New Development on the Sex Crimes Audit: 55-Schools to be Investigated

            Chico State’s 2014 spring semester is coming to a close, and so to are the days when the result of the sexual crimes audit will finally be released. However, the release of the audit itself does not necessarily mean the end of sexual assault issues among college campuses in the United States.

            In fact, reports within the last few months suggests, that the four colleges investigated in the audit is just the beginning of a nationwide crack down that the U.S. government are planning, to tackle the issue of sex crimes on universities across the nation.  

            Earlier this month, the White House announced that they are going to do another round of investigation within the next couple of months. The upcoming audit will be at a much larger scale, and it will involve 55 college campuses. Among the schools chosen is Butte College, a community college located in the city of Chico.

            Similar to the current audit that is being done to Chico State, the investigation that is going to happen will investigate the universities’ procedures, policies and implementation of sexual assault policies, and an examination of each school’s Clery Report and Title IX documents.

           

What it Means:

            The upcoming audit should benefit the four schools currently being audited on some of the stigma that has been attached to the current investigation. It will help get rid of the assumptions and questions as to why Chico State, and the 3 other schools involved were chosen for the audit.

            It should also benefit sex crimes victims (past and future), in knowing that the government is doing what it can to address this issue that has plagued college campuses across the nation.

            This new development will help motivate students that were victimized by this particular crime to come forward, and speak about their experience, without worrying about the repercussions, and whether or not, they will get the proper assistance they need.

To learn more about the new audit that was initiated, here is one report from the L.A. Times that talks about it:

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-campus-sexual-assault-20140428-story.html

Here is a new website that the United States government has created addressing the issue of sexual assault in college campuses:

www.notalone.gov

  

Chico State Bike Trail and the Rape Graffiti Warnings

             

            Graffiti murals garner mixed feelings from people in every community. Some view it as an artistic expression, while others see it as a form of vandalism that destroys property and lowers a city’s economic value.

            In contrast, people who do graffiti are similar to the people who see their work, in that they too have a number of reasons why they decide to cover walls with banner-like designs and murals.

            Like most middle class cities in the United States, there are plenty of graffiti and vandalism that can be seen all around Chico.

            One in particular that has caught the attention of Chico’s community are the “rape graffiti” that has been popping up all over the city's downtown area, and the Chico State campus.

            I first heard about this from a student in one of my classes. He brought it up after I read my article to him about the sexual harassment audit that is currently happening in Chico State.

            According to my classmate a number of these graffiti signs has been appearing all over Chico State and its surrounding area, but he had no idea who exactly was doing it.

            I thought it was something that could help me in writing my article so I decided to check it out...

            The first place I went to was the GSEC office since I figured they could give me plenty of information about it, and tell me where exactly I can find one of these “rape graffiti.”

            After talking to some of the GSEC members, they told me that they to had no idea who was responsible for it.

            I originally thought that it was some sort of sexual harassment activism aimed towards students of Chico State that a school organization was doing, but it turned out that I was wrong.

            According to Sarena Kirk, GSEC’s LGBTQ Program Coordinator, it is some sort of “guerilla activism,” that someone in the community is doing.

            It is safe to assume that whoever is responsible for this “guerilla activism,” is familiar with Chico’s sexual crimes problem, as the sign can be seen in all of the places where a rape, or an assault has occurred.

            I asked Kirk where I could find one of these signs, and one of the places she told me to look was the bike path along Chico State.

(The Bike Path along the Chico State campus)

            The “Bike Trail” as most Chico State students calls it, is a path that students take to go in and out of campus. It runs parallel to the train tracks that operate through downtown Chico.

            Kirk said that due to the high rate of sexual assault that occurs on the trail, it is not a surprise that a number of these graffiti has been found there.

            She said that some students have even gone as far as calling the path the “rape trail,” due to the amount of assaults that have happened around that area.

(Bike Trail/"Rape Trail" on Chico State)

            Unfortunately, I was unable to see one on the bike path when I went there, because according to Kirk, they are often gone as quickly as they appear.

            However, while walking around downtown and talking to student who lives there asking if they have ever seen this particular graffiti, I came across one by Third Street and Cherry.

(Photo of the Graffiti that is popping up all over Chico)

            After seeing one for myself in just an hour of searching, it has led me to the conclusion that maybe sexual assault is a serious problem in Chico, and that may have been one of the reasons why the university is being audited.

            While talking to Kirk and Joe Wills, both of them brought up the fact that Chico State is a college institution that has close ties to its community. This got me thinking that maybe Chico State is not the one with the sexual crimes problem, but the city itself, and the school is affected due to its location in the downtown area where most of the assaults happen.

            Of course, the issue of how many sex crimes that involves students is not the only factor that plays into the audit. It is also about how well the school’s officials deal with the problem when they do occur.

            But again, these questions can only be answered when the audits results come out, but the “rape graffiti” that can be seen all around the city does verify the fact that sexual assaults are indeed a problem in Chico.  

             

Chico State's Sexual Assault Procedures

            While talking about Chico State and its relation to the sexual crimes audit, it is important for readers to know more about the school’s procedures and strategies on dealing with sexual abuse.

            Being that this topic is the basis of the investigation, people need to know what exactly the university does to prevent sexual abuse, so they can decide for themselves, whether or not campus staff is doing enough to help victims who come forward.

            As I have mentioned on a previous blog, a study compiled by Robin Hattersely Gray for an article published on campussafetymagazine.com states that, “between 20% to 25% of women will experience a completed/or attempted rap during their college career,” and only about half of them come forward to talk about their horrific experience.

            It is important to investigate what significance the school’s procedure has, if any at all, on a victim’s decision to not come forward after they are attacked.

Chico State’s efforts through organizations:

            For Chico State’s procedures on combatting sexual abuse, my investigation started at the office of the Gender and Sexuality Equity Center.

            As discussed in my previous blog, GSEC is an organization that brings awareness to students who attends Chico State about the issue of sexual abuse.

            Members of the organization also had a chance to speak with the auditor when the investigation began.

             While at the GSEC office, some of the members provided me with information about how they assist students who have experienced sexual abuse.

            The organization helps victims by referring them to a number of “safe places” provided by the school.

            Chico State has a number of groups in campus that students can go to in the event that they experience sexual abuse such as, The Counseling Center, SAFE Place, Student Judicial Affairs and Wellcat Wellness Connection.

            SAFE Place in particular, is an organization housed at the University Police office located at school.

            All services provided by these specific organizations are strictly confidential to protect a victim’s identity.

            They offer support, resources, referrals and other tools that are useful for victims.

            In addition, the AS Government of Chico State is in collaboration with a couple of organization in running a Rape Crisis Intervention and Prevention program for the Tri-County area. The program is a hotline where people can call to talk to peer councilors about sexual abuse. The councilors are volunteers who are certified by the state.

            GSEC has pamphlets and brochures available at their office where students can get information on how to access these organizations if they experience sexual assault, or if they want to volunteer as part of these groups.

           

Question still remains?:

            With all these organizations and assistance that Chico State offers, the question still remains, why are victims afraid to come forward?

            Privacy seems to not be an issue since all the organizations offer strict confidentiality.

            Why was Chico State part of the audit despite having all these organizations helping victims?

            Is it because of Chico State’s reputation as a “party school,” and the high rate of alcohol abuse among students?

            Because of the auditors strict confidentiality of the investigation, it seems like the answers to these questions will only be answered when the results come out.

Student Response: How Well Do Students Know About the Audit

The following videos show 3 different perspective of the student population in Chico State, and how well they are informed about the audit.

 Katrina Cameron, a GSEC member and a Journalism student    

Kristen Warshaw, Chico State student

 

 Samantha LaBare, Chico State student

         As the video clips will show, only one of the three students I interviewed had any idea what the sexual crimes audit is about. Joe Wills, Chico State's Director of Public Affairs, discussed this issue, among other things, during a one-on-one interview. He also addressed some of the topics that I have talked about on my previous posts regarding the sexual crimes audit in Chico State.

·      Publicity:

            In regards to publicity Wills gave a number of reasons why the audit has not had major publicity.

            According to Wills, audits happen all the time, and it is custom for it to take place without public discussion.

            The auditors ask the campuses involved not to talk about the procedures and the process, so they can go about their business without being bombarded by questions.

            They also want publicity only after the audit has been finalized. Wills also said that he has been advised by the auditors that anyone who has specific questions about the investigation itself can contact them, and they are willing to answer any inquiries.

            Finally, he said that although the auditors do not want any publicity towards the audit itself, he is more than willing to talk about the issue that is being examined.

            He said that they are happy to talk about the problem of sexual assault, and that they want attention about the issue itself so they can educate students better.

·      The effects of the audit to the schools involved:

           

            Wills admitted that he was well aware of the consequences and the bad publicity the audit brings to Chico State. He said although it is “unfair” that people will draw conclusions about the state of the school’s reputation of having a sexual crimes problem due to the audit, he hopes that it will not affect the schools future recruits.

·      Why these schools? :

            Wills could not give a definitive answer as to why Chico State, along with the three other schools were chosen.

            He added that high media visibility of the campuses involved might have been a factor, but it is all speculation at this point.

            The only thing he could reaffirm was the alleged incident that happened in UC-Berkeley that caused the investigation to happen.

·      The Audit:

           

            Unfortunately, Wills could not answer specific questions about the audit itself due to instructions from the auditors not to discuss the process. However, if anyone has any question about the audit itself and the procedures, he was kind enough to provide this website:

https://www.auditor.ca.gov

            The California Auditor’s website has info on previous audits that has been filed, and could serve as a guide for anyone wanting to get an idea of what the results of the audit will be.