Sexual Misconduct

The U.S. Department of Education released a series of new guidelines for handling Title IX cases Wednesday, including a requirement to hold live hearings and allow cross-examination — a decision that UC administration said it opposes.

Attorney Mark Hathaway is suing the UC system on behalf of all students disciplined for sexual harassment and sexual violence based on a 2015 UC policy.

A policy regarding the process of handling sexual misconduct accusations went into effect across the UC system Friday after a California court of appeals ruled in December that the respondent is entitled to certain rights, including the right to cross-examine the claimant and the right to a hearing in higher education environments.

A UC Davis student filed a petition Thursday in the Alameda County Superior Court to the UC Board of Regents after he was issued a two-year suspension from the UC system for allegedly violating the UC Davis Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy and the UC Policy on Student Conduct and Discipline.

Fourteen investigations involving UC Davis faculty and staff show that employees were found to have violated UC sexual violence and sexual harassment policy in the last two years.

In one of the reports, a female complainant under the respondent’s supervision alleged that he asked her to follow him into a closet and take a picture of the respondent naked.

Documents obtained through a California Public Records Act, or CPRA, request made by The Daily Californian uncovered multiple incidents of unwanted physical advances, requests and comments of a sexual nature by UCLA employees.

Retired campus architecture professor Nezar AlSayyad, who was suspended over sexual harassment allegations in August, is now suing the UC Board of Regents and Chancellor Carol Christ over his suspension.

The woman, whose name was redacted in the documents, filed a complaint with the UC Santa Barbara Title IX and Sexual Harassment Policy Compliance Office, or TIX/SHPC, on June 8, 2016. She alleged that a UCSB employee, whose name was also redacted, sexually assaulted her while she was “in an incapacitated state and unable to consent.”

The eight protesters stayed for two hours and directed their anger toward the university’s Title IX office, which they repeatedly said involves a broken, inept process. They also criticized the UC system, saying administrators failed to deal properly with cases of sexual misconduct involving faculty.