UT protesters hold final semester rally against sexual misconduct process

A dozen University of Texas students gathered on the front steps of the UT tower on Friday to cap off a semester of protests against the university’s sexual misconduct processes.

For weeks, students have been gathering at the tower to demonstrate in front of the offices of UT President Gregory L. Fenves and Provost Maurie McInnis. The main source of outrage has been two professors: Sahotra Sarkar and Coleman Hutchison, both of whom have been sanctioned by UT in the past for sexual misconduct, but still continue to teach.

Students say they want more transparency when it comes to professors like Sarkar and Hutchison. Specifically, they’re asking the university to release a report to the student body with the names of the professors who have been found in violation of sexual misconduct, the courses they teach and the nature of their accusations.

Such a report is expected to be available in the coming weeks, UT said.

Kaya Epstein, a member of the student-led Coalition Against Sexual Misconduct, said she personally thinks the university should release something akin to a sexual offender database.

“Even though a professor has been found guilty and served their punishment, the public should still be aware and choose to associate with them, or in this case take classes with them,” Epstein told the American-Statesman. “Because a lot of students have expressed that it has been very triggering to walk into classrooms and then find out that their professor has been accused or found guilty of sexual misconduct when they themselves are survivors.”

University leadership has met with coalition leaders several times over the past semester and say they are working with students to identify how UT’s policies could be improved.

The first step has been hiring two outside Title IX consultants from the law firm Husch-Blackwell, who will examine UT’s policies around sexual misconduct and release recommendations. Those consultants will join six undergraduate students, three graduate students, one post-doctoral student, five faculty members, one staff member, six university leaders on a new Misconduct Working Group.

Members of the group will examine and identify opportunities for the university to improve how we review and communicate about sexual misconduct and other related issues, according to UT. It will also solicit feedback and examine topics around vocabulary, communication, and policy.

“The work of this group is enormously important and I appreciate the contributions and expertise these members bring to our collective effort,” McInnis said in a statement to the university on Friday.

A report from the group is expected in April. In the meantime, Fenves and McInnis plan to host a town hall meeting on Jan. 27 to hear from more students. Details of the event have not been solidified.

Still, some students feel the response is too little, too late.

“We’ve been a little disappointed with the action steps they’ve taken,” said Epstein. “It took us a long time. It took us three protests. That’s three days that students had to leave their classes and their work to come and pressure the administration.”