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Feds Investigating Oxy, USC For Mishandling Sexual Violence Cases
Fowler Hall at Occidental College / Photo by Michael Locke via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
The Department of Education today released a list of over 50 institutions of higher learning throughout the country that are being investigated as to whether they violated federal law in handling sexual violence and harassment complaints. On the list were two local colleges: Occidental and USC, both of which have admitted to underreporting and covering up sexual assault cases on their campuses.
Also on the list was Bay Area UC Berkeley and the Butte-Glen Community College District of Butte County, CA.
Occidental has come under especially heavy scrutiny in the past year for their mishandling of sexual assault cases, discouraging victims from reporting rapes and covering up cases and not notifying the student body of incidents.
The report comes in the wake of recommendations from the White House on how to prevent and respond to sexual assault on college campuses and the launch of NotAlone.gov, a site providing information for institutions and students. The campaign also a features a PSA starring the likes of President Obama, Vice President Biden, Daniel Craig, and Steve Carrell.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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