Mar 08, 2013 03:19 AM EST By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

The U.S. Department of Education has initiated an investigation into allegations about the way University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill handles sexual assault cases on campus. However, there is no set deadline for this investigation.

The Office for Civil Rights, part of the U.S. Department of Education, has demanded certain crucial information from the university on sexual assaults on campus and has set a time frame of March 21 for them to respond.

The office has asked the university to submit documents on policies, procedures for sexual assault complaints and spreadsheet showcasing all student complaints about sexual assault, including formal or informal; whether the school investigated and whether the assaults were on campus or off.

Junior Andrea Pino, sophomore Landen Gambill, former student Annie Clarkone and two other women, including a former administrator, had approached the OCR, January, urging them to review under-reporting and inaction by the university on sexual assaults.

Pino told abc that the complaint features reports from about 60 unidentified students who were victims of sexual assault on the campus.

Together, they accuse the university of not addressing sexual violence and failing to investigate complaints of sexual assault and thus, encouraging a hostile environment for sexual assault victims.

The group has also filed another complaint with the Education Department, for violating federal laws that require universities to fully disclose crimes on campus.

Clark, a sexual assault victim in 2007, told CNN, ""When I reported that I was raped, I was told that rape is like football, and if I were to look back on it, what would I have done differently."

She said that this investigation will help to change the way sexual victims are treated on campuses countrywide.

UNC-Chapel Hill spokeswoman Karen Moon told the newspaper that the university is aware of the OCR investigation and will fully cooperate with it.

Recently, around 300 students rallied at University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, March 1, to show support for Gambill, who is charged with an Honor Code violation of creating an 'intimidating environment' for her accused attacker.

Gambill's ex-boyfriend was proved not guilty of sexual misconduct by the student-run Honor court.

Since this controversy, the university has removed sexual assault cases out of the honor court and  hired an administrator to be the primary contact for sexual assault victims on campus.

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