Warning to Prospective Parents and Students

Warning to Prospective Parents and Students

SAIS fails to implement accountability mechanisms for sexual and sex-based misconduct, and shows no interest in protecting female students who report harm. Victims are dismissed, ignored, and stonewalled. The school is driven by institutional apathy and suppression of accountability, compounding the harm for affected students.

In 2023-2025, at least three cases towards women have been documented publicly. SAIS has failed all of them. In my case, I reported misconduct by Professor David Jacobstein who engaged in sex based misconduct by explicitly expressing a pattern of assuming romantic interest from female students. My distress in being in the same space as him due to his misconduct has caused me to miss professional conferences, resulting in lost professional opportunities. Search the following:

• “JHU’s OIE Process and Follow up to ‘Cautionary Warning’”

A second case involved allegations of rape so severe that the Atlantic cut ties with the individual. SAIS took no action. Search the following:

• “The Atlantic Cuts Ties with SAIS Political Scientist Accused of Rape”

A third student reported sexual harassment by a male faculty and started a legal process against the school in 2023/2022. Again, SAIS took no action. She experienced psychological damage so severe she had to take a 1.5-year leave. Search the following:

• “Student Government Impeachment Puts Spotlight on SGA Constitution”

The article highlighted how the Assistant Dean, who was tangentially implicated in her harassment case, was allowed to sit in on a student government election that impeached the student —a breach of basic procedures in handling harassment cases that created a conflict of interest, and raises serious questions about fairness and impartiality of the proceedings.

All three professors continue to teach in SAIS as if nothing has happened. SAIS administrators routinely completely ignored inquiries about student safety, and stonewalled their responses extremely disrespectfully, in a complete abdication of responsibility.

The incidents at SAIS are not isolated incidents but part of a documented history of Title IX failures and faulty administrative responses at Johns Hopkins University. Search the following:

•             “Johns Hopkins University Failed To Notify Campus Of Alleged Gang Rape, Complaint Claims”

•             “Johns Hopkins University To Face Federal Sexual Assault Investigation”

•             “‘Until It’s Zero’ blog sparks discussion”

SAIS is not a progressive institution. What it presents during Admitted Students Day is a rehearsed illusion. Minority faculty are highlighted and inclusion is marketed. But once enrolled, you’ll see the reality. Its culture has not changed from its centrist-to-conservative roots. It also currently operate under Trump-era Title IX rollbacks that make it easier for schools to dismiss sexual misconduct cases.

White male instructors  – the instructors in the cases above – are protected by both Trump’s policy that undermine women and minorities, and an internal culture of impunity; both allow them to engage in misconduct without consequence, while students are left unsupported and exposed. If you are liberal or a minority of any kind — gender or ethnic — I strongly discourage you from attending. Before SAIS, I worked in an industry known for its conservative work culture — and even there, I never witnessed the tolerance, normalization, and indifference to misconduct at the level of SAIS.

SAIS is the least ethical and the least academically enriching institution that I have attended, compared to both my undergrad and previous graduate school that I also have degrees from. It harmed my career development, and undermined my confidence in being see as more than my gender. SAIS is the least ethical and the least academically enriching institution that I have attended, compared to both my undergrad and previous graduate school that I also have degrees from. It harmed my career development, and undermined my confidence in being see as more than my gender. I regret paying the tuition I paid here and see it as the largest waste of money I have spent in my life. The institution does not caring about your safety and dignity. My family and I absolutely regret me attending here. I regret paying the tuition I paid here and see it as the largest waste of money I have spent in my life. The institution does not caring about your safety and dignity. My family and I absolutely regret me attending here. If you are considering this school, know what you are walking into: A toxic, optics-driven institution that prioritizes appearances than student wellbeing, and enables abuse and silences those who report it. Do not mistake the brand name for integrity. It has none.

I urge prospective students and parents to take the above seriously, and not squander money on an institution that will create harm instead of confidence and opportunity.