Official 'pretty proud' of SEMO efforts to address sexual violence

While U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is taking universities to task for their handling of sexual assault claims, a Southeast Missouri State University administrator said Thursday she is proud of SEMO's efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence.

"We're pretty proud of our efforts, frankly. ... We want people to report," said Debbie Below, dean of students and vice-president for enrollment management and student success.

On Wednesday, McCaskill released a report by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight that suggested schools may not be doing enough to encourage sexual assault victims to come forward.

The report, based on a survey of 440 public and private colleges and universities nationwide, identified steps schools can take to encourage more reporting of sex crimes involving students.

Below and other university officials said SEMO has taken many of those steps, highlighting campus programs and training initiatives designed to reduce the incidence of sexual violence and ensure victims have access to the services they need.

"We take it very seriously, and we did before it was a national issue," Below said. "...We're on the side of transparency, not on the side of protecting the image of the university."

Programs

Southeast has a mandatory orientation program for freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 24 credit hours, Below said.

During that orientation, one of the first things students do is program the SEMO Department of Public Safety's emergency number into their cellphones, she said.

Through Southeast's VICTORY program -- an acronym for Violence, Information, Counseling, Treatment, Outreach, Rights and You -- students also can report assaults online, said Millicent Odhiambo, disability services coordinator.

The reports can be submitted anonymously, Odhiambo said.

For four years, the university also has offered an online training program called "MyStudentBody" that addresses alcohol, drugs and sexual violence, Below said.

More than 78 percent of SEMO students younger than 21 successfully completed the three-hour program last fall, Below said.

The program is not mandatory, although it is required in some first-year seminars and for all students joining fraternities or sororities, she said.

Southeast also offers training for faculty and students on sexual violence, and faculty and staff are expected to notify SEMO's Department of Public Safety -- the campus police department -- when they hear about a possible sexual assault, Below said.

VICTORY

For eight years, the VICTORY program has provided support, counseling and education on dating violence, sexual violence and stalking, Below said.

The federal grant that funded the program expires this year, but Southeast's budget review committee provided funds to hire an educational outreach coordinator for the new Campus Violence Prevention Program, which fills a similar role, she said.

Torie Grogan, director of counseling and disability services, said the new program provides training on prevention, bystander intervention and reporting of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault.

If a student reports a sexual assault, the Department of Public Safety will notify the educational outreach coordinator, who then will make sure the complainant has access to campus and community resources, including the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office and advocates such as Beacon Health Center or Safe House for Women, Grogan said.

Discipline

In addition to criminal charges, students accused of sexual violence or other crimes can face disciplinary action by the university.

Off-campus crimes are harder to track than those reported on campus, said Jim Cook, Title IX coordinator for SEMO.

The Department of Public Safety coordinates with other local law enforcement agencies, which often inform the university about off-campus crimes involving students, Cook said.

Not all off-campus crimes get back to the university, however, because neither students nor outside agencies are obligated to report them to SEMO, Below said.

"We act on any report that we hear about," said Randy Carter, assistant dean of students and Title IX investigator.

SEMO students accused of sexual violence have the choice of going before a judicial board made up of other students or a three-person panel consisting of two faculty members and one member of the student judicial board, Below said.

Cases do not reach the board until someone from the office of student conduct -- usually Carter -- meets with the complainant and makes a report, Carter said.

If a complainant is uncomfortable talking to a man, a female counselor or graduate assistant can take the report instead, he said.

The campus adjudication process is separate from any criminal prosecution or other legal action that may arise from an assault claim, Below said.

The Senate subcommittee report criticized the use of student panels to adjudicate allegations of sex crimes, citing concerns about privacy, training and possible conflicts of interest, but Carter said SEMO has taken steps to address those issues.

Judicial board members recuse themselves from cases involving people they know, and complainants do not have to be physically present for hearings, Carter said.

"That person can appear via speaker phone in the hearing," he said.

Board members undergo two hours of specific training on how to handle sexual assault cases, Carter said.

"The board is well-trained, and they all sign confidentiality agreements," he said.

Although some universities use a separate disciplinary process for athletes, SEMO does not, Carter and Cook said.

"Athletes cannot have a separate process," Carter said.

"They're treated as normal students," Cook added.

'A safe environment'

The Senate subcommittee report released Wednesday cites figures from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggesting one in five female undergraduates has been a victim of attempted or completed sexual violence at some point during college.

Below said she is not sure how accurate that number is, but regardless of the number of unreported cases, she and other university officials hope to create an environment that encourages all victims to come forward.

"Do we think there are people who don't report? Absolutely, and we want them to know that this is a safe environment to report in, and that we'll follow through," she said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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