Fed up with what they believe are sloppy Title IX procedures, students at Princeton University have taken it upon themselves to put pressure on the school to change its process.
On Tuesday, a few dozen students backed by the Princeton Students for Title IX Reform (PIXR) group, occupied the main lawn in front of the president Christopher L. Eisgruber’s office in Nassau Hall, urging the university to fulfill their demands.
According to the reform group, the need for new procedures gained momentum after a student sexual assault survivor was fined for writing “Title IX Protects Rapists” on pavement within campus grounds.
“Many survivors came forward with personal stories about their experiences with Title IX, demonstrating the disturbing scope and urgency of this issue,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday.
The students have alleged the university of not fixing its Title IX system, despite the fact that a Department of Justice report in 2014 found the school guilty of inadequately implementing Title IX procedures.
The protesting students submitted a list of eleven demands to improve transparency and consistency in the Title IX Process, and sought the dismissal of Princeton’s Title IX administrator, Regan Crotty, and chief compliance officer for Title IX, Michele Minter.
The group demanded that the university conduct an external review of the Title IX system and revise and improve Title IX trainings for all employees and student leaders.
“In the past, individual survivors have demanded Title IX reform, citing instances of negligence and indifference in their own cases. Administrators have responded to student concerns with nothing but red tape,” the group said.
“This has silenced survivors. PIXR is determined to stand with these survivors to construct a compassionate, non-carceral, and just Title IX system.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the university issued a statement saying it has passed on the demands to respective University committees.
“Consistent with our ongoing practice of taking student input into account, we are referring the concerns raised to the appropriate University committees,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, the demands for the dismissal of two Title IX employees was immediately rejected by the university.
“Unfounded calls for the termination of University employees are inappropriate and will not be considered further.”
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