YPSILANTI, Mich. (WXYZ) — Eastern Michigan University released the results of an investigation into whether the school failed to protect and respond to students who reported being raped.
Numerous students shared their stories with 7 Action News anchor Carolyn Clifford last year as they sued for change. The message they repeated: Eastern Michigan University failed to protect and respond to them adequately when they reported being raped.
In the summer and fall of 2020, three former EMU students were arrested for numerous incidents of sexual assault. The university then in September 2020 hired the law firm Cozen O’Connor to look into whether the university had prior knowledge that would indicate the students were a danger.
The investigation found that the former Title IX coordinator received at least one direct report of sexual assault against the three students in 2018. However, the victims refused to participate in the investigation and the report was anonymous.
The report did suggest that records kept by the Title IX Office were limited.
“The Title IX Office’s case files did not consistently include all relevant documentation, including key communications with parties, meeting notes, and the rationale for key case-related decisions such as whether to honor a complainant’s request not to proceed with an investigation. This incomplete record-keeping limited our ability to provide as full and complete a picture of the University’s response as we would have been able to had the Title IX Coordinator and the Greek Life Coordinator kept contemporaneous notes of the totality of their responses to reports of sexual and gender- based harassment and violence,” the report said.
“Any notion that there was a cover-up here is blatantly false,” EMU President James Smith said.
Smith says the report did not find any evidence there was a cover-up. He says the university has taken action to improve record keeping with training, software and additional staff.
“We want a a safe campus. We want an open dialogue with our Title 9 folks and others,” Smith said.
Attorney Todd Flood says the investigation is limited in that it did not look into all accusations. He now represents 42 people who claim they have seen firsthand that sexual assault victims are systematically persuaded not to move forward, and processes need to be improved.
“We are going to do our best around that,” Smith said of improving processes. “The lawsuit itself, I would be inappropriately wrong to make comments regarding the lawsuit.”
The lawsuit is currently in mediation.
