| Blog and Media Roundup - Thursday, February 22, 2018 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 22 2018, 06:31 AM (113 Views) | |
| Quasimodo | Feb 22 2018, 06:31 AM Post #1 |
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Really? Follow the rules of evidence, in a legal process in Durham? |
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| abb | Feb 22 2018, 06:37 AM Post #2 |
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http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2018/02/vanity-fair-confidential-episode-addresses-sexual-assault-at-uva ''Vanity Fair Confidential' episode addresses sexual assault at U.Va. Episode features assault survivor Liz Seccuro, discusses fallout from ‘A Rape on Campus' By Eleanor Barto | 02/22/2018 9727_frontgraphic1124f The episode addressed the emotional reactions on Grounds to the now-retracted Rolling Stone article, "A Rape on Campus." The Cavalier Daily staff | Cavalier Daily The Feb. 5 season four premiere of “Vanity Fair Confidential” — a television series on Investigation Discovery that delves into crime stories covered by the magazine — brought cases of sexual assault at the University once again into the national spotlight. The episode, titled “Shadows on the Lawn,” included voiced-over narratives and first-person interviews with University alumna Liz Seccuro, who was sexually assaulted during her first year at University in 1984 and received an apology from one of her attackers 21 years later. The episode also dealt with the repercussions of the now-retracted 2014 article in Rolling Stone Magazine that told the alleged story of a University student and the gang-rape she endured at a U.Va. fraternity. “I was being told from all over that … people were telling my story,” Seccuro said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. “I was sort of like, ‘Well wait a minute, if anyone is going to tell my story, it should be me.’” In 2011, Seccuro published her memoir, “Crash Into Me: A Survivor’s Search for Justice,” the same year the University underwent Title IX review for mishandling cases of sexual assault. Seccuro is now a victim’s rights advocate, the founder of STARS (Sisters Together Assisting Rape Survivors) and she lobbies for better legislation to protect victims of violence. She spends a majority of her time speaking on college campuses, but also communicates with law firms, law enforcement agencies and the Department of Health and Human Services, among others, about her advocacy. “I’ve been speaking up since this happened,” Seccuro said. “It wasn’t so much for me to be heard — it was in the beginning, absolutely — and then it turned very quickly into, ‘I want other people to have a voice and to see that it’s ok to speak out. I am here really for people telling their stories.” The episode addressed many concerns over the reporting and handling of sexual assault cases. According to University Spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn, the U.Va. administration was aware of Vanity Fair’s production and coverage of these two stories. “The University is committed to ensuring a safe, nondiscriminatory educational and work environment and takes seriously any allegation of conduct that would violate University policy,” de Bruyn said in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “The University will continue to confront sexual violence and implement substantive reforms to improve culture, prevent violence, and respond to acts of violence when they occur.” The episode began with Securro’s story in September 2005, when she received an apology letter from the man who raped her while she was a student at the University. The letter was signed, “Most sincerely yours, Will Beebe.” Seccuro enrolled at the University in 1984. On Oct. 5, she attended a fraternity rush party at Phi Kappa Psi with a group of her friends. It was there that she was drugged, raped by three brothers — two of whom were later accused and one convicted — and left bloodied and unconscious. She met with then-Dean of Students Robert Canevari almost 72 hours after the assault. Canevari informed Seccuro she could not report the incident to the Charlottesville Police Department, claiming the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity was under the jurisdiction of University Police Department. He therefore recommended she file the report internally. Seccuro filed multiple reports with the University Police, yet Beebe transferred out of the University later that year and Seccuro’s case was shelved. “It suddenly dawned on me that no one was going to help me,” Seccuro said in the episode. Seccuro graduated from the University in 1988. She received Beebe’s letter 21 years after the assault. Beebe’s admission prompted Seccuro to report him to the authorities. She met with detectives in December 2005 and Beebe was arrested Jan. 4, 2007. Over the course of the trial process, Seccuro said she discovered ways in which the University mishandled her case, such as the Canevari falsely informing her the fraternity was under the jurisdiction of the UPD. Beebe pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual battery Nov. 14, 2006. Although the University did not formally follow up on her case, Seccuro found a community of support among students and faculty and, as an undergraduate, began to speak out about her experience. Seccuro said she worked with a faculty member while she was a student to record anonymous audio tapes describing what happened to her and to communicate her story to the student body. “I think that’s a really important part of U.Va. is the idea that there are all kinds of students and for each thing that we care about there was a resource,” Securro said. “I feel very grateful for the people who helped me along the way to find my small voice then.” The episode also dealt with a more recent controversy on Grounds — the publishing of the 2014 Rolling Stone Magazine article “A Rape on Campus,” detailing the alleged gang-rape of a student referred to as “Jackie” at the same Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house Seccuro was assaulted in. The episode addressed the emotional reactions on Grounds to such a visceral story published on such a high-profile platform. “You saw Greek life come to a complete halt,” said Laura French, a reporter for WTVR, during the program. “You saw protests. People were enraged. Everyone joined in against the University at that time.” In January 2015, an investigation by the CPD found no evidence of the rape alleged in the article. In April 2015, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism published a report identifying many factual errors in the article. Rolling Stone subsequently retracted the story. Former Assoc. Dean of Students Nicole Eramo, who is pictured and mentioned in the article, filed a $7.5 million defamation lawsuit against the author of the article, Sabrina Erdely, Rolling Stone Magazine and its publishing company, Wenner Media Inc. in May 2015. The case was settled in March 2017, after the jury unanimously sided with Eramo and granted her $3 million in damages in November 2016. The chapter of Phi Kappa Psi also filed a defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone, requesting $25 million. The case was settled in June 2017, awarding the fraternity $1.26 million. A third and final defamation lawsuit filed by three members of Phi Kappa Psi against Rolling Stone was settled in December. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed in court. Sarah Ellison, a University alumna and writer for The Washington Post, explored the events of 2015 at the University in an article for Vanity Fair magazine titled, “After a Rape Story, a Murder, and Lawsuits: What’s Next for the University of Virginia?” The article referenced Seccuro’s case in addition to focusing on three shocking events that occurred on Grounds in 2015 — the murder of second-year College student Hannah Graham, the brutal arrest of then-third-year College student Martese Johnson and the impact of Jackie’s false narrative and what it meant for sexual advocacy groups on Grounds. “The main tragedy that came out of Jackie’s story was there was this sense of doubt that came with every story of a woman coming forward and alleging rape,” Ellison said in the episode. In an interview with The Cavalier Daily, Ellison discussed the concerns of many activists on Grounds following the Rolling Stone article. Activists expressed how focusing exclusively on this traumatic assault might make victims in the more common “gray area” of assault hesitate to come forward with their stories. “Focusing on this incredibly traumatic gang-rape… exclusively would make other people who had experienced would you might call more ‘normal’ sexual assault or rape to have felt that their stories weren’t important enough or serious enough to come forward,” Ellison said. “So there’s obviously a big gap in reporting.” Ellison said she believes the conversation regarding social and administrative treatment of sexual misconduct will continue to evolve as more stories come to light and are discussed in earnest. “I think the more we talk about it, the more people will come to a more nuanced understanding of what is ok and what is not ok,” Ellison said. “I think we still have a long ways to go.” |
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| abb | Feb 22 2018, 06:38 AM Post #3 |
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http://www.dbknews.com/2018/02/22/michigan-state-larry-nassar-senate-alert-act-sexual-assault/ U.S. bill aims to hold college presidents accountable for sexual misconduct investigations By Christine Condon Published February 21 at 11:18 PM Three U.S. Senators introduced a bill last week that would hold federally funded college and university presidents accountable for campus sexual misconduct investigations, and University of Maryland community members have mixed feelings. The legislation, which comes in the wake of former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar's sexual abuse scandal, is called the Accountability of Leaders in Education to Report Title IX Investigations Act, also known as the ALERT Act. Under the proposal, presidents at colleges and universities that receive federal funding would certify annually that they have reviewed all allegations of employee sexual misconduct reported to their respective Title IX coordinator that year and have not interfered in any investigations. The bill's three sponsors — Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) — cited the Michigan State and Penn State scandals in a Feb. 15 news release. [Read more: Loh calls MSU sexual abuse scandal "horrific" while students question the system] "Too many young people have suffered appalling harm from abusers who should have been stopped by university officials," Peters said in the announcement. "I'm introducing this legislation to ensure that 'I didn't know' will never again be an excuse for permitting monstrous abuse to continue under the watch of the officials we trust to look after our children." Hundreds of survivors came forward with allegations against Nassar, and many accused the university of dismissing their claims against the sports doctor, who was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse. Michigan State's president Lou Anna Simon and athletic director Mark Hollis resigned amid Nassar's trial, and its general counsel, Bob Noto, announced he would retire. Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of 45 counts of child sexual abuse in 2012. An investigation found some university officials knew of abuse as early as 1998, failed to respond to them. [Read more: Amid nationwide sexual assault allegations, UMD official says "we may need to step it up"] University of Maryland President Wallace Loh said the bill wouldn't change much at this university. "I don't see this as anything different than what we already have," Loh said. "A good portion of the job [of university president] is being held accountable for a whole variety of things. So that's why I get briefed about them, at least at a very high level, and we have procedures, so, absolutely I do not get involved in any sort of investigation until the point where I have to be involved, such as the student appeals the decision." This university's sexual misconduct investigation procedure does not mention the president's involvement after a case outcome is appealed. This university's Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct director, Catherine Carroll, supervises the investigation of complaints made to the office. This university's Student Conduct Director, Andrea Goodwin, decides possible sanctions against accused students, and a standing review committee adjudicates cases with possible outcomes of suspension or expulsion. The University Senate Student Conduct Committee's Appellate Body hears appeals in these cases. Their decisions require approval by the Vice President for Student Affairs — Linda Clement. Cristina Johnson, the president of a campus advocacy group for sexual assault survivors Preventing Sexual Assault, said the bill could be a step in the right direction. "For our university, where Loh has tried to completely distance himself from everything Title IX, it actually might be beneficial to make our president feel some type of responsibility," the senior journalism major said. "Everything is about reputation and keeping things hush-hush. That's just something that needs to change." Johnson cited this university's move in September for Carroll to report to this university's general counsel instead of Loh's chief of staff. When the decision was announced, Student Government Association President AJ Pruitt spoke out against it, calling the change a "demotion" for Carroll. "[A] decision of this magnitude should not, and cannot be made in the dark," he said in the Sept. 14 statement, adding that he views the reporting line as a conflict of interest, since it is the general counsel's responsibility to handle legal matters and "limit the liability the University faces." Loh, on the other hand, said the decision was made to ease communication, since the general counsel could best discuss legal matters of sexual misconduct cases with Carroll. Lexi Tauberman, a junior environmental science major, said it's good that the law requires presidents to say they have not interfered in sexual misconduct cases. "I wouldn't see any just reason that the president would interfere in that sort of trial," Tauberman [sc] said. "I'd like it to go through the process that's best and most beneficial for the victim without much outside influence." But Dakota Wells, a senior economics major, said the bill may not go far enough. "It seems like a good idea. I think that the president may just sign off on it, you know?" Wells said. "I don't know if he'd necessarily really get involved with that, but I think it is a good idea for him to certify that all of those cases have been dealt with." |
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| Quasimodo | Feb 22 2018, 07:21 AM Post #4 |
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I'd love to have seen that applied to Brodhead... |
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