The federal Department of Education has begun investigating Liberty University’s dealing with of pupil reviews of sexual assault. In a press release to ProPublica, the college pledged its “full cooperation” with the investigation.
Last October, ProPublica revealed how the college, which was based by evangelist Jerry Falwell, had discouraged college students who tried to report being sexually assaulted. Some college students who got here ahead have been inspired to signal kinds acknowledging they could have damaged Liberty’s ethical code of conduct, “The Liberty Way.” Others described being inspired to hope as a substitute of reporting their circumstances.
Federal regulation requires that universities receiving federal funds correctly deal with claims of sexual assault. Liberty college students obtain a whole lot of tens of millions of {dollars} in federal support. Following our story, senators urged the U.S. Department of Education to analyze.
Liberty college students instructed ProPublica that federal brokers have been on the college’s campus in Lynchburg, Virginia, this week. In an e-mail seen by ProPublica, a Department of Education official reached out to pupil advocates to rearrange assembly occasions. An company spokesperson declined to remark, citing a coverage to not talk about ongoing investigations.
“Liberty University welcomes the U.S. Department of Education’s review of our Clery Act compliance program,” the college mentioned in its assertion to ProPublica. The federal Clery Act requires colleges to tell college students who report sexual assaults concerning the possibility of going to regulation enforcement and to help in that reporting if crucial.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., one of the senators who had referred to as for the investigation, praised the federal government’s transfer. “I’m glad the Department of Education is investigating Liberty’s handling of sexual assault,” he mentioned in a press release to ProPublica. “I hope the Department looks into it thoroughly.”
In one other improvement, an unnamed former Liberty University pupil filed a federal lawsuit towards the college on Wednesday, claiming the college did not correctly examine after she reported a rape to highschool authorities a 12 months in the past. The plaintiff additionally alleged that when she reported being sexually assaulted, she was penalized by the college for violating The Liberty Way, as a result of she had been at a celebration the place alcohol was consumed.
A spokesperson for Liberty declined to touch upon the swimsuit.
In November, two weeks after ProPublica’s investigation, Liberty pledged to launch an “independent and comprehensive review” of the college workplace tasked with dealing with discrimination and abuse. The college has not responded to ProPublica’s request for an replace on the standing of that assessment.