Emerson College Student Placed on Academic Probation After Sexual Assault Claim; Received Little Support from School
ByAfter reporting her sexual assault at Emerson College, Sarita Nadkarni, a junior claimed she did not find any help and her grades slipped a result, which landed her on academic probation.
Nadkarni has added her name to the federal complaint filed by Emerson students against the school for failing to properly respond to their campus sexual assault claims, the Huffington Post reported.
Earlier this month, a group of students filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) alleging the school broke the federal gender equality law Title IX.
Being placed on academic probation without receiving proper support, Nadkarni claimed, puts her in danger of losing scholarship money and of being suspended.
"During this entire time while I was trying to heal, I was not doing well and not getting the academic support that I needed," she said.
Nadkarni said she was sexually assaulted March 12, her 21st birthday, and reported the incident within the next few days. After she reported the crime, she said she had trouble focusing in her classes and did not receive helpful academic support from the school. She also said she has yet to hear from campus police regarding her investigation, with which she has cooperated fully.
Dr. Sylvia Spears, Emerson's vice president for Diversity and Inclusion, could not disclose details in an ongoing legal situation, but did say the school is not ignoring the situation.
"While there are some things we do well," Spears said, "I do think there are things that we can do better."
After providing a statement to city and campus police after the incident and allowing authorities to examine the room where she was assaulted, Nadkarni turned her focus to completing her finals. The academic counseling center was very busy with student preparing for exams, so she went through the Dean of Students' office.
She began the process of getting incomplete grades for three classes due to her difficult personal situation. When one of her professors requested she get an email from the office of the Dean of Students, an official said it could not be done.
"Outside of you communicating your concerns to your professor, I'm not sure what else (if anything) can be done," according to a copy of the email, sent from the official to Nadkarni, provided to The Huffington Post.
She went into that summer feeling confident her professors would have given her incompletes for her particular situation. She later received a letter informing her she was on academic probation and faced a possible suspension.
She turned in the unfinished coursework before the fall semester, but received another letter informing her she was not making satisfactory progress.
Spears confirmed the school is conducting external and internal reviews to their sexual misconduct policies. The OCR has yet to announce if they will investigate at Emerson College.