The University of Connecticut does not have a problem when it comes to investigating sexual assaults and reprimanding those responsible, at least according to school president Susan Herbst.

At a Board of Trustees meeting on UConn's Storrs campus Wednesday, the Hartford Courant reported, Herbst impassionedly said her school does not look the other way when it comes to reported cases of sexual misconduct.

Seven UConn students filed a federal complaint Monday alleging Title IX gender equality violations on the school's part. The complaint has been filed with the U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights (OCR).

"This is so obvious to those of us who work here and deal with these serious and painful issues that I am stunned that I even have to say it," Herbst told the board of trustees. "I cannot speak to the motivations of people who have suggested this."

Four of the seven complainants appeared in a press conference alongside high-profile civil rights attorney Gloria Allred. The students claimed the school did not take the necessary measures to ensure justice had been achieved in their individual cases.

"It's very personal to me as a woman leader," Herbst said. "I take the pain of victims very seriously."

Allred reportedly responded to Herbst's comments in an email, saying the school president would rather ignore the problem than fix it.

"President Herbst, it is you that has it wrong," Allred said. "You cannot hide behind your gender. This problem is real and unless and until the UConn administration is willing to open its eyes and look at the problem objectively and take steps to remedy the problems it will continue."

Monisha Rao, a senior who carries pepper spray with her at all times, said she was disappointed in Herbst's comments. She said she would have liked to see the president make assurances that the school would be pursuing the allegations, not that the claims themselves were "misguided."

Rao said she wished Herbst had said the school is "taking these allegations seriously and we're going to look into them instead of saying that these women are misguided. I feel really disheartened that I can't stand behind our first woman president because I don't think she's doing enough to protect students on campus."