MU law professors write petition for attorney in sexual harassment cases

Some faculty at the University of Missouri are proposing a change to Title IX rules.

Currently, the university does not allow a lawyer for faculty accused of sexual harassment of discrimination.

Two law school professors wrote up a petition to amend this, asking that faculty be allowed an attorney for such cases. So far, they have about 180 signatures.

Ben Trachtenberg, one of those professors, said the new Title IX rules are “well meaning,” but said faculty should not be deprived of the rights they already have.

Trachtenberg speculates one of the reasons the university is barring attorneys for faculty in Title IX cases may be because it used the rules for students as a model; they are not offered an attorney.

He said attorneys should be offered to both the accused and the complainants due to the emotional nature.

The Board of Curators meets Thursday to talk about Title IX rules and ABC 17 News will have a crew to follow up on this story.