Columbia University Students, President Meet Over Sexual Assault Concerns

Student leaders gave Columbia University President Lee Bollinger three weeks to respond to their demands about the university's sexual assault policies. The meeting was held last week, against a backdrop of sustained — and highly visible — campus protests.

Caitlin Lowell, President of the Columbia Queer Alliance, said Bollinger appeared willing to resolve student concerns quickly; those concerns include making the administration more transparent on issues of sexual violence.

"President Bollinger has the ability to divert resources into a responsive system and yearly mandatory consent education," said Lowell, who also serves as a coordinator for the Coalition Against Sexual Violence. "In the meantime, I think many of us are waiting to see if his presence in this meeting translates into seeing those changes, or if it was a purely symbolic gesture."

In a statement, the university said "every student and every member of the Columbia community should be safe and feel respected, and the University is committed to sustaining the effort needed to achieve this goal."

Zoe Ridolfi-Starr, a member of No Red Tape and a lead complainant in a federal case against Columbia, felt Bollinger has "clearly spent a lot of time" thinking about sexual violence. 

"On the other hand, I'm completely confident it's because we've created a PR nightmare for him. It doesn't seem like he ever would've taken action on this issue had we not fought our way into the national media and pleaded for help," she said.