Rebooting Title IX: The view of a plaintiff in Alexander v. Yale (SmartBrief)
Ann Olivarius reflects on her role as a pivotal participant in the landmark US case Alexander v. Yale University, and her pioneering work to extend Title IX to cases of sexual harassment at educational institutions.
Extract:
As Americans celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, I am reminded of why I and several other young women used it to sue Yale University in my senior year back in 1977.
Title IX guarantees educational equality regardless of sex. Our lawsuit established that achieving this equality requires universities to reign in professors who pressure young women for sexual favors in exchange for grades and academic advancement. Since then, women have made a lot of progress in education. But after decades as a sexual discrimination lawyer, I know that Title IX needs an update.