The recent Geoff Marcy case at UC Berkeley highlights the University of California’s history of failure to prevent and prosecute sexual harassment and sexual assault cases. Following years of sexual harassment and assaults against students by Professor Marcy, the University’s lengthy investigation resulted in no punishment. Marcy was forced to resign by public outcry–not University Administrators–only after the facts came into the public sphere. Similar egregious cases have occurred at other UC campuses, frequently resulting in costly litigation and Federal investigations.  Despite widespread outrage, the UC has not committed to sufficient changes to its procedure in addressing sexual harassment and sexual assault claims, nor in addressing root causes (see this open letter to President Napolitano for some examples).

We demand that the University of California implement real and immediate changes to eradicate sexual harassment and sexual assault against students and workers. Central to these efforts should be engaging all stakeholders in addressing the root causes of such behavior, including discriminatory hiring practices and an academic environment that fails to promote gender equity in education or employment. When sexual harassment and sexual assault do occur, we demand that the University change its policies to remedy the cases in a just, rapid, and transparent manner.