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In latest resolved sexual assault cases, 5 expelled and 5 put on probation
MIRANDA DAVIS
@mirandardavis
The University expelled five students and put five others on probation for sexual assault or harassment so far in 2015, but KU officials have not said how many total victim complaints it received or investigated.
The University provided information about the 10 resolved cases as the result of a records request from the University Daily Kansan.
The University resolved a total of 42 cases from November 2012 to September 2015, but it's unclear how many total complaints were filed during that period. In 2014 alone, the University received more than 120 sexual assault and sexual harassment complaints. The University has not said how many complaints it received this year and is not routinely providing that information to
the public.
Requests by the Kansan for the total number of complaints reported between December 2014 and September were not returned by the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access. The office, referred to as IOA, investigates complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault at the University. Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, a University spokeswoman, said it "would take significant time" to determine the number of complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault reported to IOA during that time.
In one of the latest cases, Student Affairs — the office that decides the outcomes of these cases — denied a recommendation by IOA for a no-contact order. The student was found in violation of the sexual harassment policy and put on three months probation.
In another case,a student
who was found to have violated nine different policies, including the University's sexual harassment policy and three Student Housing policies relating to different types of harassment, was shown to be listed at in "good standing" with housing and reassigned to a different residence. He was also put on probation by housing.
Neither of these cases or the others resolved by the University contain explanations for the punishments nor details about the incidents.
likely happened. The Kansan has not received supporting documents for cases in which IOA determined that there is "insufficient evidence."
Between May 2012 and December 2014, the University expelled respondents in eight cases, suspended seven, and put 13 on probation.
The records request comes on the heels of a turbulent 2014-15 school year at the University. KU is currently involved in two Title IX investigations by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights after students filed complaints alleging that KU's process of investigating sexual assault violated Title IX.
How the University handles punishments for offenders has been under particular scrutiny since September 2014, when the Huffington Post published an article detailing one student's complaints about the University's process. In that
case, the accused student allegedly admitted to the sexual assault but was not punished harshly. The article said administrators decided not to require the accused student to do community service because it was "too punitive." Another student victim spoke out about her disappointment with how KU handled her case.
The documents are part of the Kansan's efforts to shed light on how the University investigates and adjudicates cases of sexual assault.
In a letter to the Kansan's lawyer, Max Kaustch, the University declined to release further details, including dates, locations and demographic information, about the cases because it felt it could identify possible victims and perpetrators of crimes.
The Kansan has also only received documents from cases in which the findings indicate that the harassment or assault
The University has since taken steps to adjust how it handles sexual assault complaints; IOA also released a new version of its sexual harassment training that is now mandatory for all students and more interactive. The University will also implement most of the recommendations from the Sexual Assault Task Force that Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little created last fall.
KU receives 2 grants for scholarships, tutoring and other services for low-income students
MCKENNA HARFORD
@McKennaHarford
When Jared Coltharp, a sophomore from Chanute, was applying to colleges, he knew he would need some help affording tuition. But he's now in his second year in the School of Engineering.
Coltharp is one of many recipients of both University assistance and a federal Pell Grant, and without them, he wouldn't be here.
Coltharp also receives support as part of the University's TRIO Supportive Educational Services program, which helps low-income and first generation students by offering academic, financial and personal support.
Funding for TRIO has increased this year with two new grants to the University. The Center for Educational Opportunity Programs received $1.5 million to create a program that helps migrant students. Ngondi Kamatuka, director of the CEOI, said that program opened this year and is helping four students, but can serve up to 30.
The Supportive Educational Services program also received a $1.1 million grant to expand its office to help students interested in studying in the health or STEM fields, according to a press release from the Achievement and Access Institute, which oversees CEOP
The University has eight TRIO programs, three of which serve college students. Others offer scholarships to middle and high school students to encourage college school attendance and serve adults who are looking to get a college degree, according to a press release from the Achievement and Access Institute. Supportive Educational Services (SES), the Educational Opportunity Program and the McNair Scholarship program all serve college students, like Coltharp.
Kamatuka said his goal is to give equal access, support and opportunity to all students, regardless of background.
place that they can call home. They have unique needs and if we are in the business of wanting every student to succeed at the University of Kansas, we must provide the environment for all of our students to be successful," Kamatuka said.
"Our students need to have a
Kamatuka is from Namibia, but traveled to Zambia looking for an opportunity to get a higher education. There he met Kansas missionaries who helped him move to Kansas, where he earned a bachelor's, a master's and a Ph.D. He said he couldn't have done it without the support of the missionaries, so he decided to help others get the same chances he did.
CORRECTION
Hannah Morrow, a first generation and low-income senior from Skiataook, Okla., got involved in the McNair program her sophomore year for the research opportunities. She said the program helps her afford tuition and research costs, but also provides support.
"I see myself in all of our students," Katamatu said.
An article that appeared on Monday, Oct. 19 with the headline "Survivor's story: Healing after an abusive relationship and becoming an advocate for others in need," incorrectly referred to the Sexual Trauma and Abuse Care Center as a resource for victim.
"McNair is the place for us to go where they know the obstacles you face and can help us with them," Morrow said. "You create this whole family in the university setting and you might not get that elsewhere."
"It helps make my research more credible," Arnold said. "They also help us deal with how stressful it is to be a full-time student and a researcher at the same time."
Tutoring, financial help and job hunting are all ways the programs help low-income students. Maritza Machado-Williams, director of SES, said her office serves around
Morrow said she wouldn't be studying brain processes without the program. Cameron Arnold, a junior from Topeka and a McNair scholar, also said he was connected to his research through the program. Arnold is researching carbon dioxide foam for his petroleum engineering degree with a faculty mentor. He said being in the program has been beneficial to his research because of the mentoring and funding he receives.
of domestic abuse. The center is not a domestic violence support agency and is not involved in domestic violence awareness month outreach. The article also referred incorrectly to the executive director of the Emily Taylor Center. She is Kathy Rose Mockry, not Kathy Rose Mockery.
250 students annually with a variety of services. Most students come to the office seeking tutoring, she said, but, to be a part of SES, students must also regularly meet with a retention specialist, who will help them with everything from picking classes to filling out FAFSA forms to applying for jobs.
"They get to know the students as a whole." Machado-Williams said. "It's a special relationship that we develop and it lasts many years."
Machado-Williams said the goal of the office is retaining and graduating their students.
Kamatuka said students involved in one of the TRIO programs have better success rates in retention and graduation when compared to students from similar backgrounds.
According to SES, in the 2013-14 school year, the program retained 87 percent of students, which is over the federal goal of 80 percent. It's also higher than the University retention rate, which has hovered around 80 percent for the last decade.
In comparison, according to data from the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, 69.7 percent of students receiving Pell Grants, which are federal grants for low-income students, in 2013 were retained for the next year.
58 percent of students who
entered the SES program in 2008-2009 school year had graduated by 2013.
According to OIRP, of the students who entered in 2009 and received Pell Grants, 29.7 percent graduated in four years.
TRIO programs vary in focus, but one of the programs, the McNair scholarship, is aimed at research. Each year, there are about 16 to 30 new McNair scholars who are paired with faculty and participate in research, said Bill Woodard, communications manager of the Achievement & Assessment Institute. They also have the opportunity to present their research at the KU McNair Research Symposium, as well as receive a summer research internship.
Morrow is now applying to graduate schools with the help of the McNair program. She said she wouldn't have this opportunity if it weren't for the research she did through the program.
"The research has been invaluable for me," Morrow said. "Part of the reason I get accepted into a graduate program is be:ause of [McNair]."
- Edited by Derek Skillett
Woodard said 224 of the 263 McNair Scholars KU has had since it opened in 1992 have received bachelor's degrees. Several have gone on to earn higher degrees as well.
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