A petition on Change.org calling for the expulsion of a CSUSM student for alleged sexual assault and abuse has gathered over 13,000 signatures in five days.  

The third-year CSUSM student is being accused of “sexual assault, groping, sexual coercion, abuse, gaslighting and other non-consensual actions,” according to the petition. 

The petition states, “If CSU San Marcos is committed to ‘protect all people regardless of their gender or gender identity from sex discrimination, which includes sexual harassment and violence,’ please pursue expulsion and immediate legal action in order to create a safe environment for all students attending CSU San Marcos.”

Angie Pham, a student at UC Davis, accused the CSUSM student of abusing her and others on a Sept. 29 Instagram post. After 11 other alleged victims came forward to her, Pham created the petition demanding the student’s expulsion on Oct. 9. 

In response to Pham’s Sept. 29 post, someone from the official Instagram account of CSUSM responded, “We take this very seriously, and have referred this to our Title IX office.”

Title IX is a federal law that protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities which receive federal financial assistance. 

Pham posted about the petition on her Instagram on Oct. 9. 

An Instagram user who said he was the accused student commented on that post on Oct. 10, writing in part, “Angie’s decision to expose me with all of these baseless accusations are unacceptable. All of her accusations are not true. Half-truths are never the truth.”  

That user did not respond to The Cougar Chronicle’s request for comment via an Instagram direct message, and The Cougar Chronicle has been unable to find any other contact information for the student so far.

The petition can be accessed at chng.it/THsqZWJj. 

Change.org is a website where anyone can create a petition for free and anyone can sign a petition. It is unclear how many of the 13,000 signatures of the petition calling for the student’s expulsion are individuals connected to the CSUSM community. 

The Cougar Chronicle has requested an interview with Pham. Updates on this story will be posted as soon as they are available.