CU Boulder student removed from campus, team amid outcry, petition
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By
kreed
If you’re a parent sending your child to college in the fall — particularly a daughter — you’re no doubt thinking about that awkward but necessary talk about avoiding situations that could lead to sexual assault. While someone shouldn’t have to limit their activities so that they don’t become a crime victim, that’s the reality young women face on college campuses. Schools also have a responsibility to do everything they can to prevent sexual harassment and assault. Title IX, which deals with discrimination and harassment based on sex at all levels of the education system, states that “schools that receive federal financial assistance are liable for a ‘deliberately indifferent’ response to the sexual harassment and assault of students….” Unfortunately, this standard hasn’t been applied uniformly. Parents with daughters entering the University of Colorado at Boulder this year were likely highly disturbed when the announcement of a newly recruited football player was met with reports by at least 14 women who had attended high school or junior college with him here in Colorado. They said he’d sexually harassed, assaulted or raped them. Several said he’d pressured them for nude photos in high school. One young woman said he raped her when she was a freshman. Multiple cases involving the football player in El Paso County The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) confirmed they have had multiple cases involving the young man and that he’s still under “active investigation” in at least one case. It’s not clear how much CU Boulder knew of all this when they accepted him. One of the young women started a Change.org petition urging the school to expel him. She got some 3,500 signatures. These student efforts worked. Although it’s not clear whether he’s been officially expelled, the university and officials with the CU Boulder Police Department announced in February that he was no longer allowed on campus. The school announced in April that he’s “no longer with the football team.” Of course, this is just one person who is no longer a threat to those on one college campus. Further, there’s no way of knowing whether the team or the school would have taken action if there hadn’t been such a strong outpouring of condemnation and young women willing to speak out. If your child has been the victim of sexual assault, you have the right to seek justice and compensation from all responsible parties.The post CU Boulder student removed from campus, team amid outcry, petition first appeared on Fuller & Ahern, P.C..
