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Harvard graduate says school failed to protect her from sexual assault, harassment; files suit
By adamg on Wed, 02/17/2016 - 9:56am
UPDATE: Judge dismisses case.
A woman who graduated Harvard last year says the university violated a federal equal education law by not educating students about sexual assault and harassment - and by failing to protect her after she complained about the actions of a former boyfriend who also attended the school.
In a lawsuit filed this week in US District Court in Boston, Alyssa Leader is seeking damages and punitive payments for the emotional and physical distress she says she is still suffering.
In her complaint, Leader detailed what she said was abusive behavior by her then boyfriend, identified only as "John Doe I" and what she said was a harassment campaign by him, his pals and his new girlfriend at the campus cafe where both she and he worked.
Leader alleges Harvard violated Title IX by not adequately educating students about sexual harassment and assault, by not providing her legally required aid and information when she filed a complaint - and by trying to dissuade her from complaining in the first place - and by taking no action to discipline the man.
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| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Complete Leader complaint | 391.98 KB |
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Comments
This seems like a no win situation.
For victims, suspects, "suspects", colleges, "victims", etc.
I just read that the University of Montana had to pay 245K to an alleged rapist who ended up being found not guilty of those charges. A lot of it is detailed in this book by John Krakauer.
http://www.amazon.com/Missoula-Rape-Justice-System-College/dp/0385538731
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/montana-pay-245k-settle-quarterba...
Helpful Suggestion for Universities
Stop making sexual assault a "discipline" matter, stop handling it internally save as a police matter, and let/make the local police handle it as a criminal matter..
Then start working to get it through entitled little heads that no means no, and a lack of yes means no, too.
Thought the same...
Did she report it to Cambridge PD or Harvard PD? If not, then of course its the schools fault(insert sarcasm). And Harvards fault for not "educating students" on sexual harassment? In this day and age where students demand "safe spaces" I find it hard to believe that Harvard(uber liberal institution) provided no such education... The victims are never at fault or partially to blame
According to the complaint,
According to the complaint, she did report eventually it to Harvard PD.
Also
Anyone who is found to have filed a false report should face the same punishment and consequences as the accuser would have if found guilty. As noted above, universities had a tendency to overreact and immediately side with the accuser, which ended up hitting them where it counts, in the wallet.
Now in a case like this it is trending the other way. Universities should just step out of the way and refer everyone to the local PD.
i understand what you're saying
but i've heard that it would mean even fewer reported rapes/assaults
WRT the second part, to me it is an absolute joke that the university doesn't immediately turn this over to an actual PD. i dont understand the logic behind telling your school that a crime was committed against you and not the police though, but whatever.
>it is an absolute joke that
>it is an absolute joke that the university doesn't immediately turn this over to an actual PD
Part of the complaint intake process should make it very clear that the complainant has the option to pursue this through either the university disciplinary system or the law enforcement system. And it should be clear about the differing procedures, standards of evidence, costs, timelines, and punishments.
However, the university disciplinary system may be better equipped to harassment-like situations, which seems to be the focus of this particular complaint. I'd be interested to hear if Harvard attempted to diffuse or monitor the situation more than what's described in the complaint. It says she asked that he be moved out of her dorm, but that's it. Perhaps they could have offered her a new room, or enlist a coworker/supervisor/camera at the cafe to report on any interactions, etc. Yes, this places more burden on the alleged victim, but in absence of strong evidence of a violation by John Doe, it's non-punitive approach that still allows the university to take some action to prevent future harassment.
Filing
a false police report IS illegal, with consequences.
There's several options when a police report is filed: not enough information to press charges, enough information to press charges but not enough to get a conviction, and enough to get a conviction.
Let's assume that everyone reporting sexual assault is doing so with a reasonable understanding of the law and what constitutes assault. That person might not get the outcome they want (charges and a conviction) but they will not be charged with filing a false report. That charge would be reserved for people who are blatantly lying, not people who are reporting foggy and confusing stories.
Itchy the feds make them investigate it as a "discipline" matter
It seems that is what this woman's complaint is about, that Harvard did not investigate it properly as Title 9 outlines.
I was under the impression
I was under the impression that the cited Title IX somehow requires universities to get involved in the matter, rather than allowing them to just hand it off for the local PD to handle. Also, since universities run their own PD with jurisdiction over what happens on campus, they're already involved anyway.
Pages 15-16 of the complaint
Pages 15-16 of the complaint describe what was going on. It sounds like the guy was an asshole, but it's a stretch to call it sexual assault. For example: "John Doe 1 would also
make hostile comments that were very threatening to Leader such as, “It’s almost as if
you like when people treat you like shit. People treat you poorly and then you give them
what they want. Maybe I should start treating you like shit to get what I want.”"
She sounds like a person who's prone to reacting. When a person in that state is in college or school, they're get their chain pulled a lot. That can be labelled "bullying" but it's nowhere close to sexual assault/harassment.
Hey Adam, I think the
Hey Adam, I think the beginning of the third graph should read "In her complaint,"
Indeed
Fixed, thanks.
Wow. You would think a place
Wow. You would think a place like Harvard would educate students on domestic violence, rape, etc., etc. because their students come from sheltered, wealthy lives and don't know a thing about such afflictions of the poor.
So sexual assault?
Is not an affliction of a certain income class? Good to know. Is it Wall St's fault? If Bernie Sanders is elected, is he going to ban sexual assault?
You'd be surprised what they don't know
Many of the students don't know enough to close their windows when they are cold in the winter. They call to have someone clean up bottles they drop and break instead of doing it themselves. They call when their bathrooms flood because they don't know that the shower curtain goes on the inside. Many of them live in insulated worlds of their own ignorance. Many of them grew up without ever being told "no, you can't have that." At the University the prevalent attitude is they are the best of the best. Do you believe this doesn't sink deep into their behaviors?
OK Mr. Working Man
Have any other insightful stereotypes about Harvard students you'd like to grace us with? Do you even know a single Harvard undergrad?
Some Harvard kids are rich, some are poor. But the type of brain-dead blue blooded aristocrat you describe exists only in your mind.
As a student at a similar institution...
I can confirm that the exact sort of "brain-dead, blue-blooded aristocrat" does, in fact, exist.
Are you joking?
Are you joking?
Many of Harvard's students
Many of Harvard's students are not wealthy. Harvard is interested in the brightest of the bright no matter their background. It's called diversity.
I agree most American and other western nation students
are not from wealthy backgrounds, although a larger percentage of non-American western students are from well off families. Most of the non-western foreign born, and many of the South American students, do come from well off backgrounds.
But their socioeconomic status doesn't detract from the fact the school and the outside world royally kisses their bums because they attend and graduated from Harvard, MIT, etc. You think that doesn't go to their heads?
Legacy admissions are all
Legacy admissions are all about the applicant's background.
Is it necessary to name the alleged victim in news stories?
This person alleges to have been a victim of harassment, that she was failed by the university when she sought help, and now she has to put her name out there publicly to try to get redress.
The name is available in the court document if anyone wants to know it, or if it becomes relevant to discussion.
Harvard's reputation won't hurt like an individual's will.
She could have sued under a pseudonym
Like Roe in Roe v. Wade. And she didn't have to have a press conference with her lawyers today.
I'm sure, given her druthers, she'd rather not have this dragged out in public. But for whatever reasons, she and her lawyers have decided to make her name public (probably because a case will get more attention if a name and face is associated with it).
It is up to the court to decide if the plaintiff can be an anon.
And it is rare, and the plaintiff usually needs to show that their privacy/safety concerns far outweigh the public's right to access public information like a public trial/lawsuit.
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/co-court-of-appeals/1366851.html
That's my understanding of it anyway.