SGA calls community forum to hear student input

The Student Government Association (SGA) called together an impromptu community forum on Nov. 13 in response to the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) house on Nov. 2 and the subsequent moratorium on all social events in Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) fraternity houses that was in effect from Nov. 6-14.

According to the SGA, 135 students attended the forum in Hodson Hall, and an additional 427 people live-streamed the event online.  The forum was designed to allow students to express their opinions and to explore possible solutions to the problems surrounding three campus issues: transparency and student input, sexual assault and alcohol abuse.

The SGA released a report via email on Wednesday summarizing the proposals discussed at the forum and providing links to relevant University policies and resources.

On Nov. 12, the SGA sent an email to the student body, inviting them to the community forum to engage in open dialogue about the administration’s ruling.

“The SGA recognizes that the recent rulings by administrators were attempts to address the longstanding problem of sexual assault on campus,” the email read. “Although approached with the best interest of the student body, we fundamentally oppose any decision-making process that excludes student input… Particularly, we do not agree with the disregard of the student-generated resolution reached by the IFC and the Office of the Dean of Student Life. We are a community and this action is a breach of our trust and respect.”

The SGA encouraged administrators to attend the forum in order to engage with the student body in this conversation. Provost Robert Lieberman, Vice Provost for Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger and Dean of Student Life Terry Martinez were specifically invited. Martinez and Lieberman were not able to attend, but Shollenberger and Title IX Coordinator Allison Boyle were present.

Participants were encouraged to be respectful in their comments, to structure their ideas toward outlining possible solutions to the aforementioned problems and to direct their comments to the SGA moderators and not to fellow students or guests.

One student accused the administration of failing to properly notify students of incidents reported to campus security, alluding to the previous alleged incidents of sexual assault and stabbing that occurred at the Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity house. Some made accusations that the University was trying to ease out of difficult situations by refusing to acknowledge that the events that occurred outside of the University’s boundaries are still within its jurisdiction.

Boyle responded by emphasizing the distinction between on-campus and off-campus happenings.

“There are very clear categories on our security website of what is considered on-campus and what is considered off-campus,” Boyle said. “The Clery Act very specifically outlines what is considered on-campus limits and what is considered off-campus. [The Annual Security & Fire Safety Report] does contain statistics of what is technically reported under Clery, and it also has crime that is going beyond Clery.”

“In our report last year, we actually expanded our territory beyond what the Clery Act requires,” Shollenberger added.

Accusations of a lack of fair treatment escalated as Luke Jenusaitis, president of PIKE — which was suspended for this school year — discussed his previous interactions with the administration regarding such issues.

“I personally felt persecuted [during last year’s incident],” Jenusaitis said. “And now it feels like we’re persecuting other people — another fraternity, everyone in Greek life, anything that connects to binge-drinking or sexual assault. We’re just grouping all these things together, when what we really need to do is target them one at a time,” Jenusaitis said.

Students also shared complaints about transparency outside of Greek life and safety issues. Tiffany Lin, a senior who helps plan Spring Fair, said that the administration has changed policies for student groups without timely notification and information.

“The issue here [is] that there is no openness about exactly where these policies are coming from and who we can talk to and discuss these rules,” Lin said. “No one in the administration is really stepping up and taking responsibility for these policies. If we could put a name or even an office to these new policies, it would really help the students trying to follow them.”

Jake Stern, the president of SAE (which is currently on interim suspension), also discussed his thoughts on the administration’s response to the incident at SAE. He first took the time to share what occurred the night of the incident.

“No brothers are currently under investigation for this incident by the police,” Stern said. “This act was committed by non-affiliates of the University, who were not invited to the party. No brothers were present at the basement when this happened. When two of our brothers went down into the basement, as the night came to a close, they were informed that the incident had occurred. They took immediate action by notifying the police.”

Stern then proposed his stance on the issue, discussed what he saw to be the problem at hand and offered possible solutions.

“The fact that this event took place in our house is disgusting,” Stern said. “However, the problem is not parties. The problem is risk management and fostering a culture to fight against sexual assault. This week [the IFC] voted, as a minimum measure, to have at least three sober brothers at every party, but this is not enough, and we aim to do more. We will ensure that nothing like this event occurs in the future.”

Stern proposed the idea of making Bystander Intervention Training mandatory for participants in spring recruitment.

Other students in the audience echoed these sentiments. Some suggested that the training be mandatory for all incoming freshmen.

Several sorority members also expressed their views on the issue.

“There has been an inconsistency in how punishments are doled out, which is very problematic,” Carlene Partow, member of the Phi Mu sorority and president of the Hopkins Feminists, said. “I’ve heard from a lot of survivors on campus that they don’t want to report their assaults because they don’t think their perpetrator[s] will be punished, which is very troubling to hear. It is something that needs to be fixed.”

Partow also touched upon the discrepancy between the administration’s treatment of fraternities and sororities.

“This is also applicable to Greek life in that the differentiated treatment between fraternities and sororities just reeks of sexism,” Partow said. “For example, in sororities, we are instilled with the idea that if we’re seen in a picture online with a red solo cup, we could get in massive amounts of trouble. I have never heard any of my male counterparts in fraternities speak of such a problem. This all just goes back to the idea that women are supposed to be ladylike and proper, and this is wrong.”

Frances Zappone, president of Phi Mu and Panhellenic representative, also spoke out on the issue of differentiated treatment.

“I think Greek life has the possibility to be a huge agent of change for this issue, which is very serious on our campus,” Zappone said. “But the administration needs to work with us, not against us. Panhellenic [representatives] met, and we brainstormed many great ideas and possible action plans, but the administration denied us the opportunity to share these ideas with them, a fact which was quite disturbing to us.”

While Shollenberger and Boyle did not respond to every one of the claims that students made against the administration, Shollenberger explained the administration’s point of view.

“We didn’t ban Greek life,” Shollenberger said. “The intention was not to shut down parties. We actually accepted the IFC’s proposal, and really the question was that we felt there needed to be more work done in the implementation plan so that it was consistent and we had safety measures in place. Dean Martinez and I spent several hours with the IFC two nights ago to hammer out those details. It was really about consistency and making sure that we had safety protocols in place, not about banning parties.”

Many students who are not affiliated with Greek organizations shared their thoughts about the situation, emphasizing that the issues discussed at the forum affect all students. Some students were especially critical of the way that community conversations shifted from sexual assault to the IFC moratorium.

“This conversation is happening in the entirely wrong sphere,” junior Juliana Vigorito said. “I think this is deeply problematic and symptomatic of all the cultural problems in that we are all here because a party ban happened and not here because a rape happened. If you want to feel some shame, now would be the time to do it.”

The Community Forum session ended with the SGA’s assurance that they would do everything in their power to address the concerns and issues raised by students in this discussion. The SGA further encouraged other students who did not speak out during the forum to either email or speak to individual SGA members separately.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect the release of the SGA report on their forum and the end of the IFC moratorium on Nov. 14.