MAKE THEM LIVE UP TO THEIR OWN BOOK OF RULES: UPenn Facing Title IX Investigation.
The National Coalition for Men (NCFM) has filed a Title IX federal civil rights complaint against the University of Pennsylvania. The complaint lists twenty-two groups at Penn as being discriminatory towards men. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in the Department of Education is reviewing the complaint. If it believes there is enough evidence suggesting possible sex discrimination by any of these groups, it will launch a full investigation into the groups that allegedly violate Title IX provisions.
The NCFM believes that “[t]he University of Pennsylvania is in violation of Title IX because it offers resources, funding, fellowships, and scholarships that are available to women only, even though men are a minority both nationwide [42%] and at the University of Pennsylvania [47%, incoming class of 2021].”
The first group listed is the Center for Research on Reproduction and Women’s Health. Kursat Christoff Pekgoz, who helped the NCFM draft the complaint against Penn and has previously filed successful complaints against Yale and the University of Southern California, told The UPenn Statesman that the Center’s “asymmetry in terms of funding medical research on the basis of sex was a significant factor” in choosing to file a complaint against groups at Penn. The complaint suggests either creating an equivalent center for men or changing the name of this center to a gender-neutral title.
The University of Pennsylvania Women’s Center was also targeted in the complaint. The NCFM alleges the Women’s Center is discriminatory in its “overall effect.” They assert the Center has a discriminatory name, offers resources only to women, and has only female participants and administrators. These different features combine to create a “hostile environment against men.” Further the NCFM claims the Women’s Center’s anti-discrimination clause is “hollow and illusory.”
The NCFM also believes that Penn’s funding of the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies (GSWS) department constitutes a Title IX violation. In addition to the GSWS department having a discriminatory name, the NCFM believes that women are overrepresented in the department, that they offer certain resources only to women, and that “all classes taught by the program involve issues which impact women and LGBT groups, but not men.”
Wharton Women in Business was also listed in the complaint for reasons similar to the previous groups. Notably, the NCFM claims they have a student willing to testify against Wharton Women in Business if the OCR elects to launch a full investigation into the group.
Stay tuned.
Related: Title IX enforcers need to fix the toxic environment they have created for men.