2010s Timeline

A decade roiled by date rape drugs, fumbled assault complaints, and multiple complaints against a professor.

Jan 15, 2010

Community Feedback on Task Force Proposals 

The sexual misconduct policy task force holds a town meeting to solicit input on proposals for improving the complaint process. They include hiring outside investigators, reconsidering the role of the dean of students as sole adjudicator, training for adjudication board members, and removing legal language and “feel” from policy and process.

April 6, 2010

Consuming Alcohol No Longer Precludes Consent

While reviewing the task force’s proposals for revisions to the sexual misconduct complaint review process, College Council recommends three changes to the policy itself: altering the definition of ‘consent,’ a new paragraph on the consequences of false complaints, and adding stalking as a form of sexual harassment. Investigators can now evaluate whether a person’s judgment was impaired by alcohol or drugs, instead of just assuming that it was.

April 21, 2010

Drinkers Get Off Too Easy

At a town hall meeting on the newly formed Alcohol Review Committee, students express frustration with the lack of accountability about drinking.

May 14, 2010

College Council Approves Changes to Sexual Misconduct Complaint Process 

Updates improve transparency, education, and support services for survivors by creating a pool of trained faculty advisers, designating an adviser for each student contemplating a complaint, removing associate deans from investigations, having an investigator who will report to a trained community board, which decides on how cases will be adjudicated, and defining the appeals process more clearly. The changes also specify that education on sexual assault continues past new student week.

Sept 24, 2010

New Sexual Misconduct Complaint Process Announced

Heather Campbell, a 2010 alum hired to oversee implementation of the new standards, explains that all student complaints this year initiate with Amy Sillanpa, the associate director of residential life. Cases will be heard by three representatives from the new Community Board on Sexual Misconduct, which is composed of faculty, staff, and students and chaired by associate dean and Title IX coordinator Julie Thornton. Each party to a complaint will select a Sexual Misconduct Support (SMS) Advisor from a pool of trained staff. Appeals will only be heard if new evidence comes to light or if a student feels a procedural error was made or sanctions significantly conflict with precedent.

April 4, 2011

DOE Releases Guidance on Campus Assault (Later Rescinded)

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issues a "Dear Colleague" letter providing guidance for colleges on ending campus sexual harassment and sexual violence, emphasizing that student-on-student offenses are a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX. This guidance is rescinded in 2017.

March 7, 2013

Campus SaVE Act Enacted

Signed into law by President Obama, the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act amends the Clery Act of 1990 to increase transparency about incidents of sexual violence, guarantee enhanced rights for victims, set standards for disciplinary proceedings, and require campus-wide prevention-education programs. Institutions must also release statistics in an annual security report. 

May 18, 2013

Student Reveals She Was Raped Just After New Student Week

An unnamed student, one of 18 students who describe assaults in a Take Back the Night speakout, says she was raped during her second week at Carleton and attempted suicide. She says the worst part was realizing “I’d missed the chance to speak up.” 

Oct 18, 2013

Date Rape Drugs Circulating Again

All-campus mail alerts the student body that date rape drugs, possibly GHB, Ketamine, or rohypnol, have been identified in the Northfield community.

March 2014

Clery Act Updated to Include Stalking

The law, which requires colleges and universities to report campus crime data, is reinstated with amendments to require reporting on domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

April 29, 2014

DOE Releases Clarifications on Title IX and Sexual Violence (Later Rescinded)

The Department of Education releases a Q&A to help institutions understand compliance with Title IX, but this missive, along with similar guidance released in 2011, is rescinded in 2017.

Oct 17, 2014

Bill Cosby Rapes Surface

Comedian Hannibal Buress riffs on well-known but long-ignored allegations of rape against Bill Cosby.

Jan 17, 2015

Chanel Miller Is Raped by Brock Turner at a Stanford University Party

When he’s sentenced to only six months in county jail and probation because the judge feared a longer sentence would have a “severe impact” on Turner, a champion swimmer, Miller reads a 7,000-word impact statement to the judge. She posts the statement online and it goes viral.

Feb 1, 2015

New Sexual Assault Policy Changes Announced

To comply with the Campus SaVE Act, Carleton adds language prohibiting dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. It also restructures its sexual misconduct policy to clearly define three prohibited behaviors: sexual assault, sexual harassment, and sexually inappropriate behaviors. Carletonian reports that the policy specifies no procedures or consequences for offenses.

Feb 1, 2015

Sexual Violence Puts Survivors Through the Ringer, Still Considered an “Opportunity" to Educate Perps

A survivor who filed a sexual assault complaint against another student at Carleton in 2014 describes the process that followed as “eight weeks of hell” in a statement posted to Change.org calling for more investment by the college in sexual violence resources. Though her assailant hired a lawyer, he was found guilty, but his only punishment was  “disciplinary status of censure and warning” and having to write a paper on what he had learned about consent. The survivor says, “Though Carleton takes a punitive approach in other forms of misconduct, such as academic, sexual violence is considered a ‘learning opportunity.’” She continues, “I’m not opposed to educational or reparative justice when done correctly, but Carleton has no real way of facilitating this ‘learning opportunity” and “should be willing to finance legal help for survivors.” She adds,“Survivors won’t put themselves through the pain of a misconduct process if cases like mine show that there is no hope for justice.”

Feb 11, 2015

Students Poke Holes in the Process

At a public presentation, students suggest that the school hire legal representation for complainants and ask how to prosecute a respondent who has a known pattern of dangerous behavior but no complainant who wants to come forward; how the school handles cases when a complainant isn’t a student but the respondent is; and about the rights of minors during procedures.

Feb 27, 2015

“The Hunting Ground” Reveals College Coverups

Amy Zering and Kirby Dick release their new documentary, described as “an exposé of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families.”

Sept 28, 2015

Bystander Intervention Program Introduced

The Gender and Sexuality Center implements Green Dot, a national program intended to reduce power-based personal violence through intervention and prevention.

March 2016

Student Raped at St. Olaf Demands Change 

A St. Olaf student called on her college to reform its sexual assault complaint policy after they dismissed her complaint and she went to the police instead. The case is still pending and the press is covering her campaign.

May 2, 2016

Carleton Sued by an Assault Survivor

A recent graduate sues the college in federal court, saying she suffers from posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety, all symptoms she attributes not only to being raped twice on campus, but also to the complaint process. She names Title IX coordinator Julie Thornton and two deans, saying they discouraged her from filing a complaint after the second assault because the rapist “was a senior and would graduate and be gone from the college in two months.” She also says her requests for academic accommodations were rebuffed and that administrators and staff were inadequately prepared to help students who had been sexually assaulted.

May 13, 2016

Change.org Petition for Full-Time Title IX Staff Gains Traction

The 2015 petition for full-time Title IX coordinator at Carleton gains traction. Title IX coordinator and associate dean Julie Thornton agrees, “Deans work long hours, and combining this position with that of Title IX coordinator negatively impacts implementation of Title IX procedure.” 

May 13, 2016

Is a Title IX Investigation Warranted?

Pressed by students for a response, Title IX coordinator Julie Thornton says she has no memory of an internal investigation into the school’s execution of its sexual assault policies ever happening at Carleton. Carletonian says it’s not clear who would carry out such an investigation, especially as she and other deans are named in the lawsuit filed May 2. 

May 20, 2016

Rape Suit Alleges Carleton Condones Drinking

The lawsuit, a pdf of which has been circulating on campus, also accuses Carleton of repeatedly violating its own drug and alcohol policies and enabling sexual misdeeds. Carletonian reports that according to the 2015 Student Perception Survey, which measured students’ opinions around drugs and alcohol, 75.52 percent of respondents said they agree or strongly agree that alcohol use is a central part of the social life of students at Carleton; 21 percent identified as “substance-free.” The May 2 sexual assault lawsuit alleges, “Carleton is aware of and condones well-established functions such as the Freshman/Senior Party, knowingly permitting, promoting, endorsing, and enabling underage drinking and alcohol abuse.” It goes on, “Carleton’s negligent actions and inactions, consistent with a pattern and practice over time, directly and proximately caused and contributed to Student One’s intoxication and his sexual assault and rape of Plaintiff.” 

May 24, 2016

Alleged Rapists Outed in Anonymous Email

Students receive an email with the subject “Campus Update on Sexual Misconduct” from a fake email address, “carletoncollegedean@gmail.com,” containing the names of ten current and former Carleton students and ending with the statement: “This is not an exhaustive list.” Pamphlets with the names were also found in the library and in Sayles.

May 25. 2016

Students Gather to Discuss Sexual Assault

More than 100 students assemble to discuss shifting the campus’s focus from the email to supporting and protecting survivors of sexual misconduct. The email “can generate a lot of sympathy for those who were named,” says Gender and Sexuality Center director Laura Haave, who also attended. “It shifts the dialogue away from the fact that sexual violence happens here. My purpose is to try to shift the conversation back to one about survivors and prevention.”

July 2016

Title IX Coordinator and Associate Dean Julie Thornton Leaves Carleton

Sept 30, 2016

As Litigation Begins on Sexual Assault Case, Changes to Alcohol Policies Announced 

Carleton revamps RA policies pertaining to underage drinking and refocuses alcohol education for first years. 

Aug 31, 2016

Title IX Staff Reshuffle During Search for First Full-Time Coordinator

Assistant dean Amy Sillanpa also serves as Interim Title IX coordinator and director of community standards. Laura Riehle-Merrill, Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) director for community engagement and student leadership, takes on Sillanpa’s former position as Title IX deputy for support. A committee will conduct a national search for a full-time Title IX coordinator. All new students and current faculty now must complete “Haven,” an online sexual assault prevention program. The Community Board on Sexual Misconduct will receive more training focused on trauma. Green Dot, the national bystander intervention program, will increase trainings for students, faculty and staff.

Oct 12, 2016

Carleton’s Sesquicentennial

Carleton celebrates its 150th birthday with special events throughout the weekend.

Oct 28, 2016

Professor Accused of Sexual Harassment

A student submits a Community Concern Form (CCF), a separate process from filing a formal Title IX complaint, about sociology and anthropology professor Jay Levi. He’s given a no-contact order, which the complainant says he promptly violates.

Jan 9, 2017

Sexual Assault Lawsuit Amended

Judge dismisses the four charges related to underage drinking from the lawsuit against Carleton but allows other charges to move forward.

Jan 21, 2017

The Women’s March

Millions of people march in Washington, D.C. on the first day of Donald Trump’s presidency to support gender equality and civil rights the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history. Supporters hold protests in other cities around the world. 

Jan 28, 2017

Title IX Candidates Queried

Candidates for Title IX coordinator are asked in a letter how they would attempt to “dismantle rape culture, use their position to promote and support sexual violence prevention,” and address the higher proportion of LGBTQA+ students and students of color who are affected by sexual violence. The letter also states that, compared to peer institutions, “Carleton students are less likely to use our institutional procedures to formally report sexual assault.”

Feb 17, 2017

Students Hope to Evict Antiabortion Front 

Student Advocates for Reproductive Choice petition the college to decide against renewing the lease for the Northfield Women’s Center on college property, alleging that it gives out medically inaccurate and misleading information to patients seeking abortion services.

April 5, 2017

Off-Campus Studies Trip Canceled for Prof Accused of Harassment

The college cancels next year’s off-campus studies program in Guatemala led byJay Levi. The same day, complainants in a 2016-17 Title IX investigation, where eight witnesses gave testimony against him, are told that he has been sanctioned but not how. Levi tells the Carletonian, “I have decided to extend the sabbatical I was already scheduled to take in the spring to also include the winter and fall.” A student senior creates a petition calling for a way to appeal Title IX decisions involving faculty and staff. 

April 28, 2017

Hazing Casualty Complains of Sexual Assault, Police Investigate

DTX, a secret society that claims to be decades old and holds several all-student parties at Carleton every year, hosts a scavenger hunt for new members. The next morning a female student who says she has been sexually assaulted and names the perpetrator is hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. She tells police she received an anonymous email saying she’d been selected to take part in a secret “tradition of excellence and would regret not taking advantage of it.” A group of about a dozen students met at the Japanese Garden behind Watson at 2 AM for the initiation. They were given jello shots, beer, wine, and hard alcohol and sent to perform various tasks. She said she blacked out after a bonfire and then woke up in bed with the accused. She asked him later if they’d had sex and he confirmed it. He told police the sex was consensual.

April 29, 2017

Title IX Coordinator Search Starts Over

The Title IX Search Committee begins its search for a full-time coordinator again after failing to hire any of its three finalists.

May 18, 2017

Students Suspended for Hazing

Thirteen students are suspended for “hazing and extreme alcohol consumption as part of initiation into the secret co-ed social club.” Associate vice president for external relations Joe Hargis says until it started investigating the events of April 28 it had no idea DTX existed. 

June 2017

Board Recommends Suspension for Hazing Suspect 

Carleton’s Community Board on Sexual Misconduct (CBSM) concludes that he violated the school’s sexual misconduct policy by having sex with an incapacitated person who could not consent and recommends he be suspended for three academic terms. He and the accuser both appeal the decision.

June 2017

Accused Student Expelled

Dean of students Carolyn Livingston echoes the accuser’s appeal, saying, “The three-term suspension levied by the CBSM was not sufficient punishment for the seriousness of his actions” and asserted that his “continued attendance at Carleton would pose a danger to not only [the accuser], but other members of the community as well.” 

July 20, 2017
Criminal charges in Hazing Sexual Assault 

The student was charged with one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

July 26, 2017

Hazing Suspensions Rescinded

The suspensions of 12 of the 13 students implicated in the hazing are rescinded by the Judicial Hearing Board, and the remaining suspension is reduced in severity. JHB says students responsible should be “required to complete alcohol training, write a reflection essay, and perform community service.” 

Sept 22, 2017

DOE Claws Back Sexual Assault Guidance

Trump's Department of Education rescinds the Dear Colleague Letter of April 4, 2011, regarding sexual assault and the April 29, 2014, Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence. This is the fourth time in 2017 the DOE has rescinded guidance regarding Title IX over concerns that the documents led to “deprivation of rights” for accused students and that the department had not followed a formal public notice and comment process before issuing the 2011 and 2014 guidance documents.

Sept 24, 2017

Participant Says DTX Affair Poorly Handled by College

Temporarily suspended DTX initiate says he was “surprised with how ill-equipped the administration was to handle this appropriately. The appeals process was kind of a mess.” 

Sept 24, 2017

Alcohol Prevention Programming Unaffected by Hazing, NSW Alcohol Ed Canceled

Assistant director of health promotion and project coordinator for alcohol and other drug prevention says “our alcohol prevention programming has not actually changed as a result of the incident.” When asked why the usual alcohol-use education programming for new students was not included in this year’s new student week, he said, “Feedback and data from previous years has indicated a need and want to talk more about mental health and stress during New Student Week.”

Oct 14, 2017

New Full-Time Title IX Coordinator Offers Recent Carleton Stats

Laura Riehle-Merrill has been at Carleton for 12 years and served in the CCCE while also contributing as a sexual assault support advisor. She estimates in an interview that 90 percent of sexual assault cases involve incapacitation, usually due to alcohol. She also says there have been 13 Title IX cases in the last three years, and the respondent was found in violation and had sanctions in nine. There have been three expulsions and two suspensions.

Oct 16, 2017

#MeToo Explodes on Social Media

Eleven years after Tarana Burke coined the expression “Me Too” to show support for Black survivors of sexual violence, actress Alyssa Milano encourages people to post their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse on social media attaching the phrase #MeToo. The internet is flooded with stories of assault by teachers, coaches, famous chefs, and movie industry executives and directors. High-profile terminations and lawsuits ensue.

Oct 21, 2017

Northfield Women’s Center Opts Out of Renewing Its Lease With Carleton

Following protests by Carleton students, the antiabortion front says it’s decided to leave because of space considerations.

Oct 28, 2017

Investigation: One Hazing Participant Received Special Treatment

Carletonian finds that one of the 13 students implicated in last spring’s hazing incident received disproportionately fewer sanctions than their peers and was able to walk at commencement while others were not.

Dec 2017

“Cat Person” Goes Viral

A fictional essay by Kristen Rouperian in the New Yorker hits a nerve. The story concerns a woman who gets into a relationship with a man who seems less and less appealing, yet she opts to have sex with him rather than sort out how to turn him down. Afterward, she tries to avoid him, and his pursuit of her feels increasingly desperate and creepy.

Jan 13, 2018

“Worst Night of My Life” 

In an account published on the website Babe, a young woman describes a date with the comedian and actor Aziz Ansari, where he repeatedly assaulted her.

Jan 15, 2018

Students Demand Better Protocols for Claims Against Faculty and Staff

Current Title IX adjudication procedures involving faculty and staff include “one investigator, one adjudicator, and two advisors, all of whom could be faculty or staff as well,”CSA points out. “A single person will decide your fate.” 

May 20, 2018

Prof Accused of Sexual Harassment Returns

Next year’s catalog announces anthropology professor Jay Levi’s return from his sabbatical.

May 25, 2018

Come Clean, Carleton Posted on Medium.com

June 15, 2018

Carleton Alums Organize Endeavoring to Do Better

At a packed meeting held in response to the Medium article, alums discuss what they can do to help advance better safety and outcomes at Carleton. Eight ideas are presented and attendees vote for their top priorities. Promoting the addition of prevention programs to Title IX becomes the group’s first objective.

Aug 16, 2018

Charges Dropped in DTX Sexual Assault Case

Sept 2018

Not Prevention

Carleton liaison requests that ETDB not pursue prevention as an objective. In light of the college's plans to hire a full-time Title IX staffer dedicated to prevention, ETDB elects to focus instead on the second most popular objective at the reunion meeting, reconciliation.

Sept 21, 2018

Sexual Violence Prevention Enhanced

Updates to the Title IX office and the resources surrounding sexual misconduct prevention and response include the creation of a new sexual violence prevention coordinator position as well as the addition of Professor Heidi Jaynes to the Title IX lead Team. 

Sept 27, 2018

Christine Blasey Ford Accuses Kavanaugh of Sexual Assault

The California college professor describes how Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, sexually assaulted her when they were in high school. Kavanaugh is later confirmed.

Jan 24, 2019

Survey Says: Thumbs Down

Title IX coordinator Laura Riehle-Merrill presents survey results indicating that “in general, Carleton students feel less respected, less cared for, less safe and more unfairly treated in 2018 than they did in 2015.” Eighty-one student-student Title IX cases were brought to attention between 2017-2018. Of these cases, 42 percent were in the category of sexual assault, defined as any sexual touching without consent, and three moved through formal campus adjudication.

Feb 2019

Beware the Prof Campaign

Leaflets aimed at informing people making course selections describe a Title IX case involving SOAN prof Jay Levi. 

April 29, 2019

Sexual Violence Prevention Plans Presented

Nora Peterson, Carleton’s first full-time sexual violence prevention coordinator, presents plans to CSA Senate. So far Carleton mandates only an online course for first-years. CSA Senate president Anesu Masakura says the current sexual violence prevention programs at Carleton are inadequate. 

May 2019

Another Title IX Complaint Against Prof

Another student files a Title IX complaint against Jay Levi.

June 1, 2019

Levi Revises His Name

Campus activists discuss Professor Levi’s name change from “Jay” to “Jerome” on class schedules following multiple Title IX allegations against him.

Aug 23, 2019

2016 Sexual Assault Lawsuit Dismissed

After three years of litigation, U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud rules that the plaintiff has no evidence of “deliberate indifference” by Carleton College in dealing with her alleged two rapes and, on that basis, awards the college summary judgment.

September 2019

Prof Levi Suspended

Jay Levi is temporarily suspended from teaching after having been found to have engaged in “sexually inappropriate conduct” with a student. He is slated to return this winter to teach Intro courses in anthropology and economic anthropology.

July 2019

Student Expelled After 2017 Hazing Sues Carleton

After being expelled when the college concluded hed had sex with an incapacitated person who could not consent, he sues in U.S. District Court for gender discrimination in violation of Title IX, racial discrimination in violation of Title VI and the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and negligence. The complaint says he was also “subjected to harassment, discrimination, and disparate treatment on the basis of his race when he was removed from Carleton College on the basis of allegations that did not result in the removal of similarly situated caucasian students.”

Sept 2019

Carleton Files Motion to Dismiss 

The school contends “the process that led to the decision to expel him was thorough, consistent with Carleton’s policies, and in full accord with the law.” The student seeks a clean disciplinary record as well as a minimum of $75,000 in compensation for emotional distress and diminished educational and career opportunities. 

Oct 19, 2019

Annual Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Report

There were 117 Community Concern Forms (CCFs) filed related to sexual misconduct during the 2018-19 academic year, the highest number in the past five years. Of those, eight involved faculty or staff and five involved visitors to the college. Ninety-two of the reports went through an informal resolution, meaning the complainant chose not to pursue an investigation.

Only three of the complaints went through a formal resolution, where the Title IX Coordinator asked for an investigation and report. In all three of these cases, a policy violation was found. The college also issued 12 no-contact orders during this past academic year.

Of the complaints, 55 percent were made by students, 35 percent by staff, 7 percent by faculty, 5 percent anonymously, and 3 percent by security. Of the 92 student cases, 41 percent pertained to sexual assault, 20 percent pertained to sexual harassment and 14 percent pertained to stalking.

Oct 18, 2019

DeVos Proposes Title IX Changes

In November 2017, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced proposed changes to Title IX policies enacted under the Obama administration, which are expected to be approved this fall. Proposed changes include requiring victims of sexual assault to provide a live cross-examination by an advisor, as well as a higher evidentiary standard requirement.