Following President Obama and the White House’s Plan of Action to combat sexual assault on college campus’, the Office of Civil Rights announced Temple is among the university’s under Title IX investigation.
They are checking to see if the school is legally handling complaints of sexual assault and harassment.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said in statement, “We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue.”
Liz Touchstone, a peer educator at the Wellness Resource Center says sexual assault is an issue across campuses.
“Sexual assault is something that is present on all campuses, regardless of how often it is brought up or discussed,” said Touchstone.
University Communications confirmed the investigation in a statement saying “Temple has fully cooperated with the Office of Civil Rights and looks forward to a resolution of the matter.”
Temple is one of just 55 schools nationwide under Title IX investigation in regards to sexual assault, but with recent questions of security in and around campus, some students are saying they’re not surprised Temple is on the list.
“I think they can step it up a little bit,” said senior Nick Ruggieri. “Due to some of the incidents happening around campus, I never heard sexual assault related ones.”
“I think basically every school could be doing a better job of it, I don’t think it’s just Temple,” said senior Petyrr Mackar.
It’s estimated that one in five female college students are subject to sexual assault, a number that the President wants to reduce.
“They don’t realize how pervasive this issue is, specifically for college women,” said Kate Scheffer, Program Coordinator at the Wellness Resource Center. “And when you feel alone, you feel like talking about it might not be the right thing for you, but it may be the right thing for campus.”
Victims of sexual assault on Temple’s campus are encouraged to report the incident, and turn to the Health and Wellness center for help.
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