On the evening of Monday, March 7th students, faculty, and administrators gathered in Christ Chapel to hold a forum on sexual assault. The forum was initiated at the request of President Bergman the previous week and featured a panel of administrators that answered questions regarding sexual misconduct policy and concerns surrounding sexual misconduct at Gustavus.
The panel consisted of College President Rebecca Bergman, interim Title IX coordinator Paula O’Laughlin, Dean of Students JoNes VanHecke, Assistant Dean of Students Megan Ruble, Sexual Assault Response Team Leader Patricia Dawson, and Vice President for Finance Kenneth Westphal.
The forum began with a welcome from President Bergman and then some ground rules for discussion were laid out by Jamie Hollis, Director of the Diversity Center. It was also made clear that Counseling Center and Committee Against Domestic Abuse staff would be available for anyone that needed them due to the sensitive nature of the discussion that was about to take place.
“I was somewhat disappointed by the administration’s response to many of the questions. I felt that it was essentially the same response over and over, either ‘we admit we’re not doing enough or the right thing’ or ‘we can’t comment on that’” — Leah Soule
The forum then moved into presentations from VanHecke and Ruble. VanHecke presented statistical information from a 2015 Campus Climate survey that 5.62% of the 902 survey respondents reported having been touched non-consensually. She emphasized the scale of this number as it would equate to about 130 students that year being sexually assaulted to varying degrees.
She also gave a breakdown of the 39 cases the school has had go through the conduct system regarding sexual misconduct and the proportion of sanctions given out for varying violations. Most notably (as was brought up in the question and answer session later in the forum) not a single case ended with the expulsion of a student.
Ruble then outlined how the student conduct system works for sexual misconduct violations and some of the school’s policy before the forum opened up into the question and answer session. The question and answer session was scheduled to start with smaller group discussions and then large group sharing, but by a show of hands it was decided to forgo the scheduled plan and to continue the question and answer session for the entirety of the forum. Questions were asked in person by students, as well as anonymously submitted and then moderated by Kenneth Reid, Assistant Director of the Diversity Center.
Students asked questions on a wide range of topics but a common thread was sanctioning and concerns about students found in violation of the college’s sexual misconduct policy being allowed to stay on campus.
Students were particularly concerned with the lack of hardline policy on what sanctions are fit to what violations in the sexual misconduct policy. As well as the question of why it was that students found in violation of the sexual misconduct policy are allowed on campus where they might repeat their offense, or cause victim-survivors hardship and distress with their presence.
Administration’s answers focused largely around the problem of variance in cases that are brought before the sexual misconduct board and how the varying nature of cases warrants different sanctioning, making hardline sanctioning rules too cut-and-dry they believed. They also responded to concerns of students being allowed back on campus by making the point that expulsion or suspension is not going to stop all sexual assaults from happening, and that a culture change is what is really needed.
As to making students feel safe on campus there were no solid answers, but whether to allow students back on campus after being found in violation of the sexual misconduct policy raises the question of second chances and that as a community we must consider just how we want to treat those found in violation.
Throughout the event, the panel repeated the point that they were open to discussion and changing policy but that it would take time. President Bergman announced she had commissioned a Presidential Task Force on Sexual Assault modeled similarly to the one commissioned on Diversity. This task force would presumably play a large role in helping to address issues of sexual assault on campus moving forward, and address student concerns on sanctioning and Gustavus’s policies on sexual misconduct.
Student reactions to the forum varied with some happy with the administration’s answers and others not satisfied.
“I was somewhat disappointed by the administration’s response to many of the questions. I felt that it was essentially the same response over and over, either ‘we admit we’re not doing enough or the right thing’ or ‘we can’t comment on that.’ I am also concerned about the proposal of the task force and the limitations that exist through that type of change. I am particularly eager to see what interim measures the school can take to demonstrate that they are committed to action,” Co-President of the Womyn’s Awareness Center (WAC) Leah Soule said.
After the panel I asked President Bergman what she hoped students got out of the forum. She told me she hoped that the forum opened up discussion and dialogue to address the issues that students see, and that it would be the first step in making change at Gustavus, but that the conversation can’t stop at the forum.