no red tapeAlmost 100 faculty members have signed a letter calling for Columbia University to improve its sexual assault policies. The letter supports the recent complaints filed against Columbia for its handling of sexual assault under Title IX, Title II and the Clery Act. It condemns Columbia’s response, and calls for “serious and substantial reform with strong student involvement in the process.”

Since the problems with Columbia’s sexual assault policies were raised by Columbia Dems, No Red Tape, and Anna Bahr’s Blue and White piece, the administration has hosted two town halls, and reformed the membership of the President’s Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault. The administration has also promised us a new Executive Vice President for Student Affairs, the release of anonymous aggregate data on sexual assault on campus, and changes to Columbia Health, NSOP and the Columbia/Barnard Rape Crisis Center.

The letter (bolding by Bwog):

To the Columbia Community:

We were shocked to learn of the Title IX, Title II, and Clery Act complaints filed against Columbia on April 24th. We applaud the bravery and fortitude of the students who filed these complaints.

As troubling as it is to learn about the level of sexual misconduct on campus, we are even more dismayed by Columbia’s response to these problems. It is clear that University policies and enforcement are insufficient and even harmful to creating an environment where students feel safe and supported. We, as a community, must do more to make this school a place where all students are safe from violence. We must do better.

As faculty members of Columbia University, we demand an environment that is safe for every member of our community, regardless of gender. Having an environment where everyone feels comfortable and secure is essential for learning.

We want students who have been victims of sexual assault to know they have our support. We commit ourselves to work with our community to change the campus climate so that rape, sexual assault, and violence are not a part of any community member’s experience. And we will ensure that University policies do not just comply with Federal requirements, but go further so that all students experience the kind of support and respect that our community can provide.

To achieve these ends, we demand that the University enact serious and substantial reform with strong student involvement in a transparent process.

We must change the culture here. The brave students who filed a complaint against our university have taken the first step. We stand with them.

Lila Abu-Lughod
Director, Middle East Institute
Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science
Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies

Karen Barkey
Director, Institute for Religion, Culture & Public Life
Professor of Sociology and History

Peter Bearman
Jonathan Cole Professor of the Social Sciences

Debbie Becher
Assistant Professor of Sociology, Barnard College

Helen Benedict
Professor of Journalism

Chris Blattman
Assistant Professor of Political Science &
International and Public Affairs

Marcellus Blount
Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Brian Boyd
Director of Museum Studies, Lecturer in Anthropology, & Program Director, Center for Archaeology

Tina Campt
Director, Africana Studies Program
Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Barnard College

Partha Chatterjee
Professor of Anthropology and MESAAS

Laura Ciolkowski
Associate Director, Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Adjunct Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Jean Cohen
Nell and Herbert M Singer Professor of Contemporary Civilization in the Core Curriculum

Yinon Cohen
Professor & Chair, Department of Sociology

Pam Cobrin
Director, Writing and Speaking Programs
Senior Lecturer, English Department

Julie Crawford
Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

June Cross
Professor, Columbia Journalism School

Patricia Dailey
Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Nicholas Dames
Chair, Department of English and Comparative Literature

Gil Eyal
Professor of Sociology

Catherine Fennell
Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Priscilla Ferguson
Professor of Sociology

Samuel G. Freedman
Professor, Columbia Journalism School

Page Fortna
Chair, Department of Political Science

Tim Frye
Director, Harriman Institute

Todd Gitlin
Professor of Journalism and Sociology
School of Journalism

Steven Gregory
Professor of Anthropology and African-American Studies

Kim F. Hall
Lucyle Hook Chair, Professor of Africana Studies and English

LynNell Hancock
H. Gordon Garbedian Professor of Journalism

Marguerite Holloway
Director, Science and Environmental Journalism
Associate Professor of Professional Practice

Katharina Ivanyi
Assistant Professor of Religion

Janet Jakobsen
Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Director, Barnard Center for Research on Women

Richard John
Professor of History and Communicati

Kimuli Kasara
Assistant Professor of Political Science

Alice Kessler-Harris
R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of History

Rashid Khalidi
Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies, Department of History

Shamus Khan
Associate Professor of Sociology

Kathleen Knight
Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science

Bruce Kogut
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Professor of Leadership and Ethics, Columbia Business School

Jeffrey W. Kysar
Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Hilary A. Hallett
Assistant Professor of History

Marianne Hirsch
William Peterfield Trent Professor of English and Comparative Literature

Jean Howard
George Delacorte Professor in the Humanities

Macartan N. Humphreys
Professor, Political Science

David Johnston
Professor of Political Science

Matthew L. Jones
Chair, Contemporary Civilization and Committee of the Core
Associate Professor of History

Jennifer C. Lena
Associate Professor of Arts Administration and Sociology
Teachers College

Natasha Lightfoot
Assistant Professor, Columbia University Department of History

Claudio Lomnitz
Campbell Family Professor of Anthropology

Christia Mercer
Gustave M. Berne Professor
Professor of Philosophy and Gender Studies

Brinkley Messick
Professor of Anthropology

Nara Milanich
Associate Professor of History
Barnard College

Massimo Morelli
Professor of Political Science and Professor of Economics

Dipali Mukhopadhyay

Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs

Maria Victoria Murillo
Professor of Political Science

Andrew J. Nathan
Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science

Celia Naylor
Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies, Barnard

Alondra Nelson
Director, Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies

Mae Ngai
Professor of History and Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies

Sharyn O’Halloran
George Blumenthal Professor of Political Economy and Professor of International and Public Affairs
Director, Advanced Policy and Economic Analysis Program

Gary Y. Okihiro
Professor of International and Public Affairs

Aaron M. Pallas
Arthur I. Gates Professor of Sociology and Education
Teachers College

Susan Pedersen
Professor of History

Gregory Pflugfelder
Associate Professor of EALAC and History

Peter G. Platt
Chair, Dept. of English
Barnard College

Elizabeth Povinelli
Chair, Department of Anthropology
Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies

Wayne Proudfoot
Professor of Religion

Tonya L. Putnam
Assistant Professor of Political Science

Anupama Rao
Associate Professor of History
Barnard College

Samuel Roberts
Associate Professor of History & Sociomedical Sciences

Nan Rothschild
Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Anthropology

Saskia Sassen
Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology & Co-Chair, Committee on Global Thought

James Schamus
Professor of Professional Practice, Film

Michael Schudson
Professor of Journalism and Sociology

Karen Seeley
Lecturer in Discipline, Anthropology

Michael Shapiro
Professor of Journalism

Robert Shapiro
Professor of Political Science

Audra Simpson
Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Pamela H. Smith
Professor of History

Alisa Solomon
Professor, School of Journalism

Neferti X. M. Tadiar
Chair, Department of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Barnard College

Mark Taylor
Professor and Chair, Department of Religion

Kendall Thomas
Nash Professor of Law
Director, Center for the Study of Law and Culture

Robert A Thurman
Professor of Religion

Van C. Tran
Assistant Professor of Sociology

Andie Tucher
Associate Professor; Director, Communications Ph.D. Program
Columbia Journalism School

Nadia Urbinati
Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Professor of Political Theory and Hellenic Studies
Department of Political Science

Johannes Urpelainen
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science

Carole S. Vance
Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Anthropology

Dorian Warren
Associate Professor of Political Science & International and Public Affairs

Jonathan Weiner
Maxwell M. Geffen Professor of Medical and Scientific Journalism, Columbia Journalism School

Paige West, Tow Professor of Anthropology, Barnard College and Columbia University
Chair, Barnard Anthropology

Josh Whitford
Associate Professor of Sociology

Madeleine Zelin
Dean Lung Professor of Chinese Studies, Professor of History and East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University