After a rape occurred Sept. 8 in Hart Hall, there was an outcry from students who wanted to be informed of sexual assaults on campus and in residence halls.
A resolution was unanimously passed by Student Association senators Sept. 27, requesting that students be notified of every sexual assault on campus. The resolution was sent to Oswego State President Deborah Stanley and other administrators.
Stanley sent a campus-wide email with her thoughts on the resolution on Oct. 10, explaining the college’s policy on sexual assault notifications.
“Acting on a recently reported case that was listed on the University Police website blotter, University Police indicated, after speaking with the individual who made the report and assessing the situation, there was no threat or imminent danger to the campus community,” the email read. “Therefore, no email was sent to the campus regarding this reported incident. At this point, it became critically important to protect the rights of those involved, provide support and resources, and preserve the integrity of a potential investigation.”
Wayne Westervelt, Oswego State’s chief communication officer, said campus-wide emails and NY-Alerts are sent when there is a perceived threat to the campus.
“In cases when we’ve carefully assessed that there is no threat or imminent danger to the campus community, our attention shifts to protecting the rights of those involved, provide support and resources and preserve the integrity of a potential investigation,” Westervelt said.
Although no threat to campus was perceived after the rape in Hart Hall, students who supported the SA resolution believed it was important to be notified of these crimes. The resolution was sponsored by around two dozen Hart Hall residents, a graduate resident mentor and members of the e-boards of several clubs and organizations. It was written by SA senators Eusebio Omar van Reenen and Vanessa Gonzales, along with Alex George, the SA director of legislative affairs.
At Stanley’s Sept. 29 town hall meeting, van Reenen raised a question about being notified about sexual assaults.
According to Stanley in an email interview, van Reenen “shared that he wished he had been notified about the sexual assault that occurred in his building. I explained to all present that sharing information about reported sexual assaults is a complex issue that I, and others responsible for the safety and protection of our employees, take very seriously.”
Van Reenen said he wrote the resolution to be a voice for fellow residents of Hart Hall who were “astonished” about the sexual assault and wanted to be informed. He hopes the resolution will allow students to be more informed and to raise awareness of sexual crimes, but he understands why change will be gradual.
“The university has to protect the discretion of the victim and the perpetrator,” van Reenen said. “But they do have to understand that there’s also other people’s concerns that arise from it. In order to address sexual assault, you need to make people aware about it.”
The resolution requested that Oswego State inform students via campus-wide email any time sexual crimes are committed on campus.
Van Reenen said the resolution was not intended to give away the identities of the parties involved, but to raise awareness on campus about the incidents themselves.
Gonzales, who co-wrote the resolution, said she was inspired to go forward with it because she believes addressing sexual assaults is such an important issue.
“My thought process was, ‘Why weren’t we notified about this problem if we are notified of every other minuscule problem on campus like the Wi-Fi being down?’” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said she was disappointed by Stanley’s response to the resolution.
“I don’t think she understood the point we were trying to make,” Gonzales said. “I would have liked to have met up with her beforehand to just state the resolution clearly. I have no doubt that she’s doing the best she can to run our university and handle issues like these.”
Stanley sent a campus-wide email Oct. 20 informing the campus of reports made of non-consensual sex. No campus judicial complaints or police reports have been filed yet, but Stanley said the administration is bringing the complaint through student conduct processes.
Stanley met with SA leaders Thursday to discuss what necessary actions should be taken when sexual assault is reported. She said she understands students’ desire to be aware of what happens around them.
“They want to feel confident that their president and college administrators are being transparent and communicating with them, especially when it involves their safety and security,” Stanley said. “Being transparent and communicating with our campus community is very important and is never pushed aside in favor of protecting the reputation of SUNY Oswego.”
Stanley said she has asked Oswego State’s TItle IX coordinator, chief of University Police and chief communication officer to work together to find solutions about communicating these matters to the campus and invited students to participate.
“I invite interested students to be a part of this process,” Stanley said.
