Chicago Maroon references Sokolow quote

Brett Sokolow's quote referenced: “Sexual assaults will always cluster at the intersection of privilege & alcohol.”

http://ow.ly/Ivhn300E6Ps

ATIXA position on transcript notation in The Huffington Post

The Association of Title IX Administrators, a higher education professionals group, last year began calling for schools to note on academic transcripts if a student has been dismissed or expelled over a sexual assault accusation.

http://ow.ly/YX5C8

Campus Rape Victims Finding Their Voice - Arise America

President & CEO Brett A. Sokolow, Esq. discusses campus sexual assault and survivors finding their voice with Dana Bolger of Know Your IX on Arise America. To view the TV segment, click here. 

Campus Rape Victims Find a Voice

The student movement is being matched by increased vigilance on the part of the federal government and universities, said Brett Sokolow, the president and CEO of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management Group, which consults and represents campuses for issues including Title IX.

Read more: http://nation.time.com/2013/08/08/campus-rape-victims-find-a-voice/#ixzz2bUBgemEa

Colleges consider a new 'blueprint' for responding to sexual assault

The documents in Montana's settlement offer precision not found in other recent resolutions of sexual-misconduct investigations by the Education Department, says Brett A. Sokolow, chief executive of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, a law and consulting firm. This settlement can guide colleges on how and whom to train, with what content, and how frequently, he says. 

Read more: http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Consider-a-New/140503/?key=GW8lI1NuZyAQZHBgYWlCMmsHaXJsYxp1YyEeP31xblpTEA==

Vulnerable Students

Daniel Swinton, senior executive vice president at the NCHERM Group, a law and consulting firm that advises schools and colleges on safer schools and campuses, said that it’s difficult to speculate on which departments may be more prone to instances of sexual assault by faculty, since it’s so underreported as a crime in general.

But faced with allegations, he said, institutions have an obligation to take “reasonable and targeted” measures to stop the harassment or abuse, prevent its reoccurrence and remedy its effects. 

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/30/could-music-students-be-more-risk-sexual-misconduct-professors#ixzz2aXX1CJg4 

Looking the Other Way?

Daniel Swinton, senior executive vice president at The NCHERM Group, a law and consulting firm that advises schools and colleges on safer schools and campuses…called the case “disturbing,” and [said it] could have major legal ramifications for the university, depending on who the unspecified employees alerted to claims about Miller, turn out to be. Responsible employees under Title IX – those who have authority to address and remedy on such claims – are mandated reporters. 

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/16/uconn-launches-investigation-its-own-handling-child-sex-abuse-allegations-against#ixzz2ZDKs8HWO 

Michelle Issadore, M.Ed. and Daniel C. Swinton, J.D., Ed.D. comment on new OCR guidelines

Michelle Issadore, M.Ed. and Daniel C. Swinton, J.D., Ed.D. comment on new OCR guidelines in Holding Colleges Accountable, a June article in Inside Higher Ed. Issadore makes note that recent changes have been in response to student assembly and that students are becoming more informed about their rights under Title IX and the Clery Act, and they're organizing." Swinton discusses how the principles and approaches outlined in the recent Montana Resolution Agreement are "transferable to many institutions." 

W. Scott Lewis clarifies OCR position in The Atlantic

A recent The Atlantic article (Which Matters More: Reporting Assault or Respecting a Victim's Wishes?) critiques Columbia's "conservative reading of Title IX" and the policy implications that order faculty and staff to report cases of sexual harassment even when the student has pleaded for secrecy. The NCHERM Group Partner W. Scott Lewis clarifies OCR's intended position on mandatory reporting: "the Office of Civil Rights wanted deans, directors, assistant directors, VPs, and provosts to be the 'responsible employees' who must report sexual harassment. These are the people who can do suspensions or no-contact orders, move people from residence halls, or find other solutions to a sexual harassment problem."

Brett A. Sokolow, Esq. discusses perceived improvements to "garden variety" sexual assault cases

Brett A. Sokolow, Esq., President & CEO of The NCHERM Group, discussed perceived improvements to "garden variety" sexual assault cases in "Notre Dame University and the complexities of sexual assault cases." He goes on to comment that "the old rules still apply if [the alleged assailant is] a star athlete or student president... Corruption still exists in those cases."

Saunie Schuster, Esq. discusses recent "wake-up calls" in Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Saunie Schuster, Esq., Partner at The NCHERM Group, was interviewed in "Organizations Work to Raise Awareness to Prevent Rape," in Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Schuster commented on what was describe as the vortex of wake-up calls to campus officials by saying, “The fact that the OCR began doing voluntary compliance reviews and not merely responding to a complaint communicated to schools that they were serious about the enforcement of the Title IX Guidance.”

Review by The NCHERM Group referenced in AP article

Last year The NCHERM Group conducted a review of policies and protocols at the University of Northern Iowa, finding several shortcomings in how sexual misconduct complaints were handled, including that students did not know how to report assault and were given confusing information when they tried to find out. The review was referenced in a recent article by the Associated Press discussing the institution's decision to settle with a former University of Northern Iowa student who claimed administrators treated her poorly after she was sexually assaulted by football players in 2004.