UNC–Chapel Hill has spent two years–plus trying — and failing — to cover up elements of an athletic-department scandal that spilled over into the African and African-American Studies department. Now, another attempt to paint a rosy picture is coming into public view. A former assistant dean and four others have filed a suit with the U.S. Department of Education, claiming that they were forced to under-report the number of sexual assaults on campus.
The mishandling, under-reporting, and whitewashing of sexual assaults, particularly those committed by athletes, seems to be common throughout academia. That probably goes for all types of crime; it’s common practice to tell parents and prospective students how safe the campus is but to ignore crimes committed on students in the surrounding neighborhoods.
It must be getting crowded under that rug.