In January, students at North Carolina filed a Title IX complaint, alleging that the school did not provide impartial investigations of sexual violence complaints and failed to offer sufficient resources for sexual assault survivors.
Senior Andrea Pino, along with 66 other survivors, filed the first complaint under the Clery Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Pino said. Since then, Pino has become a leading voice in a network of survivors at schools around the country, including Dartmouth.
"Title IX is really about gender equity and fighting a national campus climate," Pino said. "What is happening at UNC is happening across the country."
In May, Dartmouth students filed a similar Clery Act complaint against the College, claiming Clery violations of sexual assault, LGBT, racial and religious discrimination, hate crimes, bullying and hazing. Dartmouth students participated in a press conference, alongside students from the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Southern California and Swarthmore College, most of whom are part of the network that Pino helped create. Since Dartmouth students filed that complaint, the Department of Education has opened an investigation into the College for Title IX violations that is still underway.
"UNC has a problem with sexual assault but UNC is one of many," Pino said. "We have finally connected the cases and sexual assault can begin to be viewed in the bigger picture."
Folt joined the university shortly after it appointed a Title IX coordinator to oversee compliance and established a sexual assault task force to provide recommendations surrounding sexual violence at UNC.
The task force is made up of students, faculty and administrators and has met nine times throughout the summer, said Sarah-Kathryn Bryan, a UNC senior and task force member.
"My main concern at the moment is that Chancellor Folt must act on the recommendations from the task force for it to be successful," Bryan said. "She must demonstrate a real concern for each student and every student's input to be an effective leader."
Since taking her new position, Folt's calendar has been completely booked, Pino said. Aside from student body president Christy Lambden, no undergraduates will be able to meet with Folt until late September.
"Folt needs to challenge UNC's tendency to shut people out of the discussion and accomplish more inclusive things like the task force," Pino said. "We just want a seat at the table."
UNC spokeswoman Karen Moon said Folt has met with many students this fall at events including new student convocation, a university-sponsored back-to-school street fair, and a summer reading session for new students on the first day of classes. "Chancellor Folt welcomes opportunities to hear from and work with Carolina students," she said in an email. "On her first day in office, she had lunch with student government representatives, and since then has spent time getting to know many other students." Folt also convenes a Student Advisory Committee that advises her on a wide range of issues, Moon said.
On July 3, Folt greeted the UNC community through a video published on the "Office of the Chancellor" website. Folt spoke about "the energy to be found in times of transition and uncertainty," adding that UNC's "disruptions" must be addressed head-on and that the university must use creativity to turn challenges into opportunities.
Folt, as UNC's first female Chancellor, may be in a better position to address sexual assault issues than previous leaders, UNC geography professor Altha Cravey said.
"We have only had one or two women in leadership positions in the university system, so it's nice seeing that change," Cravey said. "Folt, in particular, may get behind what needs to be done in the Title IX cases."
Despite a perceived optimism on campus, Bryan said that simply being a female leader is not enough.
"The fact that she is a woman has been given a lot of attention here on campus, but none of her real work has, which is a shame for everyone involved," Kathryn said. "Folt is just as inaccessible as the male leaders and administration on campus."
Sheena Ozaki, a senior at UNC, said Folt must focus on transparency and inclusivity in order to have a successful chancellorship.
"I hope that Folt is able to become a part of the community, join students in different activities, and focus on implementing changes in policy based on what students want," she said. "When scandals happen, it is best to listen to what the students have to say."
