"The perspectives have been very useful and varied, and they have deepened my understanding that survivors of sexual violence process their experiences in very personal, nuanced, individualized ways," she wrote in an update to the campus community.

Stanford had rejected the quote because it could be "triggering" for survivors of sexual violence, prompting Miller to withdraw from talks with the university.

Provost Persis Drell announced her decision on Tuesday in the wake of growing public pressure — in the form of petitions, Faculty Senate and student government resolutions, opinion pieces and most recently, two anonymously installed plaques with the quote Miller had originally proposed from her famed victim impact statement : "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."

Almost two years after rejecting a quote proposed by Chanel Miller for a plaque at a memorial garden where she was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner, Stanford University has reversed its position and decided to use her chosen words.

Stanford University literature professor David Palumbo-Liu, left; student Sandro Hall, 21; and doctorate student Sandra Schachat, 32, use an augmented reality app created to honor Chanel Miller, the woman who was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner, at the site where the assault took place on campus. Photo by Sammy Dallal.

"We are deeply concerned that Stanford — which has spent years falsely claiming that Miller’s words are dangerous and triggering — now intends to place a second plaque interpreting Miller's words," they wrote. "We believe that Stanford should let Miller speak for herself as the university originally agreed three years ago. If the provost refuses to do so, then at minimum she should provide the verbatim text of this new, additional plaque to Miller and the community so that we can be assured that it is fair and accurate."

In a follow-up opinion piece on Wednesday, they said they were "pleased" about Drell's decision but criticized the university's intention to place a second marker at the site.

"The president's and provost's refusals to address seriously the tidal wave of protests we see in these petitions, resolutions and acts of creative resistance only erode further any remaining trust we have, precisely at a time when our community needs trust more than anything," they wrote. The piece was authored by Erica Scott, president of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU); Shanta Katipamula, last year's ASSU president; Emma Tsurkov, ASSU co-director of sexual violence prevention; ASSU vice president Isaiah Drummond; and professor David Palumbo-Liu, who serves on the Faculty Senate.

"The original discussions around the proposed plaque for the garden left no one satisfied," she said. "The contemplative garden does need signage to explain what it is and what it signifies. We want visitors to the site to understand its purpose."

The university also plans to install a marker at the entrance to the garden explaining its significance as "a contemplative space to honor and support survivors of sexual violence and remind us of our obligations to the safety and wellbeing of all in our community — and offering contact information for a confidential support resource for those visitors who wish to have it," Drell wrote.

Miller, a Palo Alto native and graduate of Gunn High School, revealed her identity publicly this fall in advance of the publication of her memoir on the assault and its aftermath.

Stanford has reached out to Miller through a representative for permission to use her quote, Drell said. In her message, the provost also apologized to Miller: "I am deeply sorry that Ms. Miller was sexually assaulted on our campus, and I recognize the profound pain she has experienced."

Facing public pressure, Stanford decides to install plaque with Chanel Miller's words

Provost says campus reaction, sexual-assault data influenced her decision