2008 Woodie Awards
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: Opinions & Editorials
To the Editor:
I am writing in response to the October 1, 2008 editorial by Jennifer Garvey, "Not as Safe as You May Think."
Everyone at Pace is concerned with making our student security policies as good as they can be. Like most societies, we are constantly reexamining the essential and difficult balance between freedom and protection.
I organized the workshop on sexual assault that Ms. Garvey describes in response to concerns about the sexual assault that occurred off campus last spring. The meeting was facilitated by the national nonprofit organization SAFER (Students Active for Ending Rape), and included concerned students plus representatives from the Dean for Students office, Counseling Center, Security, Academic Advisors, Legal Counsel, Affirmative Action, Housing and Residential Life, and faculty members from the Women's and Gender Studies program. The facilitatory was excellent and stated that this was the first time a University had brought together a mixed group of students and administration in a training session.
When a training session like this is held, one issue is confidentiality -- what is said in the room stays in the room. The comment "like in Vegas" was made after the facilitatory asked for such confidentiality and as I perceived it was not a joke. Nor did it imply that one should not report a crime or incident of sexual assault, or of any other kind, for that matter.
I appreciate Jennifer's concerns about this sensitive area. But I want to clarify some of the messages she described.
First, we certainly did acknowledge that sexual assaults are not just a straight person's issue for women but impact all, including members of the GLBTQ community.
Second, "if you see something, say something." The University cannot respond to a situation unless we know about it. Last spring, individuals kept information to themselves for several days. Once the issue was reported to security and my office, we were able to work with the victim and the police and apprehend the perpetrator within 24 hours.
I am writing in response to the October 1, 2008 editorial by Jennifer Garvey, "Not as Safe as You May Think."
Everyone at Pace is concerned with making our student security policies as good as they can be. Like most societies, we are constantly reexamining the essential and difficult balance between freedom and protection.
I organized the workshop on sexual assault that Ms. Garvey describes in response to concerns about the sexual assault that occurred off campus last spring. The meeting was facilitated by the national nonprofit organization SAFER (Students Active for Ending Rape), and included concerned students plus representatives from the Dean for Students office, Counseling Center, Security, Academic Advisors, Legal Counsel, Affirmative Action, Housing and Residential Life, and faculty members from the Women's and Gender Studies program. The facilitatory was excellent and stated that this was the first time a University had brought together a mixed group of students and administration in a training session.
When a training session like this is held, one issue is confidentiality -- what is said in the room stays in the room. The comment "like in Vegas" was made after the facilitatory asked for such confidentiality and as I perceived it was not a joke. Nor did it imply that one should not report a crime or incident of sexual assault, or of any other kind, for that matter.
I appreciate Jennifer's concerns about this sensitive area. But I want to clarify some of the messages she described.
First, we certainly did acknowledge that sexual assaults are not just a straight person's issue for women but impact all, including members of the GLBTQ community.
Second, "if you see something, say something." The University cannot respond to a situation unless we know about it. Last spring, individuals kept information to themselves for several days. Once the issue was reported to security and my office, we were able to work with the victim and the police and apprehend the perpetrator within 24 hours.
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