Addressing Sexual Violence at Santa Clara
An increase in sexual assault allegations has prompted questioning of the university’s role in preventing abuse
Recent allegations of sexual assault at Santa Clara have prompted conversations among students and faculty regarding the school’s response to these incidents, as well as its role in preventing future sexual violence.
Sexual assault allegations — many of which include the use of date rape drugs — were reported to Greek life leaders in alarming numbers, according to an email sent to the student body on Sept. 23 by Student Body President Abigail Alvarez.
Acting President Lisa A. Kloppenberg addressed these concerns in a Sept. 29 follow-up letter, but reported that the university has received only two non-first hand party accounts of “possible drugging” and “1 report of possible drugging and sexual assault which the person declined to report formally.”
Given the nature of these reports, Kloppenberg warranted the delay in response from university officials and the Santa Clara Police Department, but remains “deeply concerned and alarmed at the possibility of any sexual violence against or by our students.”
Olivia Bormann, a Santa Clara alumna and sexual assault survivor, published an analysis examining Santa Clara in relation to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network’s (RAINN) recent study of campus sexual violence, in an effort to understand trends of sexual assault on college campuses.
The RAINN report found that “nearly 13% of all undergraduate and graduate students experience sexual assualt or rape” nationally while on campus.
Bormann clarified in her article that when the RAINN statistics are analyzed against Santa Clara’s population, we would expect to see that over 700 students would be affected.
Important to note is that these are just statistics for reported sexual assault, with the majority of incidents remaining under the radar.
Interim Deputy Title IX Coordinator Jessica Gasbarro confirmed that it is not uncommon for survivors to choose not to proceed with an investigation. And many choose not to report the incident to the Title IX office in the first place.
“The reality of it is, most of the time people don’t report. It’s very hard to come forward” Gasbarro said. “Sometimes, survivors aren’t coming forward until quarters, semesters or even years later.”
Gasbarro continued, “A lot of times [students] feel like, ‘oh well all of these things are happening on campus and the campus isn’t doing anything.’ If people don’t come to us, there’s nothing we can do,” she said. “It’s a huge onus to come to us.”
It becomes increasingly difficult to address these behaviors the longer a survivor waits to come forward, Gasbarro said. Once a person graduates, the Title IX office has no control over them.
“Our efforts right now are really just to get people through the door,” she said.
If complainants decide to proceed with an investigation, a hearing composed of three panelists (Santa Clara staff and faculty volunteers) who are charged with issuing sanctions if it is determined that there was indeed a violation.
Sanctions are then evaluated on a case by case basis, with no set charge attached to a violation, unlike other breaches of conduct that are listed in the Santa Clara student manual.
Acknowledging the growing problem, SCU’s Acting President went on to detail a list of resources available for students seeking support, including reporting to the Equal Opportunity and Title IX office, Campus Safety Services, and the Wellness Center, where accounts of sexual assault can remain anonymous and confidential. She also incentivized contacting the Santa Clara County Sexual Assault Response Team, as well as enrolling in the SafeWalk SCU program, where students can reserve scheduled home walks together on or off campus.
Santa Clara has also hired a full-time survivor advocate, Bree Van Ness, who serves as the Assistant Director for Student Survivor Advocacy and Campus Support. Her primary job is to assist survivors by providing safe spaces of support where students can seek emotional, physical and financial assistance, as well as learn what their rights and resources are moving forward.
Despite these efforts, Santa Clara students still report feeling a “lack of transparency about internal processes,” a “lack of enforcement of disciplinary measures” and a “lack of faith in existing campus resources,” according to a report from the SCU Violence Prevention Educators Group, which collected over 100 testimonies from students in the summer of 2020 on their experiences with reporting sexual assault. The findings were later published on @metoo.scu, the official Instagram page of the #MeTooSCU movement.
Of the responses received, over 76% included “negative feedback about experiences with on-campus resources, including the Office of Student Life (OSL) Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and the Title IX Office,” the post confirmed.
Another problem students point to is the fact that the Greek life system — which organizes a majority of the school’s off-campus social events — remains unaffiliated with the university, a decision made in the early 2000s.
“The University Policy Committee on Student Affairs (UPCSA) was asked to review the university’s relationship with fraternities and sororities back in 2001. Over a series of meetings and consultations, they made a set of recommendations to the then-president,” said Vice Provost for Student Life and Dean of Students Jeanne Rosenberger. “The decision was to not continue to recognize the Greek system into the future, and instead reinvest those limited resources into program services and other efforts that would advantage the whole undergraduate population.”
The review was linked to the “exclusivity often associated with Greek life,” former Provost Denise Carmody said in a letter to David Pleins, who served as the Chair of the University Policy Committee on Student Affairs, in October of 2000.
“Continuing incidents of behavioral misconduct by members of Greek organizations (e.g., hazing, acquaintance rape, excessive alcohol consumption) also call into question the place these organizations have in the environment,” Carmody wrote in the letter, which urged the UPCSA to conduct the review.
The UPCSA made clear, however, that the decision was not “to be seen as a reflection on members of Greek organizations at Santa Clara” and that Greek members are often students who have made significant academic and social contributions to the school.
The separation did not dissuade students from joining these off-campus associations. Instead, it worked to remove the university’s potential liability when faced with Greek life misconduct.
With a lack of official support, Greek leaders in recent days have invoked their own safety measures — checking for access cards at the door of parties, providing wristbands to ensure attendees are checked in, and exclusively serving cans of sealed alcohol — to ensure student safety.
Rosenberger reiterated, “[We] aren’t going to interact with that student experience,” but said the administration will continue to support students’ choice of involvement.
She continued, “We have a whole list of what we do annually to keep students safe, but it only makes a difference in the moment at a particular setting where a student knows what to do,” she said. “Education really becomes the bottom line.”
If off-campus parties hosted by unaffiliated organizations continue to serve as primary functions where sexual misconduct occurs, it begs the question of whether or not Santa Clara can enact the sufficient change necessary to prevent sexual misconduct among the student body.
Santa Clara students like junior Clare MacMillin argue that education is not always enough.
MacMillin, who recently organized a protest on-campus to seek justice and support for survivors, acknowledged the struggle for progress when the university remains unassociated with Greek life.
“I think that Greek life not being affiliated with the university does impact the way that these cases are handled,” MacMillian said. “It’s harder for the school to take action or even be aware of sexual assault cases when admin don’t communicate with Greek life.”
She also noted, however, that the separation can have its positives.
“I would honestly say that the changes that Greek life made last week were more substantive than what the school has done to combat this issue,” she said. “Part of the reason for that is that they are able to work with themselves and communicate more efficiently without having the rules and bureaucracy of the school to slow them down or have a say in how to handle it.”
Photo Credit: Rikesh Mehta