Category: education

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Accountability at CSU Is Long Overdue

Workplace discrimination and harassment hinder organizations in every way.

Accountability at California State University Is Long Overdue

Discrimination thrives in silence, and at California State University (CSU), that silence has been deafening. Despite its crucial role as an educational institution meant to foster growth and innovation, CSU has become increasingly synonymous with systemic discrimination, gender inequities, harassment, and a culture of retaliation that stifles its victims. If CSU truly wishes to uphold its mission of inclusivity and integrity, accountability must begin now.

A Dismal Pattern of Discrimination and Retaliation at CSU

The lawsuit filed by Dr. Clare Weber and Dr. Anissa Rogers against the CSU Board of Trustees is not only troubling but also revealing of a deep-seated culture of inequality. Allegations range from gender-based pay disparities to harassment, retaliation, and even coercive tactics to silence employees.

Dr. Weber, once the Vice Provost at CSU San Bernardino, raised concerns about unjust pay disparities between female and male vice provosts. Instead of addressing her complaints with the seriousness they deserved, Weber alleges that she was fired, with CSU offering conflicting (and untruthful) explanations for her dismissal.

Similarly, Dr. Rogers reported a toxic workplace where male employees harassed female staff without consequence. As punishment for speaking up, she alleges that she was instructed to “train the men” and later pressured into resigning under threat of termination.

These are not isolated incidents. A whistleblower has described President Tomás Morales’ alleged hostility toward female employees, contributing to what they termed a pervasive “culture of fear.” Meanwhile, CSU Chancellor Jolene Koester is accused of advising women to endure harassment rather than taking decisive action against it.

Even third-party investigations intended to uphold fairness appear tainted by conflicts of interest, further eroding transparency at CSU.

Corroborating Evidence Validates Patterns of Harassment

Dr. Weber and Dr. Rogers’s cases are not alone. A 2022 study by the California State University Employees Union reported that pay disparities within CSU disproportionately affect women and people of color, with women of color earning nearly 7% less than white male colleagues. The university seems content with allowing these inequities to fester without implementing systemic solutions.

Adding to this damning evidence is the case of Terence Pitre, a Black dean at Stanislaus State, who endured relentless racial discrimination during his time with CSU. Pitre reported racial slurs, targeted harassment, and even social media ridicule by colleagues. Despite filing formal complaints, the university took no meaningful action to protect him. Such dismissive responses not only demean victims but also signal that speaking out comes at an enormous personal cost.

Addressing Counterarguments

CSU might cite internal policies or vague commitments to diversity as evidence of their efforts toward inclusion. However, policies do not equal outcomes. Victims continue to highlight failures in enforcement and implementation, undermining any claims of genuine progress. Others may argue that individual cases do not represent the institution as a whole. But, as we’ve seen, documented patterns of harassment and discrimination across campuses reveal otherwise.

Legal Frameworks Exist, but Action Must Follow

The law is clear. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991, employees are entitled to workplaces free from discrimination and retaliation. Likewise, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act highlights protections beyond federal provisions, particularly for issues like gender and racial discrimination. However, good policies are meaningless without consistent enforcement.

Employers, especially publicly funded institutions like CSU, have a responsibility to create and maintain workplace environments free from prejudice and abuse. CSU’s repeated failures call into question its ability to meet even these basic compliance standards, much less excel as a model employer.

Why This Must Stop

This is bigger than individual lawsuits. This is about transforming CSU’s culture into one where equality, transparency, and accountability take precedence. Without this transformation, CSU risks not only tarnishing its reputation but also failing the students, faculty, and taxpayers who depend on it to uphold the ideals of inclusion and justice.

Call to Action

Accountability must be non-negotiable at CSU. We demand the following measures immediately:

  • Independent Oversight: Appoint impartial third-party investigators to review discrimination and harassment complaints.
  • Policy Overhaul: Create enforceable processes to address pay equity, gender discrimination, and workplace harassment at an institutional level.
  • Support Mechanisms for Victims: Establish robust, confidential support systems for those impacted by discrimination or retaliation.
  • Mandatory Training Programs: Provide anti-discrimination training for all employees, with emphasis on leadership roles.
  • Transparent Reporting: Release annual diversity, equity, and inclusion audits to track progress and hold leadership accountable.

Students, staff, faculty, and broader California residents must lend their voices to this growing demand for justice. If CSU is to remain a pillar of higher education, it must prove that it values fairness and integrity—not just as platitudes, but as actionable commitments.

Step up, California State University. Equality can’t wait any longer.

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Girls for Gender Equality

In New York City, Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) has been advocating for increased school safety – a decade-long campaign led by parents, teachers, and female and LGBTQ students. And if there is one thing the teen women of color organizers at Girls for Gender Equity want you to know, it is that Title IX of the Education Amendment does not only apply to college sports – the area most associated with Title IX enforcement.
“It is hard to envision a school without sexual harassment. However, if one existed, I imagine it would be a place where kids can excel as students instead of having to worry about what is going to be said or done to them the next time they go in the hallway,” says former GGE youth organizer Kai Walker.
In April 2010 and April 2011 the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the US Department of Education released two “Dear Colleague” letters to “provide guidance” and “examples of remedies and enforcement strategies” for reported sexual harassment infractions in public schools. While this public acknowledgement from the Obama Administration is a step in the right direction, the tactic ultimately lacks teeth. The letters simply restate what the law already requires. It politely requests officials to increase their efforts at enforcement, but does not take steps to ensure mandatory application of the federal law. For all practical purposes, the “Dear Colleague” letters do not go beyond lip service.

• Girls for Gender Equity organizers celebrating the launch of Hey, Shorty: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets. Photograph courtesy of the author. •
As a result, grassroots organizations like GGE rely on the strength of the members of their own communities to hold schools accountable for failing to keep students safe. Nearly forty years after Title IX’s passage, GGE’s youth-led research project on sexual harassment in the New York City public schools found that nearly 1 in 4 students are sexually harassed in school every single day – with behaviors that range from verbal (71 percent) to physical (63 percent) to criminal sexual assault (10 percent).
College student Kayla Andrews was a part of the research team. She says, “If given the golden opportunity to converse with President Obama regarding Title IX in public schools, I would first and foremost introduce him to a day in the life of students. I would tell him stories of how girls walk briskly to class out of fear of being harassed and boys who feel uncomfortable being their true selves because they fear ridicule and abuse.”
In Hey, Shorty: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets, GGE Community Organizer Nefertiti Martin recalls what it was like for her to be called homophobic slurs at school: “Before I even knew what gay was, somebody managed to find something to say about my limp wrists and effeminate lisp. Teachers and faculty tell me some lines about how sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. But words have always hurt me.”
Chiamaka Agbasionwe agrees and shares about a classmate who “made me feel disgusted with myself. He made me second-guess what I wore that day, how my hair looked, and just me as a woman. His ‘compliments’ were insults knowing the disrespectful connotations behind them. His looks were knives through my self-esteem.”
Kayla wants President Obama to know about the lack of support for students who are sexually harassed at school. “I would make the President aware of just how difficult it is to find someone within the school who actually knows what Title IX is, much less follows the procedures for recording sexual harassment offenses,” she says.
GGE found that a mere 3 percent of students made a report after being sexually harassed, and 22 percent say they were further traumatized by school staff after making the report.
 Over half say they did not know how students who sexually harassed others were dealt with at their school because there was no follow-up with them by school authorities. And less than 2 percent feel the perpetrator was dealt with appropriately.
“Enforcing Title IX alone cannot end sexual harassment, but it can mitigate it,” says GGE youth organizer Nkeya Peters. “The way it can be alleviated in public schools is by raising awareness and hiring social service workers to properly address the issue and its consequences.”
With Hey, Shorty!, Girls for Gender Equity seeks to broaden people’s understanding of Title IX and shine a light on the ineffectual nature of an unenforced federal law. As the group moves forward with its community-based work, Hey, Shorty! offers youth and adult allies nationwide an accessible guide to implement in their own schools and cities to combat unwanted sexual attention and LGBTQ bullying. The model they use shows that young women who are given adequate support can successfully mobilize to demand accountability in their schools. It demonstrates that safety does not have to be an impediment to an education.
“It takes living in the shoes of a sexually harassed student to know just how detrimental harassment can be to one’s education,” says Kayla. “If President Obama wants to address the issues in this country regarding education, he needs to start at the root of the problem, which includes the reasons why students avoid going to school in the first place.”

• A Public Service Announcement on Title IX created by Girls for Gender Equity and the Coalition for Gender Equity in Schools. •

About the Author:
Mandy Van Deven is the co-author of Hey, Shorty: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets, a book about Girls for Gender Equity’s nine years developing an effective organizing strategy to end gender-based violence in New York City’s public schools. Her writing can be found at www.mandyvandeven.com.