Update on the Recommendations to Prevent Sexual Violence

Update on the Recommendations to Improve Sexual Violence
Prevention Efforts—Stan L. Albrecht
Board of Trustees Presentation
October 21, 2016

We would like to spend some time this morning providing you with another update on actions taken by the university to address issues of sexual violence. This is an ongoing process, as we will describe in greater detail in a few minutes. We appreciate your continued support and guidance as we move forward.

Let me start with a few words about the critical, and sometimes confusing, debate about the privacy of student records, which has received a lot of media attention lately.

First, there are no easy ways to answer questions about the university’s actions in the context of sexual violence cases. Any action taken or not taken by USU is intertwined with private and sensitive information about our students.  While we understand the reasons why there are calls to provide all the details of these cases, we simply cannot, by law, release information about student discipline and confidential Title IX matters. Private records of students’ lives are protected by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA, and by clear Title IX guidelines about the privacy of victims’ stories. That’s what the courts have ruled, and that’s what the State Records Committee upheld just a week ago.

But here is the key point I’d make to anyone who thinks that means we are hiding something: We are NOT, and we are NOT doing what we are doing to protect the university; we are doing this to protect victims and the principle that we will keep their private lives … completely private. Then they themselves get to decide what courses of action they want to pursue.

When victims of sexual violence come to us, we make an overt promise to each of them that we will not release the painful details they tell us if they don’t want that information shared. We want them opening up to us so we can help them as they process what happened – so we can provide critical psychological services, victims’ advocacy, mentoring and advice, academic support as they struggle with classes, information about law enforcement options, housing options, safety options, and other protective services.

We need victims to report sexual violence, so consider the chilling effect it would have on reporting if our institution bowed to public pressure and released these private records – even if it helped our case to do so. The idea that we might release painful details in an attempt to “defend” our actions is a dangerous, chilling thought, and we simply will not do it.

We understand that there are many who would like to know what was reported to the University, what information was shared, and how the University handled this specific information. The media remind us of this intrigue every day, it seems. We are sympathetic to this interest, but we simply won’t ignore our legal and moral obligations to protect the privacy of our students in order to satisfy an interest in the details.

 As a reminder before we get to other updates: you know from previous meetings that over the last year, we have been reviewing our policies and procedures for addressing complaints of sexual violence, always with the well-being of the victim central to anything we are do. We have also continued to engage in an aggressive course in prevention, education, and training of our students, including a recent visit to our campus of Elaine Pasqua, one of our country’s foremost experts on the topic. Last spring we revised our investigation and adjudication process to make it more transparent and equitable. The Board approved a number of proposed revisions to policies for investigating and adjudicating allegations of sexual violence. You have also approved several additional revisions to the portions of our student code that address this issue today. This is and will be an ongoing effort.

These changes made USU’s investigation and adjudication process more transparent by providing more detail and ensured that students have equitable access to appeals and other steps in the complaint process. The amendments approved in May also removed students from hearing panels for cases of sexual violence – another important change to ensure privacy for students moving through the investigation and adjudication process.

Let me also remind you that in regard to the Torrey Green case, we conducted a targeted inquiry of how this case was handled.  The inquiry was thorough. It identified places where our comprehensive system may have fallen short – including how we handle information that is provided outside of the traditional complaint process. When our review identified areas where the university can improve its response to and prevention of sexual violence, we developed and released recommendations about how we were going to move forward. These recommendations address things like the need for better coordination, better faculty and student training, and adjusting attitudes toward sexual violence within our campus community.

Last Friday I provided an update to the university community on the status of our efforts to implement these changes. We want to share that same information with you, including a summary of important changes we have already made.

Finally, before asking Mica to do that, let me make two additional points: First, our inquiry reinforced our knowledge that USU’s faculty and staff care about our students and seek to honor their choices following an experience of sexual violence. I am proud of our employees who assisted students with filing full reports with local law enforcement. I am proud of our employees who sat with students at the police station and did all they could to provide support during this critical time. Consistent with its charge, the SAAVI office provided critical, but confidential, counseling and advocacy support for these students. I want to thank these employees for the manner in which they supported our students.

Second, I want to thank all of our USU family who continue to do those things that make our campus one of the very safest campuses in America. We know that even in our idyllic surroundings, we are not immune from societal ills. Sexual violence affects every college campus; it affects every community. We want you to know that we are absolutely committed to tackling this issue. We are committed to ensuring that safe and respectful learning environment that is one of the hallmarks of USU. We thank the Board for your support of these important efforts.

Stan L. Albrecht
President

View Presentation on Sexual Assault to USU Board of Trustees Friday, Oct. 21 Using Link Below