I wanted to clarify a few things that may have confused some of our readers about our story on the sexual assaults reported to campus authorities a few weeks ago, specifically some things brought up in Angelica Matthes’ Letter to the Editor.

First, I want to clarify Dean of Students Jeff Stocco’s role in the article. Stocco refused, as was appropriate, to give me any details of the complaints or those involved. Our conversation was limited to a general discussion about sexual assault, how it is handled on campus and the e-mail that was sent to the campus community.

On another note, I believe that Stocco was correct in his decision to send an e-mail to the campus community notifying it of the reports. From what he told me, he believed that he was obligated by law to notify the campus community.

I would also like to clarify that the staff at The Weekly and I decided to run the article because we thought this was an important issue that needed to be addressed. We also thought that certain details–specifically that all three complaints were against one student–needed to be brought to the campus’ attention. We also decided that it would be appropriate to include information about the student accused of the sexual assaults. I should note that this information did not come from any College official, but was instead obtained from one of the complainants, as I stated in the article.

Not only did this article not violate confidentiality, but I believe it upheld our commitment to Justice. Furthermore, the article was published after the hearing, and could not affect its outcome.