NEWS MANAGEMENT
Editor-in-chief Emma LeGault
Managing editor Madison Schultz
PAGE 2A
Digital editor Hannah Barling
Sales manager Tom Wittler
Associate news editor Ashley Booker
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Paige Lytle
News editor Amelia Arvesen
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ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT
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Sports editor Brian Hillix
Special sections editor Kate Miller
NEWS SECTION EDITORS
Associate sports editor Blair Sheade
Copy chiefs Casey Hutchins Sarah Kramer
Art director
Cole Anneberg
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Associate art director Hayden Parks
Designers Hallie Wilson Clayton Rohiman
Multimedia editor Tara Bryant
Opinion editor Cecilia Cho
Associate multimedia editors George Mullinix James Hoyt
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ADVISERS
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The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of The Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2051A Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS. 66045.
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THURSDAY
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2014
SUNDAY
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Calendar
Thursday, Sept. 4
What: Welcome Back BBQ
When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: South lawn of Summerfield Hall
About: The School of Business celebrates the new academic year.
Friday, Sept. 5
What: Red Hot Research
When: 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: Spooner Hall, The Commons
About: A networking event between scholars from different disciplines and audience members.
Saturday, Sept. 6
What: Open Drawing
When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: 405 Art and Design Building
About: A free drawing workshop
open to the public
Sunday, Sept. 7
What: Lawrence 10-miler and 5K.
When: 7 a.m.
Where: 701 E. 19th St.
About: Choose a distance for a morning run.
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Acting Student Body President Emma Halling addresses the Student Senate Rights Committee, proposing a resolution to the University's handling of sexual assault complaints.
HALLING FROM PAGE 1A
Halling said the University is technically in compliance with federal sexual assault laws established by Title IX, but that isn't enough.
"I don't care about that right now," Halling said. "I care about the well-being of our female students, and national standards are damned, they are net being well served."
Halling said there is a large issue with underreporting sexual assault on campus and that issues with the hearing and reporting process aren't always brought to light.
"After victims go through this process and are so ill-served by it, they don't want to talk about it anymore,"
Halling's sentiments were shared by many within the Student Rights committee.
Halling said.
"We need to move forward as a University and we need to listen to the student voice," Student Senate Graduate Affairs Director Angela Murphy said.
Mitchell Cota, a senior from Leawood and acting chief of staff, said it's crucial for Senate to show the administration and students that they are taking this seriously.
"I think that it's important that Student Senate takes a stance when it comes to protecting student's rights and their safety," Cota said.
EDITORIAL FROM PAGE 1A
— Edited by Hannah Barling
plagiarism, underage drinking or drug use on campus.
ing or drug use on campus. The 10A's sexual harassment policy states that "sexual harassment is a violation... of federal and state law." Why, then, is the University not treating these incidents as serious, illegal offenses? What message is this sending to victims who would rather not report a sexual assault? The University is telling them that the people who have wronged them could hardly suffer reasonable consequences.
The University should be protecting its students from future incidents of sexual assault, not letting offenders get by with a slap on the wrist. It is not enough to state that sexual assault is wrong; how the University handles these situations sends a message to the student body.
Here's the big issue: What part is the University playing in rape culture on campus? In the United States? We are, after all, on the list of 76 schools being investigated by the Department of Education for possible Title IX sexual assault violations.
The first three bolded sections under Section II in the Association for Student Conduct Administration's Gold Standard Practices for Resolution of Allegations of Sexual Misconduct on College Campuses, the practices and guidelines the University said it follows, are:
1. First and foremost, student conduct is an educational process.
2. We have an obligation to respond to sexual violence that affects students.
The Kansan Editorial Board understands the distinction between a campus and the criminal justice system. A campus hearing is not meant to mirror a criminal proceeding. But treating sexual assault cases as learning experiences? We simply do not agree.
The University should be focusing on educating students prior to an instance of sexual assault, and not through 37-slide presentations, ball pits and quiz programs that a student can creeze through in less than a minute. Show us where these situations occur in the real world. Make us understand consent. Be transparent about what the process and the sanctions look like. If there is indeed evidence of a crime, make it easier, not more complicated, for students to take legal action.
3. Campuses are not courtrooms.
The University should not contribute to a non-reporting culture. If students knew up front that someone who potentially raped him or her would only be required to leave campus and write a paper, no one would report.
Tammara Durham, vice provost for student affairs, said Wednesday that the University and the victim agree upon an appropriate sanction for the accused after the investigation. If the victim wants to pursue a stricter sentence, such as expulsion or suspension, the victim is subject to another hearing process. Another time he or she will have to recount and live through their story. Another deterring road block in the process.
Section III, subsection E of the ASCA's practices guide says: "While an act of sexual violence can never be 'undone', there may be situations in which sanctions or remedies can include some restoration of harm caused. Engage the campus community in conversation about appropriate sanctions and create a sanctioning guide... Include the rationale for sanctions so that both students understand the decisions."
So much good can be done if we work together with administrators to change the process — before, during and after. To the University: show your students a commitment to meaningful education and just consequences. Show zero tolerance. Prove you are, indeed, advocates for students.
The core values of The University Daily Kansan as the student voice are to report the truth and hold administrative bodies and student leaders accountable for their actions. That will continue to be of utmost importance to us moving forward.
This coverage has encouraged quite a few students to speak out and voice their concerns. We will do our absolute best to be on top of everything related to the issue and be the source students, faculty, staff and alumni trust and come to when looking for the most recent information. You can expect us to dig deeper than we ever have before to shed light on rape culture at KU.
This is an incredibly important issue that undoubtedly affects students across campus, directly or indirectly. We will strive to tell the stories that are igniting our campus.
Members of the Editorial Board are Cecilia Cho, Emma LeGault, Maddie Schultz, Hannah Barling and Christina Carreira
TWEETS FROM PAGE 1A
established protocol and the University needs to reevaluate those standards.
"It kind of seems like KU handled it the way protocol states, and I just don't think that is the right way that it should be happening." Garrett said.
Joey Hentzler, a senior from Topeka, is not only frustrated with the University, but local authorities as well. Charles Branson, Douglas County district attorney, decided not to press charges despite a confession from the man, according to the article.
"When we talk about the University's response, we should talk about the response of police and local officials like the D.A." Hentzler said. "It's just a consistent failure to provide adequate redress, so the victim is not given justice. It's a part of our culture or it's a part of people's misunderstanding of rape that the transgressor even if he's found guilty - he admitted to it - is still not prosecuted."
Miranda Wagner, a senior from Shawnee and a member of the Title IX roundtable, said she believes there is an overall cultural problem with how rape victims are treated that could lead people to not
"I think that overall in our culture we have such a prevalent attitude of victim-blaming and not asking the right questions about the situation," Wagner said. "That's what leads people to not want to report: those attitudes that we see throughout different law enforcement agencies and apparently at the Uni-
"It's just a consistent failure to provide adequate redress, so the victim is just not given justice."
JOEY HENTZLER
Senior from Topeka
want to report.
The use of phrases like "non-consensual sex" in the University's communications angered students like Liz James, a sophomore from Overland Park. James is the sexual assault activism coordinator for Students United for Reproductive and Gender Equity at KU (SURGE KU). James said she believes "non-consensual sex" didn't exist. She said it's rape.
In the article, the man's attorney, Michael J. Fisher, cited the woman's possession and consumption of birth-control pills as con-
versity level too."
sent and evidence that no rape occurred. Kailee Karr, a senior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said she was frustrated by the use of birth-control as evidence of consent in the man's defense. Karr, who said she intends to pursue a career in higher
education student affairs and counseling, said there are lots of non-sexual reasons to use birth-control pills.
"As a young woman on birth control for non-sexual reasons, it made me fearful that if something were to happen to
me, I would have no support from my community, from the University that I've spent the past four years trying to give back to and really trying to make a safe place," Karr said.
Edited by Hannah Barling
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