Syracuse University wants to block the public from accessing a list of formal sexual misconduct complaints that was recently filed as evidence in federal court. 

An attorney for SU sent a letter last Thursday to Senior Judge Thomas J. McAvoy expressing concerns about the list’s release.

“The University believes that the document should have been, but was not, filed under seal,” wrote the attorney, Thomas D’Antonio. 

D’Antonio sent the letter a day after The Daily Orange reported on the list. SU plans to request a sealing order that would permanently close off public access to the list, court records show.

The list was made available earlier this month as part of an ongoing Title IX lawsuit against the university in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The document provides an unprecedented look into how SU adjudicates cases of alleged sexual misconduct and sanctions accused students.

In a text order on Monday, McAvoy said the two parties in the case have seven days to submit letters in court that address the “public’s right of access” to the list. The letters will be under seal.

The judge also decided to “temporarily” seal the list. It’s unclear how long that order will stand.

A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

According to the document, there were 76 formal student conduct complaints alleging sexual misconduct filed at SU from the start of the 2013-14 academic year to the end of the 2016-17 academic year. (The D.O. factored 71 of the complaints into its analysis published last week.)

The list only contains aggregate statistics and does not include personally identifiable information. The list was described as a “statistical summary” in a letter dated April 3, 2019, court records show.

An Ohio-based attorney submitted the list as evidence to McAvoy on Oct. 7.

The attorney, Joshua Engel, represents a former SU student who is suing the university. The student is only referred to as “John Doe” in court documents. Doe alleges that he was unfairly expelled from SU in early 2017 after a woman accused him of sexual assault. She is referred to as “Jane Roe” in the lawsuit.

SU created the list of complaints in response to a discovery request from Engel. In court, Engel said he was seeking more information about the complaints to help build his case.

In his letter last week, D’Antonio said he discussed the list’s release with Doe’s legal team.

“Plaintiff’s counsel indicated that the document was not filed under seal because the documents did not contain personally identifying information protected from disclosure by statute … the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act,” he said. 

“In prior discussions between the parties, Plaintiff’s Counsel believed that documents designated as confidential may be filed on the public docket so long as any personally identifiable information … was redacted.”

He said Doe’s counsel “acknowledges the legitimate interests” of SU and does not oppose placing the document under seal if the judge thinks it is appropriate. 

The information included on the list is similar to that of data expected to be voluntarily released by SU annually under New York state’s “Enough is Enough” legislation. 

Chancellor Kent Syverud in 2015 was the first private school chancellor or president to adopt “Enough is Enough.” 

Under the law, it appears that SU must provide the state’s Department of Education with information about reported incidents of sexual violence and the adjudication of sexual violence complaints.

The DOE has yet to collect a full year of “Enough is Enough” data. Colleges must submit the data for calendar year 2018 by Dec. 16, according to the state. 

Published on October 25, 2019 at 7:03 pm

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