60 days.

Thats the amount of time the Department of Education recommends

colleges take to adjudicate cases of sexual assault. But ask students and survivors
at Columbia University, and a very different story will emerge. Its a story of cases
dragged on through entire semesters and school years, of a complex, labyrinthine
adjudication system that simply adds to existing stress and trauma; of students
failed again and again by the very document that was supposed to protect them: the
universitys Gender-Based Misconduct Policy. This summer, as the policy is under
review, No Red Tape Columbia and our allies are calling for important changes to
be made. We know that Columbias lengthy adjudication process is just one part of
a much larger problem: the lack of transparency, accountability, and fairness that is
encoded within the current policy and continues to negatively affect the lives of
every student on our campus.
Under the Universitys current policy, the adjudication process for gender-based
misconduct cases is biased, confusing, and retraumatizing. In a recent Huffington
Post article, Columbia students spoke of the unjust process that occurs when an
administration views survivors as liabilities, tolerates insensitivity and offensive
behavior from investigators, and establishes a tradition of incredibly weak
sanctions for rapists and abusers.
The root of these problems, as well as many others, can be found in Columbias
policy regarding gender-based misconduct cases. The policys implementation
creates an environment in which students rights are rarely enforced and justice is
notoriously hard to come by. Rapists are routinely allowed to return to campus
after writing reflective essays or completing one-semester suspensions; these
sanctions inform future cases, and a vicious cycle continues. Flawed access
restrictions make it possible for a survivors rapist or abuser to be allowed into
their dorm. Survivors are often denied interim accommodations with no
explanations given. By proposing changes such as an oversight body for the Office
of Gender-Based Misconduct and the removal of deans from the adjudication
process, we hope to ensure student safety and reform the universitys egregious
mishandling of sexual violence.
Despite No Red Tapes repeated meetings with administrators regarding the policy,
Columbia continues to give meaningless and evasive responses to proposals that

both make sense and are in line with laws. After a semester of inconclusive
meetings, we emailed administrators asking that they take our proposals into
account and ensure that students are involved in the policy revision process. Three
weeks later, we received only vague assurances that our concerns had been heard.
Last year, two days before the revised policy was published, it was shown to a
handful of students who had no opportunity to give suggestions or input. It is
unacceptable that Columbia administrators again seem poised to complete the
revision process while making actual student involvement virtually impossible.
This behavior indicates a larger failure to comprehend the harmful and dangerous
effects of the Gender-Based Misconduct Policy.
Columbias Gender-Based Misconduct Policy reflects the values of an
administration that systematically denies the seriousness of sexual violence and the
needs of survivors. The policys inadequate approach to violence plays a real and
visceral role in the lives of Columbia students. The impact of this policy is felt by
every student who lives in fear of encountering their rapist or abuser in their
residence hall. It is felt by the students who continue to have panic attacks in class,
yet are denied accommodations or the right to withdraw. It is felt by every single
student who knows that if they ever came forward about violence they had
experienced, the university would not have their best interests at heart.
It is for these reasons that we urge Columbia to adopt the policy proposals put forth
by No Red Tape. The flaws in the current policy demand urgent and significant
reform. If Columbia once again chooses to prioritize its image over substantive
policy changes, it will only confirm, yet again, that the administration has little
regard for fairness, due process, or the wellbeing of its students.
Signed,
No Red Tape
End Rape on Campus
Columbia University V-Day
Columbia University Asian American Alliance
Columbia University Democrats