BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A state legislative panel Wednesday lambasted Louisiana State University’s answers to a damning report that claims the school has bungled sexual assault complaints for years.
Lawmakers criticized the university’s move to suspend — and not fire — two athletics administrators cited in the report, which law firm Husch Blackwell released last week at LSU’s request.
“It’s just not enough,” state Rep. Paula Davis (R-Baton Rouge) told LSU interim President Tom Galligan. “I think our students are going to see that as a slap on the wrist.”
“What I was trying to do was be fair to everybody as best as I possibly could,” Galligan said. “If they don’t tell the truth again, they will be terminated.”
Galligan claimed that the two suspended employees — executive deputy director Verge Ausberry (suspended without pay for 30 days) and senior associate athletic director Miriam Segar (21 days) — had misunderstood the school’s policy on reporting sexual assault complaints to the school’s Title IX office.
“There were directions within departments to report Title IX issues to places where they should not have been reported,” he said.
The interim president’s response did not satisfy the group of mostly female legislators.
“I’m so disappointed in LSU, and I continue to be disappointed with the response we’re getting now,” Davis said. “To say there was a policy not in place, or people didn’t know what to do, I just think it’s kind of bull.”
“The system is finding a way to protect the status quo,” state Sen. Beth Mizell (R-Franklinton) said.
Galligan insisted the university is clarifying its policies and bolstering LSU’s Title IX office to handle future misconduct claims. He also noted the school’s plans to follow other recommendations listed in Husch Blackwell’s report.
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