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Lists Of Alleged Rapists Popping Up In Columbia University Bathrooms
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published May 13, 2014
Modified May 13, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published May 13, 2014
Modified May 13, 2014
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Columbia University administrators, under fire for their alleged mishandling of on-campus sexual violence, have begun to revise their policies regarding rape and sexual assault, pledging first to make sex assault data more transparent to the student body. But no university-run website can hold a candle to the data scrawled in bathroom stalls, and yesterday, Columbia students spotted the names of four alleged rapists written on the wall of women's bathrooms.
The lists purport to hold the names of "Sexual Assault violators" and "Rapists on campus," with four names scrawled in silver permanent marker. According to the Columbia Lion, one such list appeared yesterday in a women's bathroom in the campus's student center, and another was found in a stall in the school's humanities library a few hours later. A similar list popped up in a women's bathroom in an academic building last Thursday, though unlike the most recent lists, this one was reportedly penned by several different authors.
The Lion reports that the lists were scrubbed clean by school maintenance staff, and a university spokesperson told the newspaper that "[g]raffiti is routinely removed by Facilities staff." A reporter with The Lion tells us the school is investigating the graffiti as an act vandalism, though it's unclear whether the university intends to pursue the rape allegations intimated by said "graffiti." We reached out to school officials for comment, and will update if we hear back.
Last month, 23 students filed three separate federal complaints against Columbia University, claiming that the school violated Title IX, Title II, and the Clery Act by failing to adequately address allegations of rape and sexual assault.
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barnard
columbia university
sexual assault
sexual violence
Rebecca Fishbein
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