voluntary Resolution Agreement and achieves compliance with Title IX as a whole.

“We are in strong agreement with all of you that sexual misconduct has no place at this university,” Monaco echoed in a statement. “Tufts must be a place where students find both the resources they need and policies and procedures they can trust. I want to focus our efforts on the goal we all share – eliminating sexual misconduct at our university. Thank you for your dedication to this important issue.”

Other Massachusetts schools named on the list of Title IX noncompliance investigations included Amherst College, Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard College, the Harvard University Law School and the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.