Timelines

For at least six decades, Carleton students have campaigned against inequities in campus policies. They’ve drafted proposals, envisioned solutions, designed and implemented programs and staffed them with volunteer labor. Their initiatives have created change at Carleton and even farther afield. The outrage of the four survivors who sued in 1989 even led to national legislation affecting all U.S. colleges and universities. But college life is transient, and when problems reemerged or policies were weakened, incoming students encountered the same issues—and took up the same causes—with no awareness of the strides made by earlier cohorts. To document their efforts, we reviewed the Carletonian from 1960 to the present, supplementing our research with news reports, public records, and other media. This record gives us all an opportunity to view our shared history more coherently and to insist that Carleton avoid repeating its mistakes.

2020s - The Title IX office churns, and Carleton fights another survivor lawsuit. [to come]

2010s - A decade roiled by date rape drugs, fumbled assault complaints, and multiple complaints against a professor.

2000s - A new batch of predators inspires a new batch of student advocates.

1990s - A federal lawsuit leads to laws protecting survivors, but adjudication problems persist.

1980s - Campus rape and baby steps toward justice.

1970s - Co-ed dorms are in, sex is allowed, gynecology not so much.

1960s - Students demand a say on rules that govern their personal lives.