Content warning: This article includes mentions of sexual assault.

 In early February, the Department of Education announced that it would revert to the Title IX regulations first enforced under the 2020 Trump administration, which offer more due process protections to students accused of sexual misconduct and alleviate schools’ responsibility regarding off-campus sexual misconduct. Title IX prohibits discrimination and exclusion “on the basis of sex” in education programs or activities that obtain federal funding. Despite being a private institution, UChicago is one such university; in fiscal year (FY) 2024, 59 percent of the money awarded for its research came from the federal government.

Federally funded universities are now expected to change their Title IX policies immediately to comply with these new federal regulations, which depart significantly from the Biden-era policy. As of May 2025, however, UChicago’s Title IX policy has still not been updated in the Student Manual.

Gender discrimination at UChicago

Title IX, written by Representative Patsy Mink, a Democrat from Hawaii and a UChicago Law School alum, was enacted by Congress and then signed into law in 1972 by former President Richard Nixon. Mink took inspiration from her own educational journey, particularly her rejection from a dozen medical schools on the grounds of being a woman.

“We have to build things that we want to see accomplished, in life and in our country, based on our own personal experiences to make sure that others do not have to suffer the same discrimination,” Mink told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 1975.

Today, gender-based discrimination remains a widespread issue according to UChicago students. In the May 2024 Sexual Misconduct Reporting Survey, one in three students reported that they had been treated differently, including being “mistreated, slighted, or ignored,” based on their gender or sex at least once over the last year.

Although “discrimination based on sex” has since grown to include more types of behaviors, until the Obama administration, presidential administrations interpreted Title IX mostly consistently.

“It is strange to see such differences in [Title IX] interpretation [between two presidential administrations], we usually might see minor changes in interpretation, but here we see dramatic shifts,” said Northwestern professor Kimberly Yuracko, who specializes in antidiscrimination law. “Schools are complex institutions and can’t pivot really fast in changing processes. It’s not just a matter of taking something off the website.”

The Trump administration has also issued an executive order that affects who is protected from sex discrimination under Title IX. Signed on Inauguration Day, it orders all agencies and departments within the executive branch’s purview to “enforce all sex-protective laws to promote [the] reality” that there are “two sexes, male and female,” which are “not changeable.” Through this executive order, the Trump administration walked back the added protections for transgender students under the Biden-era Title IX policy. Consequently, “discrimination based on sex” must now apply according to Trump’s instruction.

“Universities could challenge the executive order,” Yuracko said. “But they are most likely to adjust their policies in response to these significant shifts in Title IX interpretation.” She added that most universities do not challenge statutes in courts because it is costly and risky.

Changes to Title IX sexual misconduct policy under Biden vs. Trump

The Trump-era policy departs from the Biden administration’s policy in a number of important ways, some of which will affect the handling of sexual misconduct accusations. Trump’s Title IX provides more due process protections to the accused, requires schools to apply a higher standard of evidence in proceedings, and limits schools’ liability for off-campus sexual misconduct. These due process protections include mandatory live cross-examination of each party and a raised burden of proof.

The definition of sexual harassment is also different under the two administrations’ Title IX policies. The Trump administration’s guidelines define it as a “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive” conduct that “effectively denies” an individual equal educational access. The Biden-era Title IX rule included feedback from the general public, who were invited to comment on a list of proposed amendments, which the administration then incorporated into the law.

Commenters shared that the “2020 amendments fail to protect complainants,” and “make it harder for complainants to come forward” for several reasons, including the narrower definition of sexual harassment.

The Biden administration made the definition broader, characterizing sexual harassment as conduct so “severe or pervasive” that it “denies or limits” an individual’s ability to participate in an educational program or activity.

Cross-examination has been another contentious issue in Title IX regulations. “[Live cross-examinations] pushed so many young people out of pursuing a complete Title IX investigation because the thought of having to sit across from their assailant, either in person or virtually, was, frankly, too much for them to bear,” Tracey Vitchers told The 19th, a non-profit publication that reports on gender and politics. Vitchers is the executive director of It’s on Us, a nationwide student organizing program that aims to prevent sexual assault on college campuses.

While critics have denounced the process as harmful and re-traumatizing, proponents have defended it as necessary to limit false allegations and bias. In the 2024 regulations, the Biden administration offered alternatives to colleges, including questioning each party separately or making a member of the Hearing Panel, which consists of students, faculty, and/or staff, conduct the cross-examination. If institutions wished, cross-examination by an advisor of choice—frequently an attorney—was still an option. Under the Trump administration, a live hearing and cross-examination by the advisors of choice are mandatory.

UChicago’s Title IX Coordinator and Deputy Title IX Coordinators did not reply to requests for comments about the impact of these federal changes on UChicago.

Sexual misconduct at UChicago

Sexual misconduct remains a serious issue on college campuses, including UChicago.

Sexual misconduct in higher education is difficult to measure due to high underreporting rates by respondents in surveys. However, based on data from ten American institutions, Westat’s 2024 Higher Education Report Sexual Misconduct and Awareness survey estimates that roughly 19 percent of undergraduate women report experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact since starting college. This rate climbs to 21 percent for gender nonbinary, transgender, questioning, or self-identified undergraduates compared to 6.4 percent of male undergraduates.

The latest UChicago campus crime data, which higher education institutions must report under the 1990 Clery Act, reveals that, between 2021 and 2023, there were 15 instances of rape reported, 11 of which allegedly occurred in dorms. In total, 31 instances of forcible sex offenses, which includes crimes in Title IX’s purview like rape, fondling, and dating violence, were reported in these three years.

In 2024, the Pew Research Center calculated that only around 21.4 percent of sexual assaults are reported to the police nationally. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also highlighted that “individual reports of sexual harassment to an organization through formal reporting channels, such as notifications to the Title IX Office, are not reliable indicators of the prevalence of the problem.” Instead, they state that campus climate surveys, such as UChicago’s May 2024 Sexual Misconduct Survey, which is based on data from 1,501 students and anonymously tracks student experiences, may be more reliable than official statistics.

Respondents who experienced sexual misconduct and reported it to UChicago revealed that they felt the University responded inadequately. When asked whether UChicago took their report seriously, 24 of 115 students to whom this applied chose not to answer. Of the 91 who did, 37 responded that they disagreed. Similarly, when asked whether UChicago created an environment where attending the University was difficult after the report, 32 students chose not to answer. Of the 119 who did, one in three respondents agreed. The University did not respond to requests for comments about those numbers.

One question asked respondents to agree or disagree with the statement: “I don’t think sexual misconduct is a problem at UChicago.” Thirty-five percent of the respondents answered that they at least partially disagreed.

Beyond the numbers

There is more to sexual misconduct on campus than just the numbers.

Share Your Story UChicago, a public Instagram account, presents anonymous testimonies of sexual assault and harassment from UChicago students.

The account’s first post explains that its mission is “to act as a safe space for survivors so they know they aren’t alone, bring attention to campus rape culture, and press administration and fraternities to do better.”

One survivor emphasized the lifelong consequences of sexual assault, and others voiced concerns about repeat offences and the Title IX resolution process.

“I matter. What he did to me matters. It should matter to him. It should matter to him more than his discomfort does. I’m never going to go away for him. I know that 50 years from now I’ll be with him on his deathbed,” stated a December 2022 post. “If nothing else I’m not going to slink away silently to lick wounds he lay open. I’m done with that now.”

With few students being expelled even when found guilty of a Title IX violation, there is also a risk of repeat offenses. “My ex would continue sexual activities with me after I know he heard me say no. He holds multiple leadership positions at UChicago, and I am so worried for the people, especially women, around him after experiencing what he is capable of,” stated an anonymous UChicago student in a November 2022 post.

Survivors of sexual misconduct at UChicago highlight that live hearings, which are mandatory under the Trump administration’s Title IX changes, can deter reporting. “He had sex with me while I was drunk, and I still struggle to say that what happened was sexual assault,” stated another November 2022 post. “I don’t want to report this to the school because his family has a lot more money and power to make this go away and because of how traumatizing it would be to ever face him again.”

Many of the posts from Share Your Story UChicago refer to sexual misconduct occurring in fraternity houses, which are not within the purview of UChicago’s Title IX policy as they are “off-campus locations that are not within the University’s education program or activity.” One survivor who was assaulted at an Alpha Delta Phi party called for the fraternity to be placed “under probation for the remainder of the academic year.”

With policy changes, uncertainty is an additional burden for Title IX proceedings at UChicago

With UChicago’s policy officially unchanged and the difficulties of designing a revised Title IX policy that conforms to the Trump administration’s demands, students involved in Title IX proceedings at UChicago are left with questions.

Amid the changes, Yuracko advises students to try their best to understand the University’s Title IX process and what it entitles them to. For the accused, Yuracko encourages them to ensure that the school’s processes conform to the administration’s regulations. For victims, she suggests that they study the difference in processes and choose accordingly whether to file an anonymous complaint.