MONMOUTH U CHALLENGED ON SEX ASSAULT REPORTS

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/18/05

BY CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS

COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

WEST LONG BRANCH — Last year, according to statistics

Monmouth University provided the federal government,

there were three sexual assaults on campus. But none

of those resulted in criminal charges.

So far this year, the school is reporting five sex

offenses under a landmark federal law that requires

colleges and universities to disclose information

about crime on and around campus. There is a separate

category for incest and statutory rape, in which the

school reports no offenses.

The landmark law is called the Jeanne Clery Disclosure

of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics

Act (originally known as the Campus Security Act). It

came into play here after supporters of the law became

concerned over how Monmouth University treated an

incident during Homecoming weekend that may or may not

have been a rape.

"I'm not out to nail Monmouth," said Howard Robboy, a

board member of Security on Campus Inc., a grass-roots

group based in King of Prussia, Pa., that monitors

campus crime and compliance with the Clery Act. "All I

care about is justice for the students."

The Clery Act is named for a 19-year-old Lehigh

University freshman who was raped and murdered in her

dorm room in 1986.

After her death, her parents, Connie and Howard,

learned that students hadn't been told about 38

violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years

before their daughter's murder. Along with other

victims of campus crime, the Clerys persuaded Congress

to enact the reporting law, which in 1998 was renamed

in honor of their daughter.

They now run a Web site called securityoncampus.org,

which monitors campus crime. The group became

concerned after learning of an Oct. 21-22 weekend

event here that university President Paul G. Gaffney

II would only describe as a "possible" inappropriate

sexual incident involving 10 students. Gaffney made

the statement after rumors persisted for weeks after

the incident.

No charges were brought in that case, which also

involved alcohol, Gaffney said. The Monmouth County

Prosecutor's Office was alerted, but the situation was

handled by university police. The university has its

own police department. Borough police come on campus

by invitation only.

"You would like to get more detail on the case you

reported on Nov. 4, 2005," Gaffney said in an e-mailed

response to the Press. "I cannot give you more detail.

I can tell you we are taking actions appropriate to

the case and that we continue to meet on it and react

to it on a regular basis."

"Rape" case closed

The university's crime log, which is a public document

under the Clery Act, reported that police on Oct. 22

responded to a "sexual assault-student misconduct"

incident in which "victim reports being sexually

assaulted by seven males."

The log described the case as a rape and also said the

case was closed.

S. Daniel Carter, senior vice president of Security on

Campus, said he understood the victim in the Monmouth

case decided not to go forward with a criminal case.

The same thing happened in all the 2004 sexual

assaults, reported William P. McElrath, Monmouth

University's chief of police, and Mary Anne Nagy, vice

president for student services.

"There are times you would like to say, "Hey, we have

a case here. Why don't you want to pursue it?' "

McElrath said. "I can tell you, from a cop's

perspective, there's nothing more disappointing to a

police detective when they feel they have a case than

when the victim chooses not to continue. That's a

decision made by the victim."

Nagy discussed the importance of the Campus Sexual

Assault Victim's Bill of Rights, which is published in

the college handbook and online. ". . . A victim also

has the right not to report it and has the right not

to be pressured to report it," Nagy said. ". . . It is

also key to remember if you don't have a victim

willing to come forward and willing to testify, you

can't really bring a case forward."

Privacy law cited

Like Gaffney before them, Nagy and McElrath say they

are unable to discuss any of the cases in detail

because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy

Act, which they say limits the release of information

in student disciplinary proceedings.

Because of those limits, there is sometimes a

perception created that the school has not done

enough, when in fact it has taken action, which it

cannot disclose, Nagy explained.

"There is this perception that people are getting away

with something when the reality is far from it," Nagy

said. "We just can't talk about it or defend what we

have done to try to alter that perception."

Carter, and Catherine C. Bath, Security on Campus

executive director, said the result of disciplinary

proceedings can be disclosed to victims, who can in

turn tell anyone they choose.

In the Monmouth case, because there was no

disciplinary proceeding, there was nothing to

disclose. Instead, Carter believes, the matter was

handled when six days after Gaffney's announcement of

the "possible" sexual incident, four basketball

players were suspended for eight games for a

"violation of team rules."

This followed a separate Sept. 11 assault on a student

alleged to have involved members of the football team.

No charges were filed in that incident as well, and

County Prosecutor Luis Valentin would only describe it

as a case of "assaultive conduct."

Complaints about athletes

But two possible incidents involving athletes have

generated concern from Kathy Redmond of the National

Coalition Against Violent Athletes. She said the first

incident could have contributed to the second by

creating an environment in which athletes were not

adequately disciplined for misbehavior.

"It sounds to me like there is obviously something in

the Athletic Department in the school that makes the

players think this kind of behavior is OK," she said.

"That's what I want to see examined. If a school is

known to have a zero-tolerance policy, a series of

these types of incidents don't happen."

Nagy disagreed with Redmond's contention that

something was amiss in the Athletic Department, saying

the student athletes face tougher discipline than

average students because their coaches mete it out in

additional to school and legal officials.

"In a way, student athletes are actually held to a

much higher standard of accountability," Nagy said.

Bath and Robboy, an associate professor of sociology

at The College of New Jersey, are concerned about what

they describe as a possible "culture of silence" that

could be developing at Monmouth. They continue to

monitor the situation and hope to speak to the victim.

"The issue is the atmosphere on campus," Robboy said.

"If a victim feels there is no point to coming forward

because it is known on campus that nothing happens,

they are not encouraged to come forward."

Underreporting suspected

Robboy also suspects Monmouth University is

underreporting its crimes, particularly where sexual

assaults are concerned, and Robboy has had some

experience in these matters.

He was on the faculty at The College of New Jersey, in

Ewing, in 1997 when he alerted the U.S. Department of

Education to several sexual assaults on campus. The

school, he said, was reporting none. That triggered an

audit in 2000, and a decision by school President R.

Barbara Gitenstein to embark on an aggressive campaign

to encourage reporting.

In 2002, the school reported two assaults; the number

jumped to eight the next year. In 2004, the number was

16. The College of New Jersey's enrollment — 6,812 —

is close to Monmouth's 2004 total, 6,329 students.

Robboy credits the college for its commitment to

report crime and creating an environment that

encourages victims to come forward.

Nagy said the difference in the numbers is not the

degree of reporting, but the larger number of students

living on The College of New Jersey's campus.

Robboy doesn't buy that. He has gone so far as to

offer to donate $1,000 if Monmouth agrees to a federal

audit of its statistics.

Nagy said the school would cooperate with an audit but

would not request one.

"How could they (Monmouth University) have zero sexual

assaults in 2002?" Robboy asked. "If they say no one

came forward, my question is "Why not?' What's

happening there versus what's happening at The College

of New Jersey or Harvard? We're talking about the

structure and out of the structure comes a culture."

McElrath said Monmouth's statistics are easy to

understand.

"I truly believe the university invests a substantial

amount of time in educating students on date rape and

alcohol and drug abuse, that "no' means "no' "

McElrath said. ". . . I think we work hard in trying

to keep statistics like that low."

Culture of silence

Bath said underreporting is a national problem.

"We feel that maybe half the schools in the country

are reporting rape statistics accurately, and there

are still a lot of schools that would like to sweep it

under the rug, which revictimizes victims," she said.

"It tends to create a culture of silence on campus."

Robboy said even if Monmouth is following the letter

of the law, "if they are not following the spirit of

the law, as far as I'm concerned, it is not a safe

place for women to go to school."

Alyson Goode, 21, a communications major who hails

from Highlands but who lives on campus, said she does

not have concerns about safety at the school.

Goode, the Student Government Association president,

said Gaffney alerted the campus community immediately

after the Homecoming incident by e-mail and has

provided updates. She is satisfied the victim is

calling the shots and is not pressured, subtly or

directly, not to report offenses.

"It is absolutely the victim's choice to prosecute or

not," she said. "I think sometimes it is easier not to

do the charges. If the school is dealing with it,

maybe that's enough."

Robboy said victims may feel further devalued by the

school's disciplinary sanctions for sexual offenses,

which range from fines to suspension and expulsion.

"I want Monmouth's numbers (crime statistics) to go up

because that shows they are following the spirit of

the law and any college that is following the spirit

of the law cares about the students and will go after

the perpetrator," Robboy said. "When they handle

things in-house, it can become a kangaroo court."

Little justice

But Bath said there often is little justice in the

criminal courts as well for college rape victims. She

said many schools fail in their disciplinary

proceedings because they still treat the issues like a

"he said/she said" issue instead of believing victims.

"Basically, going through the school's internal

judicial system in most cases is not going to get

justice for the victim. We see this fairly

consistently," Bath said. "On the other hand, if they

prosecute criminally, they also have trouble that way.

Society is still victim-blaming and juries are not at

that point where they are going to convict a

date-rapist" although that is starting to change.

Goode said there is talk of implementing a program

next semester that encourages students to watch out

more for one another, to help put the brakes on

compromising situations before they get out of

control. Meanwhile, Gaffney said in addition to the

existing programs and confidential counseling provided

during the Homecoming incident, the school will make

an effort to "institutionalize" more training,

particularly for freshmen.

Robboy criticized the school's limited release of

information, citing federal privacy regulations. He

said "schools can also divulge information and still

protect the identity of the students.

"What infraction did they do?" Robboy asked of the

basketball players. "They were suspended for eight

games. I'm curious. You chose to hide behind FERPA

(the federal privacy law). If you were following the

spirit of the law, you would not do that."

Gaffney defended the invocation of the privacy

protections for the students.

"FERPA was created not for the university

administrator but rather for the student," he said.

"We all need to remember that while students are young

and mostly on their own for the first time, they are

citizens who have the right to vote, the right to

fight in wars and the right to the privacy that FERPA

provides."

Rumors rampant

Lauren Benedetti, 21, of Sea Bright, a senior in the

television and radio program, said rumors about the

October incident, as well as others, are rampant on

campus, although students are trying to respect one

another's privacy. Benedetti is editor-in-chief of the

student newspaper, The Outlook.

"I don't think people need to know any more" she said.

"The only way people should know any more is if

someone comes forward and says "This is what actually

happened.' At this point, no one is coming forward and

saying anything happened, so it is nobody's business

but the people it happened to."

She also supports more programs, particularly those

highlighting the dangers posed by mixing drugs,

alcohol and sex. She said if the programs are being

offered, they are not well publicized.

Gaffney shares her concern about the impact of alcohol

on campus and, although he acknowledged alcohol was a

factor in the Homecoming incident, he said neither

criminal charges or disciplinary charges were filed

because there was only "self-reported" information

about the use of liquor.

School's defense

As for Monmouth University, McElrath said no member of

his police staff would fudge statistics. There would

be no incentive to do so, he said. If the federal

government found such underreporting, the school could

be fined.

"For any police officer or anyone to think you would

hide statistics when it is such a career ender and

(would expose you to) criminal prosecution, I couldn't

imagine anyone putting themselves in a position to

manipulate statistics," he said.

Gaffney said he continues to remain concerned about

issues such as sexual assault and alcohol abuse but

believes his students deserve every protection to

which they are entitled under the law. But he also

wants to send a message: He is an educator, not an

enforcer.

"Am I concerned about a sexual incident — any sexual

incident — where a student either can be aggressively

abused by one gender or can involve himself/herself in

consensual sex but fail to understand the potential

life-changing consequences?" Gaffney asked. ". . .Yes,

I worry about all of that and I sympathize with all

involved, victims or not. These are my students and

they are the only reason I am here. Certainly

sanctions must be considered but peer help,

counseling, education and mentoring are more

important."

ON THE WEB: Visit our Web site, www.app.com, and click

on the Web Extras button for links to: Monmouth

University Security on Campus Inc. and related sites.

 E-mail article   Print article   Subscribe   Get

e-mail alerts 

(STAFF PHOTO: ADENA STEVENS)

Students walk through the Cedar Avenue underpass on

the Monmouth University campus.

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ASSISTANT TEACHERS

ASSISTANT TEACHERS Co-Teacher/Head Teach...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All Top Jobs

About Top Jobs

Partners: Jobs: CareerBuilder.com • Cars: Cars.com •

Apartments: Apartments.com • Shopping: ShopLocal.com

Copyright © 2005 Asbury Park Press. All rights

reserved.

Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms

of Service and Privacy Policy. (Updated June 7, 2005)

Site design by Asbury Park Press / Contact us

USA Today • USA Weekend • Gannett Co. Inc. • Gannett

Foundation

__________________________________________________

Do You Yahoo!?

Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around

http://mail.yahoo.com