In response to an investigative review by the U.S. Department of Education, the University of Notre Dame will file periodic progress reports with the department, in accordance with it’s revised policy when it comes to reports of sexual assault.
Notre Dame has made changes to it’s policy after last fall’s highly publicized sexual assault case in which a student reported a sexual assault and later committed suicide.
Elizabeth “Lizzy” Seeberg was a Northbrook teen and a freshman nursing student from neighboring St. Mary’s College. She was three weeks into school when she reportedly accused a Notre Dame football player of fondling her breasts in a dorm room.
The next day following the incident, Seeberg told her dorm mates about the incident, filed a full report to campus police, and sought treatment at a local hospital. But the 19-year-old who suffered from depression, “suddenly felt self-conscious” and “feared people would dislike her for accusing a Notre Dame athlete of a sex crime” claimed the Chicago Tribune. Little to no action was taken in the investigation into her case and Seeberg committed suicide nine days later, dieing from an apparent overdose of the anti-depressant Effexor.
Months following the woman’s death, Notre Dame refused to publicly acknowledge the case, and what actions university officials have taken to investigate her allegation remain to be seen.
The alleged assaulter, meanwhile, who has yet to be identified, has remained on the playing field and the school team.
Upon investigative review, it was concluded that university authorities did not refer the case to the county special victim’s unit nor did they inform the St. Joseph County Police Department investigating the student’s death about her report of being sexually assaulted.
The university has also denied formal requests for information made by newspapers and media outlets like the Chicago Tribune, asserting they are not bound by open record laws. However, officials released this written statement,
“Any time we are made aware of a student potentially violating university policies, we implement a process that is careful and thorough so that facts can be gathered, rumors and misinformation can be sorted out, and an informed decision can be made about what action to take — if action is warranted. We take our obligation seriously, we involve law enforcement officials as appropriate, and we act in accordance with the facts.”
Lizzy’s parents, Tom and Mary Seeberg, maintain their belief that campus authorities didn’t conduct a proper investigation into their daughter’s case. They have since hired federal prosecutor Zachary Fardon to investigate into the circumstances surrounding the allegations and pursue the case.
Following a seven-month federal investigation into the case of Seeberg and since reviewing Notre Dame’s current policy regarding the prevention and report of sexual assaults, the U.S. Department of Education and the university announced a revised protocol agreed upon by the two parties last Friday.
This protocol requires Notre Dame to conclude administrative reviews within 60 days and have a written policy acknowledging a “preponderance of the evidence” standard that assumes the incident occurred rather than not. The amended policy allows the accuser to pursue the case criminally, pursue it through their school’s internal disciplinary process, or both; and the choice of not being present in the same room as the suspect during hearings. The accuser can appeal a disciplinary finding based on a major procedural defect or new evidence.