Politics & Government

Feds Investigate Swarthmore's Handling of Sex-Crime Claims

A spokeswoman told the Huffington Post on Sunday that the college has received notice of the inquiry by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

The federal government is investigating allegations that Swarthmore College has mishandled reports of sexual misconduct on campus, The Huffington Post reported Sunday.

Students had filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education in April and with its Office for Civil Rights in May, according to the Huffington Post. Mia Ferguson, one of the students who organized the complaints, said, "Having OCR investigate is validation that violations are occurring at Swarthmore."

Ferguson told the Philadelphia Daily News in May that "Swarthmore will lead on this issue." In the same article, Swarthmore spokeswoman Nancy Nicely said, "We're doing everything in our power to prevent sexual misconduct and assault on our campus - and most importantly to support its survivors."

Nicely told the Huffington Post on Sunday, "We welcome (the OCR) review and will, of course, cooperate fully and expeditiously."

Ferguson tweeted Monday morning about the investigation, prompting a Twitter follower to respond, "Good!! cautiously optimistic"


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