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Today, President Bollinger sent out an email blast with an update on what the university is doing to prevent sexual assault. Updated below.
The statement comes as Columbia’s sexual assault policies have become a hot discussion topic. Recent events like the filing of Title IX complaints, a letter written by faculty in support of the complaints, and the appearance of lists of alleged rapists on bathroom walls and fliers have increased campus awareness.
More importantly, the story has been picked up by CNN and the New York Times, adding public pressure. This clearly forced PrezBo to send out an update, even though he didn’t have much to say that we don’t already know.
His previous statement also covered:
- the EVP of Student Affairs,
- improved access to support for victims,
- and the creation of the President’s Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault (although it’s now called the “Presidential Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault”).
New items mentioned in this statement included:
- A new location for the Rape Crisis Center will open in Lerner.
- The Office of Sexual Violence Response will have on-call staff available 24 hours a day.
- “Enhanced” coverage of sexual assault during orientation.
Barnard’s DSpar issued a simultaneous statement.
- She noted that Title IX complaints have been filed against a total of 55 schools, so it’s not just us!
- She reiterated that Columbia hasn’t received a copy of the complaint, which is their excuse for not commenting on it.
- Reminded Barnard students of resources they can use, including the Furman Counseling Center.
Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:
Before the academic year comes to a close, I want to provide one more brief update on our ongoing efforts to improve our capacity within the University to prevent and address issues of sexual assault and misconduct. Many people on the campus—students, faculty, and administrators—have worked diligently on this critically important matter. The work will continue. Here, then, are some additional changes.
Since my last update, I have charged the Presidential Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault (PACSA) with developing an ongoing, multi-year, comprehensive plan to address sexual assault within our community. There are, of course, many elements already identified and being developed—an annual campus climate survey, enhanced training both during orientation and on an ongoing basis, the release of annual aggregate data after the completion of the academic year, and stronger bystander training.
Over the last several weeks, we have authorized the addition of Title IX investigators and have consolidated the investigative offices to improve the adjudicatory process. The Office of Student Services for Gender-Based and Sexual Misconduct will now report directly to the Associate Provost for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, Title IX Coordinator. We also have facilitated the expansion of the professional staff in the Office of Sexual Violence Response to ensure 24-hour on-call access to professional staff, while keeping fully intact existing access to peer advocates. Furthermore, we have identified an additional location for the Rape Crisis Center in Lerner Hall, which will provide an alternative to the current location in Hewitt Hall. These and other resources are detailed and will be regularly updated on the new website, Sexual Respect, launched earlier this year.
A critical component of reform is the creation of the new office of Executive Vice President for Student Affairs, which, among other things, will help centralize overall responsibility and facilitate better coordination. The search for the person to take up this position is underway. I have retained the services of an executive search firm and very soon will announce the members of an advisory committee of students and other key individuals to assist in the process of identifying candidates. The EVP will then work closely with PACSA to help ensure that our campus culture does not tolerate sexual assault and that our adjudicatory process is responsive, sensitive, efficient, and fair.
Columbia is rightly known as the place of strong and deeply held core academic and community values. We have to deal with the issues of sexual assault and related misconduct consistent with those values.
Sincerely,
Lee C. Bollinger
Update (7:08 pm): DSpar added this to PrezBo’s statement in an email sent to Barnard students.
Dear members of the Barnard community,
I am sure you are aware from recent media reports that complaints have been filed against Columbia and Barnard for mishandling incidents of gender-based misconduct. Similar complaints have been filed against a number of other colleges and universities, and the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has released a list of 55 colleges and universities that are currently under investigation. As of yet, we have not received a copy of any complaint, so have been unable to comment publicly or take any specific action in response to these complaints.
What I can say at this stage is that our policy is, and always will be, zero tolerance for violence or discrimination of any kind. Together with deans and senior administrators, I am fully prepared to do whatever we can to protect the health, rights and safety of our students. Any allegation against Barnard will be fully investigated and responded to in accordance with federal law, and in a manner consistent with our own core values as an institution. No member of the Barnard community should have to experience anything of the nature that has been alleged in the reports. In consultation with College leadership, I am thinking very seriously about appropriate next steps to improve what we already have in place and prevent these issues from further permeating our culture.
Below is a message from President Bollinger updating the Columbia community on efforts at the University level. You should know that we are working closely with University colleagues to address concerns related to our shared resources. In addition, as an independent college, we have our own processes and initiatives that are separate and designed to meet the needs of Barnard students. For example, Amy Zavadil, our Associate Dean for Equity and Title IX Coordinator, has been conducting bystander intervention workshops and other training sessions to help our faculty, staff, and students identify and respond to dangerous or unwelcome situations. For the past three years, we’ve conducted an annual student Campus Climate Survey—an initiative aligned with the recent White House Task Force guidelines, and one that is helping us better understand what is needed to make our students feel safe and supported. A subcommittee of the Student Government Association has also been working with Amy Zavadil to explore opportunities to expand and improve Barnard’s policies and resources, both on and off campus. You can find more detailed information about our policies and resources at www.barnard.edu/doc/titleix.
In addition, we have a number of support services in place for survivors and others affected by sexual assault. Barnard’s Furman Counseling Center is a confidential resource, staffed by a team of mental health professionals whose top priority is ensuring the well-being of our students. We are also fortunate to have dedicated peer advocates at the Columbia-Barnard Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center, who offer confidential emotional support, accompaniment and referrals to survivors and their supporters. Additionally, Barnard students can seek out information and guidance for all matters related to health and well-being from the staff and peer educators at Well Woman.
I would like to extend my appreciation to those of you who are already involved with these and other efforts to address and raise awareness about sexual assault. Your work truly is benefiting the entire community and shining a light on an important issue.
Best wishes to all for a wonderful, relaxing summer.
Sincerely,
President Spar
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15 Comments
@Mohamed The above comment cites erroneous facts about rape. One out of four or five women are raped in their lifetimes and few men are held accountable. False rape claims are rare, but rape culture constantly focuses on them to distract us from the important issue of dealing with rape and rapists. This is the truth. We live in a culture that protects men and punishes women. I cite the hysteria over the rape list as evidence. Women are taking control over the dialog about rape. We are saying IF YOU WON’T PROTECT US YOU GIVE US NO CHOICE BUT TO PROTECT OURSELVES. It’s interesting that the school suggests expulsion for those who are writing the rape list while it does nothing to punish rapists. The police, the courts, the media, and society fail rape victims. It’s time we name and shame rapists. The concern about false accusations can be addressed in libel and slander litigation in court. I encourage women to stop the silence, ANONYMOUSLY publish the and picture of your rapist. This Is an issue about FREE SPEECH, which shall be not be stifled.
@great plan how could this possibly go wrong
@Anonymous Rape culture engages in crude stereotyping that relies upon buzzwords, bad statistics, and surface level analysis to reach wildly fantastic conclusions unsupported by scientific evidence. In dangerously hints at further erosions of due process rights for allegedly accused students, who already have severely restricted rights, including a special jury panel and no right to cross-examine their accuser under our system.
College is a confusing time with many new adaptations, including parties with large amounts of alcohol involved. Not all sex that occurs after these parties is rape. In fact, the extremely vast majority are consensual encounters between consenting adults. To introduce the administration’s bumbling bureaucracy, especially in a gender-biased fashion, is certainly not the answer.
I am very deeply sorry for experience of the author of the piece. But her prescriptions for the problem, to correct gender discrimination with even further gender discrimination, would be far worse than the disease.
Let’s begin with the myth of the “rape epidemic.” According to Princeton’s Cleary Act Crime Reports and Student Disciplinary Summaries from the past decade, there have been less than ten charges of sexual assault over the past eight years. Current FBI statistics put the rate of sexual assault at significantly less than 1% nationally, about 25% of which are proven false and 36% are retracted at some point.
The math militates against the author’s claims that this is an “epidemic,” and utterly belies the claim that there is some sort of permissive “rape culture.”
The author writes:
“Within this culture, we view men’s aggressive behavior as an acceptable norm.”
Let’s examine this crude generalization when adapted to other groups :
“Within this culture, we view black male aggressive behavior as an acceptable norm.”
“Within this culture, we view female submission and passivity as an acceptable norm.”
These statement are offensive, as they should be, because they broadly stereotype a group based purely upon physical characteristics that have nothing to do with moral or behavioral character.
This article villainizes men, portrays women as helpless damsels in need of protection, invents a supposed epidemic that is not supported by the mathematics, dangerously miscasts an important issue, and, most importantly, plays into the very same crude gender stereotypes it claims to fight.
Labeling a small number of highly tragic sexual assault incidents to the result of a widespread “culture” is false, facile, and dangerous.
@Mohamed Anonymous: your facts are wrong. Rapists and rape apologists love to cite this information, which absolutely not true. It is a MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN often forwarded by misogynists.
@Curious Does anyone know about the conspiracy theory that little people are controlling the U.S. Government?
@Why is it that we can be kicked out of school for academic dishonesty but rapists found “responsible” by the university are allowed to remain on campus? I’m genuinely curious.
@TheBwogKing Because the university’s standard isn’t innocent until proven guilty. If the person takes the case to court and proves that the proceedings were a mummer’s farce and that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict her, she will then proceed to sue the university. It’s happened many times, actually. The number of lawsuits of this type have risen dramatically.
@Anonymous That doesn’t answer the question at all.
@George RR Martin “Mummers farce”?
Quit stealing my material!
@Anonymous maybe because academic institutions are better at handling academic issues than criminal issues?
@Anonymous It’s President* Spar, not Dean.
@Maud Thank you for telling us. The staffer responsible has been fired. All inquiries should be sent to jake@bwog.com.
@... Well, SOMEONE’s angry that Bwog made the right call to let a staff member go…
@Anonymous calm down, it’s just a joke that somebody made on the internet. everything’s going to be okay.
@Technically she’s a dean within the University bureaucracy.