Community members rallied against an open letter written by former dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law Sujit Choudhry published by the Daily Californian. Here are some of the responses.

Tyann Sorrell’s statement

“When I read Professor Sujit Choudhry’s letter in The Daily Californian, I groaned, and then belted out the biggest, loudest and longest scream.”

— Tyann Sorrell,
former executive assistant to former dean of UC Berkeley School of Law

Letter to the editor: Sujit Choudhry should not get platform to justify self

“When student platforms like the Daily Cal get extended to known perpetrators of sexual violence, it instantaneously becomes a form of oppression and continues silencing survivor voices.”

— Axenya Kachen and Saakshi Goel,
UC Berkeley students

Editorial: Choudhry does not belong on UC Berkeley campus

“Of the 19 cases within the past five years in which the campus Title IX office found a perpetrator to have violated UC sexual misconduct policy, only low-level staff have been fired, reaffirming the idea that prominent positions protect men from fair punishment. Higher profile perpetrators — including Geoffrey Marcy, Graham Fleming and now Choudhry — face far lighter consequences.”

— Senior Editorial Board,
The Daily Californian

Op-Ed: By keeping law school dean on campus, admin disrespects survivors

“It is disgraceful that the process for pursuing claims of sexual harassment by a faculty member is so secretive and has so little oversight that a clear violation of Title VII and campus policy can result only in a minuscule reduction of pay and that this information only became public knowledge after the survivor chose to sue over the severe mishandling of her case.”

— Marandah Field-Elliot,
ASUC senator

Op-Ed: From a survivor to Sujit Choudhry

“It is shameful that you invoke a survivor’s own words in an attempt to absolve yourself from guilt. Even if it is true, having “pure intentions” does not change the fact that you perpetrated an impure act. The intent does not matter when the impact you have made goes unaddressed.”

— Kiana Lailin Schmitt,
UC Berkeley student

Letter to the Editor: Victim-blaming ignores issue

“Though this is an interesting strategy in the effort of Choudhry and his attorney to gain the upper hand in the court of public opinion, it is a horrible lesson to offer to current law students.”

— Steven Weissman,
lecturer in Goldman School of Public Policy

Letter to the Editor: Letter fails to recognize fault

“Perhaps the most troubling aspect of Choudhry’s letter, however, is that he does not understand, or does not care to understand, that he is responsible for the experiences he and his family have endured since his case became public.”

— Camille Pannu,
Alumna of UC Berkeley School of Law