Volume 104, Issue 23
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"Florida's Oldest Collegiate Newspaper'
Stetson University DeLand,, Florida
April 21, 1992
sexual assault stuns campus
Photo by Rob Bullock
x By Robert Bullock
Reporter Editor
A Stetson student accused of
sexual assault has been released
to the custody of his parents while
he awaits trial. He has been
suspended by the University pending the outcome of the trial.
A spray-painted message which
appeared on the Hat Rack Patio
last Saturday morning was the first
indication University officials had
that an assault may have occurred.
An investigation by the De-
Land Police Department, Stetson
- Public Safety, and University
administrators resulted in the
arrest of Matthew Pugh, a 19 year
old freshman from York, Pennsyl-
, vania on charges of sexual battery.
According to a press release
from the DeLand Police Depart-
■ ment, the alleged incident occur- „,.,„, , , T . ^
red in Nemec Hall at approxi- Physical Plant workers spent hours cleaning the message off
the Hat Rack Patio.
mately 2 a.m. on Saturday, Apni
11. The apparent victim is a 15
year old sister of a Stetson student who was here visiting.
Both Pugh and the victim had
been drinking, according to Stetson officials.
The two met earlier that evening and were alone in the victim's
sister's room when Pugh "physically forced [the] victim to perform oral sex," the DPD release
stated.
The incident was reported to
the Stetson Public Safety office at
approximately 1:30 p.m. on the
11th, according to the release.
The University community was
officially notified of the incident
on Monday afternoon through a
letter sent by Vice President and
Dean of Campus Life James Beasley-
The case is now pending in
Volusia County courts.
'92 Res Life
staff completed
On Tuesday, April 14, all the
candidates for Residential Advisors for the 1992-93 year were
announced.
Below is the list of the Res-
idnece Halls, their head residents
and the RAs.
Chaudoin Hall: Head Resident,
Chris Cominsky**; RAs: Donna
Bryan, Anna Compaigne, Gigi
Murphy*, Liz Kinane*, Julie McLean, Rachel Roach*, Emily
Teige, Joyea Warren*.
Stetson Hall: Head Resident,
Adam Forrand; ?RAs: Sou
Amphavannasouk, Derrick Ash-
worth*, Karen Beckett, Todd
Bennett*, Cynthia Late, Margaret
McDow, David Willis*, Andrew
"Chip" Wright.
Gordis Hall: Head-Resident,
Pat McKenna; RAs: Mike Cass-
idy*, Joe Helkowski*, David Herrara*, Frank Kortleven, John
Murphy, Jeff Peridnson*.
Carson-Hollis Hall: Resident
Advisor, Kate Zaner; RAs: Scott
Beely, Heather Salter, Rob Serr-
etti*, Marcia Wright*.
Emily Hall: Head Resident,
Ron Piccolo**; RAs: Gian Barry*,
Emmanuel "Mani" Cadet*, Bart
Dickenson*, Karen Fulford*,
Heather McCleer*, Carol Lynn
Lakey, Kimberly Lane, Melissa
Surface.
Conrad Hall: Head Resident,
Lori Finn**; RA's Barbara De La
Fe, Angie Jimenez*, Caroline
Karsner, Dawn Rasmussen, Rachel
Schroder*.
Smith Hall: Head Resident,
Don Matthews; RAs:Bill Arnold,
Jim Greene*, Pete Matulis, Luis
Parra*, Jason Swartz*, Rick Whitted.
Nemec Hall: Head Resident,
Leanne Neuiand; RAs: Laura
Barnao*- Epsilon, Matthew Ny-
strom-Honors Alpha,Penny Potts-
Environmental Delta, Michele
Taylor-Gamma, Tricia Zippay-
Honors Beta.
returning Resident Advisor
* returning Head Resident
Beasley outlines assault procedures
By Joyce Nailling
When STASA (Students
Together Against Sexual Assault)
had its weekly meeting Wednesday in the CUB, the alleged sexual
assault on campus last weekend
was the main topic of conversation.
Many of the members expressed confusion or even anger that
the student body was not officially
informed of the event until late
Monday.
After over an hour of discussing this incident in particular, and
sexual assault in general with
Dean Beasley, we began to
understand many of the legal
constraints the administration
operates under in such situation.
In general, Stetson's policy in
cases of sexual assault is to notify
the campus community. If there
is an imminent threat (e.g. the
assailant is unknown) then immediate notification will be made.
Since the alleged assailant was
known to officials, university
officials deemed immediate notification unnecessary.
When there is no immediate
threat, the University may attempt
to gather further information on
the case before notifying the community.
Notification of local law enforcement is an entirely different
matter. The University always
encourages the victim to report
the crime to law enforcement
personnel.
If the victim does not grant
her consent, the University will
not report the victim's name to
the DeLand Police Department.
Instead, the DeLand Police
and the State Attorney's office
will be notified that a sexual
assault has occurred and that the
victim does not wish to have her
identity released.
The University will then request that a "victim advocate"
from the State Attorney's office
counsel the student.
Additionally, the student is
encouraged to seek medical attention and the University assists in
any way appropriate.
On the other hand, if the
victim does wish to report the
assault, the university generally
calls the State Attorney's office to
request a victim advocate and also
notifies the DeLand Police Department.
The victim advocate counsels
the victim concerning her legal
options and the consequences of
whatever decision she might make.
The advocate will also support
the victim throughout all legal
proceedings.
The University will bring in a
victim advocate to counsel the
victim, with her consent, even if
she does not want to report the
incident to the police. In this
manner, the University tries to
help victims make informed decisions.
On Saturday, when this incident was reported, the DeLand
police circumvented this policy
of bringing in a victim advocate.
See STASA-page 5
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