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'In a pinball machine' Students allege American University violated Title IX law and University policies relating to retaliation, no-contact orders and accommodations

Difficulty navigating the Office of Equity and Title IX and other resources harms survivors, students and advocates say

Abigail Turner | March 2, 2023

Editor’s Note: This story contains references to sexual harassment, sexual assault and violence. Please see the bottom of this story for additional resources.

After Marissa Sasso filed a Title IX complaint with American University’s Office of Equity and Title IX, her coordinator said a no-contact order would be issued between Sasso and her alleged assaulter.

Sasso never received any written documentation of the no-contact order, but didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until months later that Sasso realized she should have received documentation, leaving her to doubt whether the order was actually filed.

“I still don't understand it, to be honest,” she said. “My Title IX coordinator told me that there was a no-contact order. I never saw any documentation about it.”

Sasso, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Communication, is one of several AU students who say that difficulty navigating and understanding AU’s Office of Equity and Title IX harms survivors.

Title IX is a federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education. Any educational institution receiving federal funding must comply with Title IX, which requires universities to respond to any violation “promptly and effectively,” according to the Department of Education.

While Title IX is a federal law, individual institutions are the first line of defense for enforcing it after the government puts the policies in place. Institutional Title IX offices conduct investigations, hold hearings and offer supportive measures. Title IX responses on a national scale are not always uniform, according to Sarah Brown, the news editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education, who has reported frequently about Title IX-related matters.

Although some may think Title IX is a support or advocacy office, it is made to uphold Title IX law, according to Brown. Because of this, students who may think they are receiving victim advocacy services from AU’s Office of Equity and Title IX often go through investigative processes lasting for months.

“There's this prevalent disconnect between what Title IX offices say they're doing and the experiences that students have when they actually go to the Title IX offices,” Brown said.

Navigating AU's Title IX processes harms students, survivors say

Former AU student Nolyn Wyatt navigated the Title IX process during the fall 2021 semester as a freshman. Wyatt alleges he was sexually harassed by another student while both were living on the same floor in Letts Hall.

Wyatt wanted to move away from that resident and into a friend’s room in Centennial Hall. He met with the building’s community director to request a room change. Wyatt said he did not want a formal complaint submitted. Rather, he wanted to move rooms. The community director, a mandated reporter, filed a Title IX report about the alleged sexual harassment when Wyatt described the need for a room change. Almost all faculty and staff at AU are mandated reporters, meaning they must report allegations of discriminatory behavior under Title IX law.

Leslie Annexstein, AU’s assistant vice president for equity & Title IX coordinator, said changing housing accommodations is a supportive measure where the Office would need to know the identity of an alleged harasser. The Eagle requested to interview Annexstein in November 2022 through University Communications and Marketing. The interview was conducted in January 2023 after two previous interviews were canceled by the University.

“In order to get someone to safety, we actually do need to know where the person that they're concerned about lives,” Annexstein said. “Otherwise we cannot provide what we are required to provide at that point, which is to help get them to safety.”

During this time, the Title IX Office had the report filed on behalf of Wyatt by the community director, according to emails obtained by The Eagle. In March 2022, Wyatt’s suitemate in Centennial Hall tweeted that the Letts resident was “a predator,” naming the resident in the tweet.

After this tweet, Wyatt alleges the resident of his floor in Letts Hall requested a mutual no-contact order be put in place between Wyatt and the resident. The mutual no-contact order was granted by the Title IX Office.

A mutual no-contact order is a supportive measure outlined in the Department of Education’s Title IX law designed to de-escalate situations between parties. The orders specify that parties cannot contact each other directly or indirectly.

Annexstein said facts must indicate a violation of either the Title IX sexual harassment policy or AU’s Discrimination and Non-Title IX Sexual Misconduct Policy for students to receive a no-contact order. But students do not need to go through the formal investigative process to receive a mutual no-contact order, according to Annexstein. She said supportive measures like no-contact orders are “the first level of response” in many cases.

Wyatt alleges the no-contact order requested by the student was a form of retaliation since he said he was unable to speak out about the alleged harassment. Retaliation is prohibited by Title IX and includes any intimidation, threat, coercion or discrimination that would result from a person making a complaint, testifying or participating in an investigation in any manner.

Under AU’s Title IX policy, retaliation as a violation of the policy “must be sufficiently serious to discourage a reasonable person from further reporting, participating, or opposing participation.”

“I spoke out about being sexually harassed and then the school has reports of that … And so there should have never been a no-contact order to begin with,” Wyatt said.

According to current Title IX policies, the Department of Education does not see mutual no-contact orders as “unlawful retaliation,” since all parties are entitled to supportive measures. Annexstein said the Office of Equity and Title IX must “treat both parties fairly and equally” when providing supportive measures.

Annexstein said she has not seen supportive measures used in a retaliatory way since Title IX was updated in August 2020.

“What one party may believe is retaliatory, and we certainly understand individuals may feel that way, doesn't mean it is retaliatory under the law,” she said.

Brown said she sees cases at other universities where determining what is and is not retaliation is difficult since respondents are also entitled to supportive measures.

She said that although every university bans retaliation, how each university goes about handling possible cases of retaliation is different. Universities must be careful in determining what constitutes retaliation, since both the complainant and respondent are legally allowed to seek supportive measures, according to Brown.

“Retaliation is explicitly banned by both the current regulations and the proposed ones,” Brown said. “But the mechanics of how that actually works in individual cases is really messy.”

After receiving the no-contact order, Wyatt filed his own Title IX complaint, separate from the report filed in the fall by the community director. While processing his complaint, Wyatt alleged that the Office of Equity and Title IX said in a Zoom meeting and email that there was no way to contest the mutual no-contact order.

When Wyatt was assigned AU Title IX investigator Jan Fennell, he asked her if tweeting about the student would violate the no-contact order. He alleges Fennell said in a Zoom meeting that a tweet would not violate the no-contact order as long as he did not tag the student’s Twitter account.

“I specifically asked her what I can say and what I cannot say and what would constitute a violation of the no-contact order because it's quite vague,” Wyatt said.

Wyatt then tweeted he was a “victim” of the student. Wyatt did not tag the student’s account in the tweet.

Wyatt was notified by the Office of Equity and Title IX that he was under investigation for retaliation on May 23, 2022, but the Office did not specify what the retaliatory conduct was, according to a report obtained by The Eagle. Under Title IX, universities must send a written notice of the allegations to the parties involved. But Annexstein said a notice does not have to include all the specific details of an alleged incident.

Even if students receive a notice of investigation for retaliation that does not include details about an alleged incident, Annexstein said “Well, I would say that students do know what they're under investigation for.”

If students would like more information before the official interviews begin, Annexstein said she can meet with them to review the notice.

Wyatt said he met with Annexstein following the notice of investigation. When he asked what specific actions of his were under investigation, Wyatt claims Annexstein would only explain the definition of retaliation from AU’s policy. Wyatt believes the investigation was possibly launched for his tweet about the student.

When contacted for comment, Fennell referred The Eagle to University Communications and Marketing. Elizabeth Deal, assistant vice president for community and internal communication, told The Eagle in a phone call that Title IX coordinators cannot comment on individual cases.

Wyatt submitted two dozen witnesses to AU Title IX investigator, Caitlin G. Myron, for this case, since he was not entirely sure what he was under investigation for.

Wyatt asked Myron in a meeting prior to the formal interview if the investigation would be dropped if he withdrew from AU, and he recalls she said the case would likely be dropped if he left AU. Wyatt was later told that since he was interviewed, the “investigation would proceed to its conclusion,” according to emails obtained by The Eagle. Wyatt said he was not informed that by proceeding with the interview, the case would not be dropped even if he withdrew from the University.

Wyatt has since unenrolled from AU and last heard from the Office of Equity and Title IX on Oct. 13, 2022. To his knowledge, the investigation is still ongoing. He has yet to be notified of what his retaliatory conduct was.

“I want to move on with my life and this investigation is not allowing me to do so,” Wyatt said.

Myron referred The Eagle to Deal when contacted for comment. Deal said Title IX coordinators cannot comment on individual cases.

Myron is no longer listed on the Office of Equity and Title IX website and has since left the University, according to LinkedIn.

Internal Communications Manager Jasmine Pelaez said the University cannot disclose details about an individual’s employment and did not confirm nor deny Myron’s status at American University.

Over a year later, both parties are still involved with investigatory processes through Title IX. Wyatt says he currently does not know the status of the investigation.

I did what I thought was the right thing, and I reported it. And I reached out to the proper offices that we have been told that protect us on campus"

Wyatt transferred universities because of his experience dealing with AU’s Title IX Office, and he alleges that the Office of Equity and Title IX ignored him and didn’t believe him.

“I did what I thought was the right thing, and I reported it. And I reached out to the proper offices that we have been told that protect us on campus,” Wyatt said.

'It made me feel hopeless'

Sasso is another student who alleges that the Office of Equity and Title IX didn’t support her.

During All-American Welcome in the fall of 2021, Sasso, then a freshman, was in her Centennial Hall room with her roommate and suitemates.

When a group of four men knocked on their door, Sasso and her suitemates went into the hallway to chat with them.

“We never met, but it was welcome week, everyone's just doing that,” Sasso said.

After talking for a bit, the group of men turned to leave. Sasso alleges one of the men tripped and grabbed Sasso’s breasts. As the group walked away, Sasso alleges the man’s friends said the men were drunk.

Two days later, Sasso spoke to her resident assistant about the incident. The RA, a mandatory reporter, helped Sasso file a complaint with the Office of Equity and Title IX.

While the investigation was underway, Sasso got academic accommodations from the Office of Equity and Title IX that would allow her extended time on assignments. Sasso said the Office would only give her accommodations for up to three weeks. Professors would be told when Sasso’s accommodations would expire, according to documents obtained by The Eagle. Every three weeks, Sasso would contact her coordinator to renew the accommodations, which would be re-sent to her professors.

The Department of Education does not specify how long supportive measures like academic accommodations should be given, but does say that “supportive measures are designed precisely to help complainants preserve equal access to their education.”

Annexstein said supportive measures under Title IX are meant to be “short-term and specific.” Longer-term disability-related accommodations can be given by the Academic Support and Access Center.

Although Sasso alleges the Office of Equity and Title IX told her the investigation would conclude during the first semester, the preliminary investigative report wasn’t complete until February 2022 and the hearing was held in March 2022, according to documents obtained by The Eagle.

In 2017, the Department of Education removed previous guidance that recommended a 60-day time frame for resolving sexual harassment complaints. Although the Department of Education advises that the “conclusion of the grievance process must be reasonably prompt,” it is up to schools to decide what a reasonable time frame is.

“It got to the point where once the spring semester hit, I just kind of gave up with the accommodations,” Sasso said.

Sasso communicated less frequently with her investigator in the spring semester since she was no longer seeking accommodations, and she said the first notice she received from her coordinator that semester was in February, when the investigation was wrapping up.

During the investigation, Sasso had requested a no-contact order between her and the male student at an initial online meeting in September 2021. When going over supportive measures, Sasso claims that her Title IX investigator Fariha Quasem told Sasso a no-contact order would be issued.

Sasso said she never received any formal documentation of a no-contact order.

“I don’t even know if there was a no-contact order filed for me,” Sasso said. “All I know is that I was told it was and never received any documentation.”

It was not until the spring semester that Sasso realized she would have received documentation if a no-contact order was issued.

Institutional Title IX offices are required by law to provide all evidence and notice of allegations in writing. Under Title IX, if a no-contact order was placed, Sasso should have received proper documentation of it.

If the no-contact order was not placed, Sasso was still under the impression that she had that supportive measure if needed.

Cari Simon, a Title IX attorney, said a student having the impression that they have a no-contact order when they don’t could lead to issues down the road. If alleged assaulters were to contact survivors, there might not be any repercussions for alleged assaulters since a no-contact order was never issued.

Quasem referred The Eagle to Deal, who said in a phone call that Title IX coordinators cannot comment on individual cases.

Additionally, throughout the entire investigation, Sasso said the communication with the Office of Equity and Title IX and her coordinator was sparse. There would be weeks between email updates from her coordinator. If Sasso wanted an update, she said she would have to email her coordinator.

“They definitely made me feel as if I was not being heard,” Sasso said. “It made me feel hopeless. It just made me feel like nothing was ever going to get done, and that the Office didn't give a fuck about me, like they didn't care at all.”

Annexstein said investigators in the Office of Equity and Title IX will update parties every two weeks, as an “attempt to keep a kind of warm touch” and so that parties know the investigation is still underway.

The interviews for the investigation were conducted from October through December 2021. Sasso said she and her witnesses only remembered some details of the incident since it occurred months prior.

“Not only does it hurt the actual like people who are making statements as victims, but it also hurts their case because their witnesses aren't going to remember everything,” Sasso said.

The hearing for the investigation was in March 2022, and the male student was found not guilty of sexual assault by fondling by a hearing panel of three AU staff and faculty, according to Sasso.

When giving her testimony, Sasso said it was hard to remember every detail of the incident because it happened in September. When Sasso was asked questions such as what the male student was wearing, she said she couldn’t remember.

Sasso said the Title IX hearing process is harder for victims because they must prove every detail of the assault. When it comes to alleged assaulters, Sasso said, they and their witnesses just have to deny the allegations.

Annexstein said the investigation process takes longer than implementing supportive measures because the Office must interview witnesses and collect facts about a case. The AU faculty and staff who conduct the hearings must fit the schedules of the parties, witnesses and advisor, according to Annexstein.

“By making it take at least six months you're just destroying any credibility from the victim's side and helping the accused person’s side,” Sasso said.

'Leaving us in the dark': tackling University accommodations

Bounced between University departments, an American University student who was granted anonymity by The Eagle due to safety concerns, feels she didn’t fit the “perfect survivor” model she thinks is needed to successfully understand AU’s resources after experiencing sexual violence from another AU student off-campus over a summer break.

Navigating the many confidential and nonconfidential resources advertised for students seeking support, from then-OASIS to the Office of Equity and Title IX, requires what she called someone who can “power through the pain” and not show they have been harmed.

“You're just like in a pinball machine, just being like tossed back and forth between University departments,” she said.

The student said that dealing with the many different departments and offices at AU makes untangling the Title IX process even more difficult

You're just like in a pinball machine, just being like tossed back and forth between University departments"

The student did not report the sexual assault at the time. But during her junior year, she decided to get assistance from the University because of the effects the assault had on her mental health.

The Office of Equity and Title IX told her that they could not pursue investigative measures since the incident took place off-campus.

Universities are not obligated to investigate off-campus incidents of sexual violence, even if it involves another university student, according to Brown.

Although universities are not obligated to investigate the matter, they can provide supportive measures. The student said the Office of Equity and Title IX proposed a no-contact order, but she was afraid to pursue it because she knew it would involve her alleged assaulter.

“I wasn’t concerned with this person,” the student said. “I was concerned with how do I help myself at this point, and how do I be successful academically. And those are the things that the University is completely leaving us in the dark with.”

Instead, the student went to the Office of the Dean of Students to seek academic accommodations for mental health effects resulting from the alleged assault. The student requested extended deadlines on assignments.

During a virtual meeting with two employees from the Dean of Students Office, the student alleges that one of the employees pushed her to reveal the name of the alleged assaulter. When she refused to tell the employee his name, the student was told that her situation was not mental health-related, so she could not get academic accommodations. The student said she was told to go back to the Office of Equity and Title IX.

Both the Dean of Students Office and the Office of Equity and Title IX can offer academic accommodations, but the Office of Equity and Title IX offers accommodations specifically when they can determine that their Title IX policy is potentially violated.

“We certainly respect when students may not want to provide a name, particularly if they're not wanting to go through a process, an investigation process,” Annexstein said.

The Dean of Students Office more broadly assists students in their academic careers, such as when a student’s learning is impacted by mental health issues. But if a student does make an allegation of sexual violence when seeking help from the Dean of Students Office, Annexstein said the student will be referred to the Office of Equity and Title IX.

Once the student was denied academic accommodations for her mental health by the Dean of Students Office, she stopped seeking assistance from AU resources.

“It's a full-time job trying to get this kind of support from the University,” the student said.

According to the Department of Education, schools must respect a survivor’s decision not to file a formal complaint.

Although institutional Title IX offices would need the name of the alleged assaulter to move forward with an investigation or disciplinary measures, Brown said supportive measures can still be given to students who do not wish to identify their alleged assaulter.

Simon, the Title IX attorney, also said schools cannot require students to give a name before getting accommodation services.

Deal said students do not need to provide information on an “assailant” when seeking support from the Office of the Dean of Students.

Measures, such as a no-contact order, would require the name of an alleged assaulter since both parties may be notified. Annexstein also said students seeking a housing or course change would need to reveal the identity of the person to ensure a survivor is not placed near the alleged assaulter.

“Revealing the identity is not a requirement,” Annexstein said of academic accommodations. “The requirement is providing facts sufficient for us to make a determination that it is indeed a Title IX sexual harassment matter.”

The student tried to seek accommodations from individual professors but did not feel comfortable going over the details of the alleged sexual assault multiple times with different professors.

“Having to address that on the individual level with every professor, when all it would take is a single piece of paper from the Dean of Students Office, it's just like another thing that the onus is on us to manage,” the student said.

While the student struggled to get accommodations from the University, she sees how student-led organizations like AU’s chapter of It’s On Us, a national organization dedicated to combatting sexual assault on campuses, can provide students with support.

Students have taken it among themselves to be advocates

AU’s chapter of It’s On Us looks extensively at Title IX, even though it is not the focus of the national organization specifically.

Emily Minster, the president of AU’s chapter and a senior in the School of Public Affairs, said she frequently gets many questions from students about Title IX policy.

One of the reasons students go to student advocacy groups with their questions is because getting information from the Office of Equity and Title IX can be very hard, according to Minster.

Sometimes, Minster said, it seems like AU’s Title IX Office is not open to students asking questions or getting information and resources without them filing a formal complaint or opening an investigation. That’s where student advocacy organizations come in.

The Office of Equity and Title IX is a nonconfidential resource, meaning the Office must report claims students make, even if they are just trying to figure out their options. But students like Minster can be confidential resources.

When Minster asks questions to the Office of Equity and Title IX on behalf of students, she said the Office sometimes doesn’t respond or doesn’t answer the questions.

“Under the Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy, the role of an advisor is to provide consultation. Advisors can accompany a complainant or respondent to any meeting or proceeding,” Pelaez said. “However, an advisor cannot speak on their behalf or participate.”

Additionally, Minster said the process students must go through to understand supportive measures, like housing changes, can retraumatize them, as they must explain their situation in-depth. Often students choose to avoid opening up an investigation in an attempt to avoid this process. However, even to get supportive measures, they must still describe their experience.

“[Investigators] have to sit there face-to-face with you, which is also hard,” Minster said. “Instead, a lot of people would feel so much more comfortable going on the website and reading it.”

Often, in meetings with the Office of Equity and Title IX, Minster said it is hard for students to understand the information coordinators are talking about. Title IX law has very specific language requirements, and when students are unaware of different terms, it may be hard for them to understand their options. Annexstein said it is the Office’s obligation to follow the definitions and policy.

“If you're sitting there having experienced sexual violence, you probably are stressed, confused and upset,” Minster said. “So you're not gonna absorb all the information even if they give it to you.”

Survivor advocate Lillian Frame, a senior in SPA, said the amount of information that is given to students who are seeking either investigations or supportive measures often leads to misunderstandings.

“Their website, potentially on purpose, tries to dissuade people from reporting by making it so confusing,” Frame said. “I honestly do believe it's on purpose.”

“As part of the ongoing Community Working Group efforts, additional review and updates of the website are underway,” Pelaez said in response. “We strive to make information as accessible as possible on all University websites, including the Office of Equity and Title IX.”

Although Annexstein said information about Title IX is listed on the website, she said the Office can talk to students about their options through supportive measures, informal resolution and formal resolution.

The different confidential and nonconfidential offices on campus that serve students act as another challenge for students getting information, according to Minster. There is no “one-stop shop” for students who have experienced sexual violence. Rather, students must go through many different offices to get care, ranging from the Office of Equity and Title IX to victim advocacy services at The Center for Well-Being Programs and Psychological Services.

“It creates such a burden on students that they have to go search out all this information,” Minster said.

More students are discussing AU’s response to sexual violence after the Oct. 31 incident in Leonard Hall. Over 1,400 students signed a list of demands, one of which calls for AU’s Office of Equity and Title IX website to be more transparent about their processes and answer students’ questions.

“For a long time, it felt like there was no one else at the University who was going through what I was going through,” the student said. “Again, it makes me sad thinking about how there are so many of us because it shouldn’t be that way. But at the same time, finding that solidarity with each other is really beautiful.”

aturner@theeagleonline.com

Students who have experienced sexual assault or harassment can seek support through confidential resources such as University’s Center for Well-Being Programs and Psychological Services, the Student Health Center or the following hotlines:

  • Collegiate Assistance Program: 1-855-678-8679
  • Rape, Abuse, Incest, National Network (RAINN) anonymous chat
  • RAINN hotline: 1-800-656-4673
  • DC Rape Crisis Center: 202-333-7273

Other resources include:

  • It’s On Us
  • Know Your IX
  • End Rape on Campus

Non-confidential resources include the University’s Office of Equity and Title IX and AUPD.

Editor’s note: Granting anonymity to sources is something The Eagle does not take lightly. Anonymity is only granted in the rarest of circumstances. A source in this story was granted anonymity to protect them from further harm. The Eagle’s Ethics Code, which was developed in consultation with the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, permits granting anonymity to sources sparingly and only when the information cannot be obtained through on-the-record sources or public records. In order to grant a source anonymity, a reporter must explain to the section’s managing editor and the editor-in-chief how they verified the information provided by the source and justify why this source should be granted anonymity. No story can rely solely on unnamed sources. In this story, a source was granted anonymity after reporters and editors verified the information that the source provided through documentation such as emails, records or additional interviews, for example. Although granting anonymity is rare at The Eagle and requires conversations with multiple editors and many considerations, we know that protecting our sources is important in maintaining the power of their stories, especially for such sensitive topics.

This article was edited by Abigail Pritchard, Jordan Young and Nina Heller. Copy editing done by Isabelle Kravis, Leta Lattin, Luna Jinks, Sarah Clayton and Stella Guzik. Graphics by Izzy Fantini. Web design by Nina Heller.

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