AUSTIN, Texas – The end of the fall semester is looming, but University of Texas at Austin students are continuing to put pressure on administrators to act against two professors who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct policy violations and are still allowed to teach.
- Have staged sit-ins and circulated a petition
- Names can be seen through open records request
- New laws passed could have an effect
In the last few months, students have stormed a class, staged sit-ins, circulated a petition and demanded public notices naming all professors that have been reprimanded for misconduct.
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Freshman Kaya Epstein says the small changes the university has made are not enough. She participated in a protest Friday calling for the university to publish the names of professors with sexual misconduct violations online.
"We still have a lot of students walking into classes, or signing up for classes with these professors and then being blindsided by the news that their professors have been accused of predation," said Epstein.
The university says it will disclose the names of faculty and staff with sexual misconduct violations to anyone who submits an open records request. But students say if UT won't fire them, they want a list that's easier to access. A university working group will be reviewing that possibility.
Alex Evans says the university's response is insufficient. She’s a survivor of sexual assault and says she’s joining in the protests to fight for change.
"Being a survivor has definitely made me stronger. I'm not grateful for what happened to me, but it's made me a more empathetic person, more aware of the plights of those around me. And it's made me more willing to get up and do something when something bad happens," said Evans.
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But Epstein says having to protest sexual misconduct on campus shouldn't be any student's responsibility.
"It's not fair that we're taking time out of our studies that we are paying for, to be out on the steps, or out on the Provost's office, to get the university to act, and literally protect us," said Evans.
UT President Greg Fenves and the Executive Vice President and Provost have agreed to attend a public forum with students next semester. Administrators have also met with student organizers several times since the sit-ins began. UT has also hired a law firm to review its policies and formed a campus working group with students and employees.
Click the video link above to watch reporters Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News and Lara Korte of the Austin American-Statesman discuss the effect that new laws passed by the Texas Legislature could have on the campus sexual misconduct.