Northwestern University officials responded today to an online petition by hundreds of students calling for improvements to the school’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations, including the creation of an independent office to look into individual complaints.
In an email sent out this morning, Northwestern said it already meets many of the requests sought in the petition. The university, however, opposes the call for a committee independent of Northwestern to oversee the complaint process, saying the school already has Title IX coordinators and campus resources for alleged victims of sexual violence.
The petition on change.org has collected more than 1000 signatures since last week. It also calls for more transparency from the university to its investigations.
The issue came to the forefront last month after a Northwestern student sued a philosophy professor, Peter Ludlow, over allegations he sexually attacked her in 2012. She also filed a separate lawsuit against Northwestern, alleging the school mishandled her complaint about the professor.
Students had planned a protest today at a class taught by Ludlow on the Evanston campus.
An attorney for Ludlow has previously denied any inappropriate conduct on the professor’s part. Northwestern has also denied wrongdoing, saying it conducted a thorough investigation of the student’s complaint and swiftly disciplined the professor.
Northwestern revised its policies on relationships between professors and students last month. The new policy prohibits faculty and coaches from engaging in romantic, dating or sexual relationships with undergraduates.
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