Marist students say the college is failing to protect students and respond to allegations of sexual assault and abuse.


Jahira Magnus, a sophomore at Marist, says she spoke to the Title IX office about her alleged abuser, and she and her friends were then given restraining orders against him.

"My abuser was kicked off his program maybe a week, no more than two weeks," she says.


When he came back, he still lived near them.

She claims she was attacked by the same football player, Bryan Vargas, who was expelled for allegedly beating another female student. 



"Essentially, Marist has ignored serious complaints about students' behaviors, causing the dangerous sexual assault and domestic violence behavior to be further enabled and normalized only resulting in it escalating further," says Samantha Williams, of Marist.

The students believe the college is in violation of parts of the Clery Act, a federal statute that requires colleges and universities that get federal aid to keep and disclose crime on and near campuses.



There are a few things the students would like to see happen, including more funding to hire more full-time staff in the Title IX office, saying there's currently only one for thousands of students. They also would like the creation of a Title IX student advisory board, which they say is expected to begin before the fall semester.

Marist College's counsel tells News 12 that they are following in full compliance with the Clery Act and Title IX, adding "We strongly encourage reporting such incidents so that the College can investigate them formally and appropriately.“