The Center for Public Integrity

The Center for Public Integrity and NPR have received a prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for the story “Seeking Justice for Campus Rapes.”  

The Center’s 12-month investigation with NPR showed that students who have been the victim of sexual assaults on campus face a depressing array of barriers that often assure their silence or leave them feeling victimized a second time. Meanwhile, students found responsible for alleged sexual assaults on campuses can face little or no punishment and go on to graduate, as colleges and universities ignore the problem.

“This was a meaningful and powerful investigation,” said Center Executive Director William E. Buzenberg. “The Center for Public Integrity is delighted to have collaborated with an excellent team from NPR in exposing a deeply troubling fact of life on too many campuses across the country. We know that as many as 50 million Americans read, saw or heard these compelling stories.”  

The NPR series was reported by correspondent Joseph Shapiro, who worked in collaboration with the Center for Public Integrity’s lead project reporter, Kristen Lombardi. NPR’s investigative team included Robert Benincasa and Susanne Reber; the Center’s team included Gordon Witkin, David Donald, and Kristin Jones.

“I’m pleased the story has had such a clear impact on public policy,” said Lombardi.  “It spurred congressional action on Capitol Hill and led the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen its oversight of how colleges and universities handle campus rape cases.”

The Obama administration took new steps yesterday to address one of the most common crimes on college campuses: sexual assault. Speaking at the University of New Hampshire, a school known for its proactive approach to combating sexual violence, Vice-President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan unveiled the first-ever explicit federal guidance on how colleges and universities must respond to student complaints of campus sexual assault.

In strongly worded remarks before a crowd of school administrators, victim advocates, and students, Duncan said he is troubled by the way some colleges and universities have been handling cases of sexual violence.

“The misplaced sense of values and priorities in some of these cases is staggering,” Duncan said. “As caring adults, as parents, and leaders we must deal with the brutal truth and the facts around these incidents can be shocking.” 

Students who defaulted on a college loan have one less tool to help them negotiate with collections agencies now that the U.S. Education Department pulled a manual for debt collectors off its website.