Iowa University officials pledge broad sex bias review

By Ryan J. Foley Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- After being criticized for its treatment of a woman assaulted by two football players, the University of Northern Iowa has announced plans for a wide-ranging review of the way its athletics department and other offices handle sexual harassment and assault complaints. All three of Iowa's public universities are reviewing policies for preventing and reporting child abuse in response to cases at Penn State and Syracuse, where athletics coaches have been accused of using their positions to assault young victims. But UNI is going further than the others, performing a full-blown review and audit to determine whether its practices comply with the federal law known as Title IX that bans gender discrimination in public education. The effort is believed to be the first of its kind in school history. A Davenport woman suing the university for the way she was treated after two football players sexually assaulted her in a dorm room in 2004 has been seeking precisely such a review in her pending lawsuit, which was filed in 2007. One of the players pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse, and the other pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. Both men, who were freshmen football recruits from Texas, served prison terms. The woman alleges that most university administrators treated her with "great animosity" after the assault. She claimed they failed to make academic accommodations she requested, declined to let her move to another dormitory and did nothing when she reported receiving harassing calls from players. After she was forced to quit school weeks later, the university sent her tuition bill to a collection agency and the dean of students told her she was disappointed "she didn't tough it out," according to the lawsuit. The Associated Press reported in September on harsh legal tactics the Iowa attorney general's office was using to try to discredit the woman and defeat her claim for damages. State lawyers demanded access to records showing her history on social media sites like Facebook dating back to 2003, years of cell phone bills and personal photographs, mental health treatment records, details about her employment as a dancer at a strip club, her personal journal and information about her father's mysterious death when she was a young child. After victims' advocates blasted UNI's handling of the case, President Ben Allen did not defend the legal tactics but said the school was "steadfast in its commitment to providing a safe living and learning environment for all students." The woman's lawsuit is asking for UNI "to reform its policies, procedures, training and other matters so as to effectively address harassment and meet all applicable standards of Title IX." She claimed she was denied equal access to education, which is required under the law. Leah Gutknecht, an assistant for Allen in charge of compliance and equity management, insisted the review was not related to the lawsuit or any other complaint and was only part of the school's routine efforts to make improvements. She said an outside consultant would be hired for the review, which will be completed during the spring semester and look at the school's structure and procedures for addressing sexual harassment and misconduct, the training of employees and students and communication practices. Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Attorney General Tom Miller, said the office did not suggest UNI perform the review and will have no involvement in it. But Pressley Henningsen, a Cedar Rapids lawyer who is representing the woman, said it was not credible for UNI to say the woman's case did not play a role in prompting the review. He questioned why the school waited four years after she filed the lawsuit to review the procedures she questioned. Henningsen said he hoped the review would lead to changes, such as athletes getting more education about sexual assault and someone other than the dean of students working with victims. "We look forward to the results and to the betterment of the community for all the young women there," he said. "It's something they should have done a long time ago." Trial in the woman's case has been pushed back until April 2013, and Greenwood said the two sides still had "unresolved disputes" over the state's discovery requests. Published: Tue, Dec 20, 2011