A detail that a new documentary on sexual assaults stated was not depicted accurately.

Inside Higher Ed reports.

‘Hunting Ground’ Updated

The filmmakers behind “The Hunting Ground” — a searing new documentary about how colleges mishandle cases of campus sexual assault — have removed a statement featured in an earlier print of the film that claimed leaders at 35 institutions declined to be interviewed.

When the documentary premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance film festival in January, it concluded with the claim that the “presidents or chancellors of UNC, Harvard, Notre Dame, Florida State, Berkeley, Occidental and more than 35 other schools all declined to be interviewed for this film.” Some critics, including at The New York Times, interpreted the phrase to mean that no senior college officials agreed to appear in the documentary.

As college leaders are often criticized for not speaking out about sexual assault, the statement served as a final damning detail in a documentary that is filled with them. But that particular detail — or at least how it has been interpreted — is not entirely accurate.

The film actually includes brief quotes from Patricia McGuire, the president of Trinity Washington University, who has written that college leaders need to take a more active and informed role in protecting women on their campuses. Carolyn (Biddy) Martin, president of Amherst College, also sat for an unused on-camera interview for the film. Amherst has had very public discussions about how to respond to sexual assault.


 
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