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April 25, 2014

Brown University Under Fire for Letting Accused Rapist Who Strangled Victim Back on Campus 
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The issue of sexual assault on college campuses is in the spotlight.
Brown University is under fire for allowing a student who allegedly
raped and strangled a classmate to return to campus after what amounted
to a one-semester suspension. The victim, Lena Sclove, said her
assailant was found responsible for sexual misconduct by a university
panel, but will still be allowed back in the fall. Surrounded by
supporters, Sclove described her injuries.

Lena Sclove: "It turned out I had a cervical spine injury in my neck,
from being strangled. It's very common for trauma injuries like this to
take several months to surface. I could not walk for about two months,
from January and February. I was bedridden and was forced to take a
medical leave. So I lost my one semester of freedom, and now my next
opportunity to come back as a student, to matriculate here at Brown, is
the same semester that the rapist is allowed to come back and
matriculate here at Brown ... I feel like I should have been thanked by
the administration for keeping this campus safe. Instead, they kept him
safe."

Brown is not the only Ivy League school facing scrutiny for its handling
of sexual assault. Students at Columbia and Harvard universities have
filed complaints accusing their schools of violating federal law by
failing to adequately protect survivors and punish perpetrators. Last
month, a Harvard student published an open letter titled, "Dear Harvard:
You Win," detailing her unsuccessful battle to have her accused
assailant moved out of her residential house.

 

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