You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
Rice University has apologized for not pursuing consequences for a student accused of sexual assault after a survivor called out the university in a recently published op-ed in the student newspaper.
The anonymous op-ed outlined how a student had reported a sexual assault to authorities and then watched as the male perpetrator graduated in fall 2018 without any repercussions, reports The Houston Chronicle.
Late Friday evening Rice president David Leebron and the dean of undergraduates, Bridget Gorman, sent out an apology for the handling of the case.
Gorman also told the staff of the student newspaper that the administrators had not accurately told the student who filed the sexual assault complaint of the full outcome of the investigation. According to Gorman, the student did face consequences but was allowed to graduate regardless because he had achieved the appropriate number of credits.
Numerous copies of the op-ed were taped to the base of a prominent on-campus statue of the university's founder above the phrase "pay attention" written in red capital letters. They were removed swiftly by university police.
The op-ed sparked protests during Rice's Family Weekend as well as the circulation of a petition listing demands for the university to better its policies.
