In President Trump’s first term, news reports of sexual abuse allegations at San Jose State University prompted a Justice Department investigation that forced the school to make extensive policy changes and pay the victims and to remain under federal monitoring for four years. But the intense focus on allegations that a Cornell University student was assaulted by multiple men at a fraternity party has barely drawn a response from the federal government.
The hands-off stance reflects the more muted approach that Mr. Trump’s administration has taken to sexual abuse cases on campuses in his second term. During the initial 20 months of Mr. Trump’s first term, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights resolved more than 150 cases of sexual harassment and sexual violence. In the first 20 months of Mr. Trump’s second term, the same database shows the office has resolved one case.
Julie Hartman, an Education Department spokeswoman, said the department had resolved dozens of sexual harassment and sexual assault cases, but declined to provide documents or explain why they were not in the database. The Justice Department has seen a similar shift away from sexual assault and harassment cases over Mr. Trump’s two terms. In the second Trump administration, the Justice Department has not produced anything similar to the settlements reached with Case Western Reserve University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Utah State University, Ellensburg School District, and Fulton County Schools.
Catherine E. Lhamon, who oversaw the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights under Presidents Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama, said the allegations had received “a wildly tepid response” from the university and the government.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing