The Reporter

THE REPORTER e e k i n g The Ih'oth At Stetson N I V E R S I T Y Volume CXIX Issue 21 Friday, April 2D, 2DD7 Undisclosed Rape Case Allegedly Mishandled By MIKE RIGGS Encouraged to "break the silence" by her professors and peers, a female student contacted The Reporter with allegations that the university mishandled her claims of sexual assault. The student's allegations, if true, mean that the university may have violated a federal law by not counting the student's claim in its sexual assault figures for 2004. When' contacted by phone about the student's accusations, Michelle Espinosa, Dean of Students, declined to speak with a writer from The Reporter'unless the student, who asked not to ,be named in this article, signed a waiver giving Espinosa permission to discuss her student records. The Reporter obtained a written waiver signed by the student and delivered it to Espinosa who declined a second time to discuss the student's case, saying, "It would not be appropriate for me to comment on any case involving specific students due to the confidentiality of student educational records." The student said that in 2004 she reported her sexual assault by a Deland resident first to a Residential Life employee and then to Espinosa. "I told Dean Espinosa what had happened, and she asked me what I had been wearing. I told her that I had been wearing a skirt and a tank top, and she told me that I shouldn't be wearing those things out partying," the student said. The student claims that she then asked Espinosa what steps she should take legally and was told, "If I took it to trial I would be embarrassed because there was no evidence that I had been raped and [because] I didn't even know my assailant's real name." According to the student, Espinosa learned the alleged assailant's name by speaking with another university student who was dating the alleged assailant's cousin. The student says that Espinosa met with the alleged assailant, but would not release his name to the student so that she could press charges. She claims she was then referred by Espinosa to the university counseling center, where a counselor told her that she was "beyond their help," and would have to go to a counseling center not affiliated with the university. According to the student, she had no further contact with Espinosa until she reported being sexually assaulted a second time a year later, and in response was brought up for a judicial hearing by Espinosa for possession of alcohol. Espinosa declined to comment on the allegations, and would not confirm or deny that the student interviewed by The Reporter had ever reported being sexually assaulted. Espinosa did say that "[the student's] records about certain incidents are tied with other students' records, and we don't have permission from those students." When asked if Espinosa or the department of Residential Life reported the student's claim in 2004, J.D. Hess, the Director of Public Safety, said he received no claims from either the Dean of Students office or the Department of Residential Life in 2004. Hess also said that to the best of his knowledge, the crime data for the university, which says SKOTrcRSffiSKses that there were zero reported sexual assault cases between 2003 and 2005, is accurate. Hess went on to say, "We have not had any reported sexual assault cases since 2002, when two girls were [sexually assaulted] at a fraternity house. We are required to adhere to the Clery Act." According to the Department of Postsecondary Education's website, the "Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or Clery Act, mandates that institutions must disclose statistics both for crimes reported to local police agencies and crimes reported to campus security authorities. The intent of including non-law enforcement personnel...is to acknowledge that many students are hesitant about reporting crimes to the police, but may be more inclined to report incidents to other campus-affiliated individuals." The act also requires a university to report on assaults which occur off campus but that involve students. When told that a student came forward to question why her case was never disclosed according to the act, Hess said,. "If a student had come forward about [a rape], I would have a report on it. As. far as I know, no such report was filed in 2004." "They tell younger students that there were no rapes for the year that I was raped, 2004," the student said in response to the published statistics. "That's just wrong. The protocol for helping [sexually assaulted students] is not being followed." Reported by, Samantha Lange and Mike Riggs. Contact Mike Riggs at mriggs@stetson. edu. Letter From A Survivor j The following letter was sent to The Reporter by an anonymous student, who later consented to be interviewed for the accompanying story. In light of the recent events that have happened on campus, I feel it was time for me to speak out. I am a rape survivor. I was a freshman at Stetson when I was raped. I was drugged and raped by a man I knew. I was out with some friends and I was the designated driver. I had a glass of orange juice because everyone else was drinking screwdrivers and I wanted to at least drink something. I left for a minute to go for a walk with a friend who needed to talk with me. When I returned I drank the rest of my orange juice. After a couple minutes I started feeling sick and I couldn't keep my eyes open. One of the guys I was with offered to drive my car back to my dorm. I agreed to let him drive my car. ' The next thing I remember I couldn't move. He. was raping me andl couldn't move. I looked out my car window and didn't know where I was, somewhere in the woods. I bit his neck, drawing blood and then I passed out again, I am not sure if I passed out from him punching me in the face or from the drugs he had put in my drink. I woke up to him sitting and staring at me, he said he was teaching me a lesson to not trust people. At this point we were near Stetson and I stared crying. He kept saying I had it coming and it wasn't his fault. I'm not sure if I was crying from the pain, the fear, or the fact I thought my first time would be with someone I loved. At my dorm I jumped out of my car and ran. I ran not even realizing that I had broken my ankle jumping out of the moving car. I was let in to the dorm by some people I knew. I didn't know how to tell them what had happened, I just cried and cried. My shirt and my skirt were torn, I don't even thing they noticed. An RA, I can't remember who, came and had me go to bed thinking I was just irrationally drunk, while someone went and got my keys from the man had just raped me. I didn't know who to go to or what to do. I called the Volusia County rape crisis center and they scared me more, saying I would need to have all kinds of tests done. I went to the counseling center and they said they couldn't help me and sent me to the House Next Door, but I couldn't afford to pay for therapy. I was called into the dean of students office, I was looking for guidance and was asked what I was wearing; making me feel like it was all my fault. Stetson, my home, my school, was supposed to be there to support and help me but they dropped the ball. They were suppose to guide me and keep me safe but they failed. They have failed me and many others who are too scared to speak out. I kept this inside for years and it is time to speak out. There has been change at Stetson but it has not been enough. I needed to tell my story of survival in hopes of helping others and to start a movement for change. Now I have closure by telling my story in hopes of help others speak out Students are being raped, sexually assaulted, even staked, and what has Stetson done to make this campus safer or to facilitate change? It is time for Stetson to step up and start addressing these problems and stop trying to cover them up by silencing the survivors of violence. Students Say Goodbye To A Stetson Hero By TORI GIBBS ' Dr. Michael Raymond, professor of English and creative writing, died of complications from Type I diabetes at his home in Deland on the morning of April 4. Raymond's classes will be supervised for the remainder of the spring semester by Professor Nancy Barber, Dr. Lori Snook, Dr. John Pearson, and Dr. Tom Farrell. "For next year, we will hire someone on a one-year contract who can teach First-Year English and some creative writing," said Dr. Farrell, who is the chair of the English Department. "In the fall we will determine the qualifications that we will look for in a national search for a new tenure-track member of the faculty." "I think that Dr. Raymond will be remembered in different ways by different people," Farrell said. "To students, he was a teacher who challenged them to exceed their own expectations; he was a grading nightmare; he was an indefatigable source of encouragement; he was an open- door teacher who was constantly talking with students about their lives outside the classroom and in the future. He was beloved by the most academically gifted students we have, and by those who barely scrape across the stage at commencement." "He was truly an advocate of student free speech," Dr. Terri Witek said. "And for anyone who wanted to write, or have a writing life? That touched a deep nerve with him—he understood, snared it, and had our backs." Raymond was born in Flushing, N.Y. He graduated from Stetson in 1968, and went on tp earn, his master's and doctorate from the University of Florida. He began working at the English department in 1972, teaching courses in fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as joint courses with other colleagues in geography, psychology, sociology, law, and economics. He also conducted writing workshops, helped to launch the University Experience course, directed First-Year English, served on the Annual Fund committee, advised both the student newspaper and student literary magazine, and served on the Alumni Board of Directors. He was a writing and educational consultant to Florida Hospital Medical Center, Humana Hospital Corp., and AT&T. He also produced and contributed to a number of publications, ranging from academic critiques of modern literature, works of fiction and creative nonfiction, to articles on the art of teaching, and several books and manuals on living well with diabetes, including The Human Side of Diabetes: Beyond Doctors, Diets and Drugs. Raymond battled diabetes from age nine, undergoing three open heart surgeries, numerous laser surgeries on his eyes, and the amputation of both of his legs. Raymond also published The Language Arts/Computer Book, MEW: More Effective Writing. His articles were published in ADE Bulletin, English Journal, Studies in American Fiction, Studies in Modern Fiction, and various other collections and journals. Dr. Raymond received the McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1992, the Hand Award for Creativity and Research in 2002, and the Distinguished Service Award from Stetson's National Alumni Association in 2003. He was named Florida Professor of the Year in 1993 by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, was designated an "Exemplary Teacher" in 1996 by the U.S. Department of Education, and also held the Nell Carlton Endowed Chair of English for four years. Contact Tori Gibbs at [email protected]. Photos courtesy ofthe Public Relations Office. »WEATHER FRIDAY High 79 Low 59 SATURDAY High 80 Low 60 SUNDAY High 82 Low 61 MONDAY High 84 Low 62 »LIFE Jacob Wagner discusses sex and gender with the book Self Made Man. PAGE C3 OPINIONS Gentry Mander looks at healthy choices in the Commons. PAGE B2 »SPDRTS Mike Hodges discusses the Don Imus controversy. PAGE D1