Defend the Rights of Survivors of Sexual Assault at JHU

Dear President Daniels,

Our university is on the brink of a critical decision, one that will determine whether students will have access to an education free from sexual violence. We, the students, alumni, parents, and faculty of Johns Hopkins University urge you to publicly reaffirm the University’s protections for survivors of sexual assault on campus, as reflected in our current sexual misconduct policy and in accordance with the guidance provided in the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter that was recently rescinded by the Department of Education.

On Friday, September 22nd, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos jeopardized student survivors’ access to education by rescinding two federal guidance documents: the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter and related 2014 Questions and Answers by the Department of Education. In the aftermath of the federal government’s betrayal, we are calling on you to maintain the University’s protections for the civil rights of all students, including survivors of sexual assault.

The 2011 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) contained comprehensive guidelines clarifying schools’ obligations under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 to protect students from sexual violence on campus and promptly and equitably respond to such allegations. This guidance also required fair adjudication processes for all parties and, contrary to Secretary DeVos’s claims, afforded accused students more procedural rights than students accused of any other code of conduct violation, including physical assault.

After Johns Hopkins University came under public scrutiny for failing to adequately address campus sexual assault in 2014, it responded that year with a new sexual misconduct policy that implemented the DCL’s federal guidance. Additionally, with the backing of the DCL, student advocates were able to work with the administration to provide vital additional resources to create an environment in which survivors of campus sexual assault could continue their education. Now, with the removal of federal guidelines, our university has a moral responsibility to preserve those resources and commit to making campus safer for all students.

For the safety and well-being of all members of the Johns Hopkins University community, we ask you to publicly commit to preserving the protections outlined in the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter and 2014 Questions and Answers, especially and including:
● Using a preponderance of evidence standard of proof in sexual violence and harassment investigations
● Ensuring that all investigations are equitable and completed promptly within 60 days
● Barring mediation in cases of sexual assault
● Providing equal opportunity for both parties to appeal findings in a sexual violence and harassment investigation
● Ensuring that all parties and witnesses can only be questioned through an intermediary resolution panel
● Protecting complainants and respondents by offering interim measures during a sexual violence and harassment investigation, including provisions protecting the confidentiality and education of all parties (e.g. no-contact orders, the ability to change classes while providing the least disruption to the complainant)

All of these procedures and others are currently included in the university’s Sexual Misconduct Policy. We ask that you maintain these standards so we can continue working toward our ultimate goal of eliminating sexual violence from our campus.

The University is at an important crossroads. We have made huge strides in the past few years towards creating a safer campus for student survivors. We applaud your leadership to this end and thank you for your support. However, the University has also gravely mishandled sexual assault in the past. Several high profile rape cases, two Title IX complaints, and an ongoing federal investigation brought national attention to the University’s failure to acknowledge and address sexual violence. In response to the 2014 investigation, you recognized, “Sexual violence on our campuses, or anywhere, is unacceptable…It tears at the fabric of our university community; threatens the ability of our students, faculty and staff to pursue scholarship and discovery; and diminishes our capacity to realize our fullest individual and collective potential.” We call upon you to stand by those words now.

Now is the time for bold leadership to prove that the values, goals, and vision of this university will not bow to transient and misguided political games. The Department of Education has made clear that it prioritizes the comfort of rapists over the safety of survivors and their right to an education. Show us now that survivors do and always will have a place on this campus by guaranteeing that the protections that we have listed above, along with the other protections provided in the Dear Colleague Letter, will remain in place at Johns Hopkins University. We ask that you release this guarantee as a public statement to our campus community by October 23, 2017.

Signed,

Danielle Pitkoff

B.A. 2018, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Co-Director of SARU

Mayuri Viswanathan

B.S. 2019, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Co-Director of SARU

Madison Foster

B.A. 2018, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Finance Chair of SARU

Alexandra Hansen

B.A. 2018, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Resource Director of SARU, Amnesty International at JHU President

Eliza Schultz

B.A. 2015, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Christine Fei

B.A. 2017, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

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This letter has been signed by a total of 644 students, alumni, parents, faculty and staff (including those shown above). To see the full list of signatures please visit this link : https://tinyurl.com/y7q88ur5

If you are a Johns Hopkins affiliate and agree with this letter and wish to sign, please visit here : http://bit.ly/TitleIXjhu

This letter was written by members of the Sexual Assault Resource Unit (SARU) at JHU. To learn more about this organization please visit the following social media pages or blog, or email jhusaru@gmail.com

• Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/SARUatHopkins/
• Blog: https://jhusaru.wordpress.com