Students
Respond to Alleged Rape
Rape
Charge Sparks Discussion of Sexual Offense Policies
by
Ariella Cohen
Responding
to an alleged rape on campus Friday night, a Take Back the
Night bonfire took place on Tappan Square Saturday night.
That morning, anonymous people wallpapered campus with posters announcing
that on the previous night A Rape Occurred on Our Campus
and calling for an 8 p.m. mobilization. Approximately 100 members
of the Oberlin community showed for the event, gathering around
four tea candles and engaging in open dialogue.
Hostile objections set off what would later become a calmer discussion
of sexual offenses and their treatment. From the onset participants
questioned the legitimacy of rallying around an unconfirmed rape.
I was the principle witness to the incident and it didnt
happen, said one male student, setting off a cacophony of
yelled objections and commentary.
Someone at the scene of the alleged assualt reported hearing the
involved party say I have been raped. The witness said
that the involved person appeared to have been violated and that
there was blood on her face.
Earlier in the evening, campus security officials had told students
that the posters were misleading in the nature of the
alleged rape. Currently the Oberlin City Police are conducting an
investigation into the case. As in line with policy, the College
is conducting a parallel investigation.
In the case of sexual offenses, the survivor always has the
option of going to the police and then the police are involved,
but that never prevents the College from doing an investigation.
Our sexual offense policy often holds community members to a higher
standard than state or local laws, such as is the case with sexual
harrasment cases and consensual issues, Dean of Students Peter
Goldsmith said.
The meeting was organized independently of any campus group; the
Sexual Assault Support Team (SAST), a campus group specializing
in sexual offense activism and education, voiced opposition to the
event early on.
SAST questioned this because the organizers did not get consent
of the person involved. Also, sometimes dialogue is not constructive,
it hurts, former SAST leader Rachel Barret (OC 01) said.
Following the objections many students left, creating a smaller,
quieter group more conducive to discussion. Once students agreed
that the alleged incident should not be explicitly addressed, a
discussion of rapehow to define it, and how to prevent it - grew.
A variety of voices came from the dim-lit circle to question each
other, speak on personal experiences and offer insight into societal
treatment of sexual offenses.
I organized this because last night I had to call Safety and
Security. And after the way the rape at Drag Ball was handled last
year -how we found out in the Review a week later. We dont
know for sure what happened last night, but we didnt want
to keep silent, said one of the organizers when asked why
the posters had been put up. Often rape and sexual abuse have
this expectation surrounding them that the incident has to be explicit.
There is a lot of gray though. And because everything is not totally
clear it doesnt mean that the incidents or discussions arent
valid. Now we can talk about how to speak to each other about these
issues, sophomore Rebecca DeCola said.
One student cautioned others to Take care of your own shit,
and many others advised safety precautions such as looking out for
friends at parties, staying in groups and paying attention to alcohol
intake.
Be careful if you are alone or intoxicated. My sister was
a victim of rape in that way and I was too, in a way, one
student said.
At points in the dialogue, students felt that too much emphasis
was being put on the role of the victim in the crime and how to
keep ones self safe and out of high-risk situations. No
one invites rape. You cannot tell people to be responsible for their
own bodies; that is blaming the victim. No one can prevent rape
except the perpetrator, sophomore Rachel Lockman said.
I
think it is good to talk about ways to keep safe, but it makes me
sad that we are talking about safety because that is what we always
end up talking about. We know how to keep safe. What I want to know
is how to make this stop. I want to know how to hold perpetrators
accountable. I want to talk about how to make this stop, junior
SAST organizer Brianna Cayo-Cotter said.
The accountability of institutions such as Oberlin was challenged,
and grievances with the College policies governing sexual offenses
were touched on. This is not an isolated incident. The campus
is not here to support survivors. It is because of a bad sexual
offense policy and there are ways to get involved in changing that
policy, Cayo-Cotter said.
A hearing board arbitrates sexual offense cases on campus. In cases
involving no College faculty, three members of the respondents
employee/student group and two members of the employee/student group
of the complainant sit on the panel. In cases where faculty members
are being accused, five members of faculty sit on board with one
non-faculty representative. Another board, the Sexual Offense Review
Committee (SORC) mediates sexual offense policies. Two representatives
from each of the groups of students, faculty, administrative and
professional staff; and at least one member each from OCOPE and
the UAW are included on the committee.
I think that our Sexual Offense Policy is effective; however,
I also think that we are learning a lot about issues of rape and
sexual offenses on campuses. I think it is clear that the main purpose
of our policy is adjudication. It spells out standards. It spells
out that all sexual encounters need to be consensual but I think,
as everyone at SORC does, that we need to do much more in educating
and preventing this from happening, College President Nancy
Dye said. We also need to come to look at, and honestly come
to terms with, the role of alcohol on the campus and the presence
of alcohol in many, in most, sexual offenses. The Administrator
of the Colleges sexual offense policy, Camille Hamlin Mitchell,
declined comment while investigation of this case is underway.
One student spoke out with a specific case where she felt that the
College had not acted supportively.
I had a friend here who went to the panel that decides sexual
offenses with a case. The panel ruled in her, the victims,
favor but then Nancy Dye overruled the decision because of process.
I do not know the [exact facts] but I do know that the accused rapist
did not have to leave the school, but my friend did, junior
Kerstin Ahlgren said.
President Dye acknowledged that in that case procedural deficiencies
had caused her to remand the decision.The person was found
neither guilty nor innocent, Dye said.
Lorain County Rape Crisis Center organizer Kay Jones came to campus
in support of the event, encouraging students to come forward and
share personal experiences. This week we have had a lot of
calls of survivors having flashbacks. When heavy emotions come up
then traumatic experiences come back. We are here to let people
know that there are places to go and people to talk to, Jones
said.
Students cut Joness comments short when the local activist
brought recent international politics into her message.
I was trying to give hope that maybe today in Afghanistan
a women felt sun on her arms for the first time as the Taliban hid
from U.S. retaliation. I apologize. I was not trying to offend anyone
or anyones culture; I was just trying to bring a message of
hope to the women of the world, Jones said.
We are here to recognize that rape happens, not to hear offensive
comments about other cultures, sophomore Shahana Sidiqui said.
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