The Fratergate AU

Dear Leaders of AU Greek Life,

We wish you would not refer to the rape culture on our campus revealed by the EI documents as all the “scrutiny our community received last spring.” This is not a PR battle, this is your peers’ lives.

Other than that, we look forward to seeing how the University proves to itself that it can self-regulate. We believe it can as well as long as we all continue to push effective policy, enhance awareness, and above all, show compassion towards one another.

Thank you,

Fratergate AU

August 15, 2014
To: The American University Community
Fr: Gail Short Hanson, Vice President of Campus Life
Re: Progress on Student Conduct and Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Initiatives

This is the final of three summer updates to inform the campus community about efforts to address the alleged misconduct associated with the underground group known as “EI” and to enhance AU’s measures to prevent sexual violence and support victims/survivors. This message both summarizes what has been achieved since May, and reports what has occurred since the July 15 update. Throughout this message, links are provided to more detail about the measures described.

“EI” E-mail Chain
· Students named in the EI e-mail chain that may have been the target or victim of abuse were contacted and offered assistance.
· No one filed complaints related to actions described in the e-mails.
· Public Safety updated AU’s Clery crime log to document the alleged EI related activity.
· There was sufficient evidence in the e-mails to bring one harassment case; it has been concluded.

Incidents of alleged sexual assault and alleged conspiracy to commit sexual assault continue to be under review by Public Safety in cooperation with the MPD Sexual Assault Unit and the U.S. Attorney.

Off Campus Alcohol and Drug Use
· Public Safety analyzed 2013-2014 student conduct cases to identify off campus locations where alcohol/drug violations occurred and target these locations for law enforcement.

Public Safety is meeting with MPD and the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) to provide its findings with regard to off campus alcohol/drug violations and coordinate enforcement and education efforts for the coming academic year.

Other Measures to Address Student Conduct

Letter to All New Undergraduates about Welcome Weeks & Off Campus Parties. On August 12, the dean of students sent a letter to all new undergraduates welcoming them to AU and cautioning them about off campus parties and the “pick-up lines” associated with them. You may read the dean’s letter online.

Letter to Parents and Guardians about Unrecognized Groups. Warnings about the risks of associating with unrecognized groups are posted on the Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL) web site and included in the orientation for students participating in FSL membership recruitment. The warnings name EI and any other group that has recently lost recognition. Student Activities also sends a letter to parents and guardians of current students to convey the same information.

Chapter Conduct Status Web Page. Fraternity & Sorority Life has launched a web page with information about the active and disciplinary status of all 39 fraternity and sorority chapters at AU. The information includes both a chapter’s status with AU and with its national or international organization.

Electronic Hazing Report Form. The Office of the Dean of Students has launched an electronic form to facilitate hazing reports by members of the AU community. Reports may be submitted anonymously. While this intervention is intended to help address hazing by any group affiliated with the university, we especially appreciate the support of AU’s fraternities and sororities in taking this step.

Community and Inter-campus Collaboration
· Campus Life staff participated in the June 24 Roundtable to promote campus-community partnerships in preventing sexual assault and supporting victims/survivors, sponsored by the DC Office of Victim Services and Men Can Stop Rape.
· AU’s sexual assault prevention coordinator is representing AU at the new DC College Consortium, formed by the DC Office of Victim Services.

AU has joined with other members of the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCCADV) Campus Consortium to take advantage of a Department of Justice grant to support the development and sharing of best practices and model policies and programs directed at compliance with the federal requirements for the Campus SAVE Act. As part of this commitment, AU will host one of DCCADV’s organized trainings, encourage AU faculty and staff to attend, and designate staff to participate in quarterly meetings that will facilitate the exchange of information.

Education & Training
· AU launched a new bystander intervention program during the 2014 Eagle Summit: STEP UP – Be more than a bystander. More than 1,200 entering first year students and their families were introduced to bystander intervention principles this summer.

· Eagle Summit participants were assisted in downloading the app for U ASK DC – a direct way to access information needed most in the event of a sexual assault on one of DC’s nine college campuses.
· New undergraduates and all graduate and law students were directed to complete the online course, Haven – Understanding Sexual Assault (Everfi) prior to arriving on campus in the fall.
· Public Safety hosted a 10-week Academy for new public safety officers with a module that placed greater emphasis on sexual assault investigations and attention to the primary responsibilities of law enforcement in sexual assault cases.

Welcome Week’s Freshman Fundamentals will include the introduction to STEP UP – Be more than a bystander for new undergraduates who did not attend Eagle Summit. Mandatory floor meetings in the residence halls will include the opportunity to download the U ASK DC app for resident students who have not already done so. Also, during Welcome Week and the first week of classes, the Wellness Center will prominently and actively disseminate health and safety information.

The bystander awareness and training video will debut the week of August 18 on the STEP UP web site, in the introductions to STEP UP training sessions, and at www.Facebook.com/StepUpAU.

Special request and open sign-up bystander intervention training will be available throughout the year. One hundred nineteen (119) members of the resident staff and student leaders are being trained now – this includes resident assistants, program associates, the executive board of the Residence Hall Association and leaders of the Leadership Academy. All 39 groups under Fraternity and Sorority Life are registering for mandatory training at the beginning of September – about 1,970 students. All 16 intercollegiate athletic teams will participate in mandatory training by team – about 250 athletes. PEERS (Peer Educators for the Elimination of Relationship & Sexual Violence) will be ready to respond to training requests beginning September 29. Student Activities is pursuing training commitments from Student Government leaders and the leaders of other recognized student organizations.

We have created STEP UP bystander intervention public service announcements (PSAs). The PSAs will run on the Four Winds electronic message boards throughout campus and may be viewed on the STEP UP web site.

Social Media Campaign. You can follow STEP Up – Be more than a bystander on Facebook to see how members of the AU community are stepping up: www.Facebook.com/StepUpAU.

Faculty and staff training on Title IX and the Campus SAVE Act. All full and part time faculty and staff members (about 3,000 employees) are being provided access to an online training module on Title IX and Campus Save. Completion of the training is required by January 31, 2015. The training will be housed in AsuccessfulU. Refresher training will be required on a periodic basis, and the course will be required for all new faculty and staff going forward.

Victim Support
· In July, the university announced that it will hire a second sexual assault prevention coordinator and victim advocate in the Wellness Center.

Recruitment is underway. The position is posted on the AU Careers site; the search committee chair is Counseling Center clinician Charrise Hipol. Students will be engaged in the campus interviews. The successful candidate will join the Wellness Center staff as early in the fall semester as possible.

Policy Development
· In June, revisions were approved to the Student Conduct Code aligning definitions of “prohibited conduct” with the sexual violence terms set forth in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA).

Further revisions to the Student Conduct Code have been implemented to make it easier for victims/survivors to see their responsibilities and rights, as guaranteed under federal regulations. Protections afforded to complainants/complaining witnesses in Title IX cases are both presented in italics in the body of the Code and summarized in a new section “B,” under II. Responsibilities and Rights.

Also, Code Section VIII. Student Groups and Organizations, has been amended to make clear the conditions under which the university may charge and sanction students collectively for misconduct. The section has been retitled “VIII. Recognized Student Organizations and Student Groups with Provisional Recognition” to accurately characterize the revised content. The revised Student Conduct Code was effective August 11, 2014.

The university’s revised Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy became effective on August 1, 2014. It incorporates the same terms and definitions for dating violence, domestic violence and stalking that were added to the Student Conduct Code. It also lists AU’s confidential resources for victims/survivors.

Campus Climate Assessment
· Campus Life will administer the National College Health Assessment [includes sections on violence, abusive relationships and personal safety and on sexual behavior] to all undergraduates and law students in April, 2015.
· Campus Life will facilitate Prof. Jane Palmer’s biennial survey of sexual violence, dating violence and bystander intervention in March 2015.
· An External Review of Fraternity & Sorority Life at AU is scheduled in September. The internal team guiding the site visit will be led by Student Activities Director Dominic Greene. The visiting reviewers will meet with a wide range of campus constituents.

The visiting team for the External Review of Fraternity & Sorority Life has been named. Members are (Team Leader) Will Foran, Vice President of University Relations, North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC); Kara Miller, Assistant Dean of Students at Cornell University & Board Member of Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors; Louise Kier Zirretta, Former National President of Phi Sigma Sigma & Former National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) Chair; Gloria Shannon, National Pan-Hellenic (NPHC) National Secretary and member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. The site visit dates have been changed to September 30-October 1, 2014, to accommodate team members.

On July 30, the Bipartisan Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA) was introduced in Congress. Among its provisions, the Act would mandate a new, annual survey of students at every university in the U.S. to collect data on their experiences with sexual violence. The survey would be standardized and anonymous, and results would be published online. AU is monitoring the progress of this legislation and will be prepared to comply with resulting survey protocols and requirements.

Ongoing Work
This has been an active and productive summer in advancing AU’s work to prevent sexual assault and enhance support for survivors/victims. We appreciate all who have contributed to this work and are committed to extending it into the future.

Assistant VP of Campus Life and Dean of Students Rob Hradsky will convene the reconstituted Sexual Assault Working Group (SAWG) in September. The Group will be charged with
(1) ensuring continuity in the efforts launched this summer and (2) continuing to shape AU’s intervention strategies consistent with the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The committee’s work will be transparent, as will the data we gather on students’ experiences with sexual violence and on the effectiveness of the measures we implement. Recommendations formulated by Student Government over the summer will be referred to SAWG for its consideration. When the academic year is underway, you may review timely information on the SAWG’s activities on the Dean of Students web site.

Finally, the campus community is invited to a Town Hall on Sexual Assault Prevention, hosted by SAWG on Wednesday, September 17, 8 – 9:30 pm in the Letts Hall Formal Lounge.

Campus Participation
Thank you to the many members of the AU community who contributed to this important work to prevent sexual violence at AU and support victims/survivors. We hope all students, faculty and staff will continue to support these efforts throughout the year.

To read this memo online, go to www.american.edu/standwithau/updates/July15-2014.cfm

July 15, 2014
To: American University Community

Fr: Gail Short Hanson, Vice President of Campus Life

Re: Progress Report II on Student Conduct and Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Initiatives

This is the second of three summer updates to inform the campus community about progress in addressing alleged misconduct associated with the underground group Epsilon Iota (EI) and in enhancing AU’s efforts to prevent sexual violence and support victims/survivors. This message builds on the measures described in the June 13 campus update.

Epsilon Iota E-mail Chain
We reported earlier that Campus Life contacted everyone in the EI e-mail chain who was an AU student in Spring 2014, and appeared to be the target or victim of abuse by EI. Campus Life informed them about support services and procedures for filing complaints. One harassment case, referred to Student Conduct, has been concluded since the first update. Public Safety continues to work with the U.S. Attorney and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on EI-related investigations. All incidents of alleged sexual assault and alleged conspiracy to commit sexual assault are under review by Public Safety in cooperation with the MPD Sexual Assault Unit and the U.S. Attorney.

Off-Campus Alcohol and Drug Use
Public Safety has concluded an analysis of last year’s alcohol and drug related student conduct cases to document the off-campus locations where these violations occurred. Public Safety will use this information to inform its interventions in the fall. It also will share its findings with MPD and the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) to enlist their support in targeting locations where students are engaging in illegal and high risk activities.

Intervention Strategies
We continue to operate on the guidance provided in the Not Alone Report of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. Several members of the Campus Life staff participated in the You Are NOT ALONE roundtable on June 24, sponsored by the Government of the District of Columbia Office of Victim Services, in partnership with Men Can Stop Rape.

The White House Report highlights the importance of campus and community agency partnerships in meeting students’ needs for prevention education and victim/survivor services. The roundtable afforded us an excellent opportunity to interact with representatives of agencies and organizations that included DC Rape Crisis Center, DC Sexual Assault Crisis Response Project, DC Forensic Nurse Examiners, Sexual Assault Unit/Special Investigations Branch of the MPD – and others. We are actively pursuing ways to engage these organizations in our training and make the best use of their resources for AU students. For example, the DC Coalition against Domestic Violence has trained the AU Conduct Council and PEERS – Peer Educators for the Elimination of Relationship and Sexual Violence – in providing trauma informed services. AU’s sexual assault prevention coordinator will represent the university at monthly meetings between the DC Office of Victim Services and the newly formed DC college consortium.

Education & Training
We have just concluded the 2014 Eagle Summits. Over the course of six, two-day programs, approximately 1,200 new students and their family members were introduced to the bystander intervention program, STEP-UP!, and coached in STEP-UP! strategies. Following the Critical Issues session, which addresses sexual violence, 90.8% of student participants strongly agreed or agreed that After attending Eagle Summit, I am more familiar with critical issues affecting the AU community and the resources provided to address them.

Here are some of the students’ responses to the question: After learning about the STEP UP! Program, how will you step up when you return to AU in the fall?

I want to help in spreading awareness of dating violence. I also will be aware of the signs of alcohol poisoning.
I will be an active bystander and not leave a situation unless I am sure it is being taken care of.
If I see harassment of any sort, I will take action myself or find someone that can help solve the problem.
I will look at and be aware of my surroundings, then follow step up procedures.
I will always address people making sexist, racist or homophobic remarks.

Students’ specific STEP UP! strategies will form the basis for some of the electronic messaging used to continually reinforce bystander intervention lessons during the academic year.

Bystander Intervention Training Video. The AU-specific STEP UP! training video that is under production will be ready by mid-August. It includes vignettes addressing sexual assault, relationship violence, mental health, binge drinking and hazing. The video is designed to engage workshop participants in assessing situations and envisioning their own intervention strategies.

U ASK DC app. At Eagle Summit’s AU Community Showcase, the Wellness staff assisted new students in downloading the app for U ASK DC, so that they will have immediate access to the information needed most in the event of a sexual assault on one of DC’s nine college campuses. The app is confidential and free. [Search “U ASK DC” on the iTunes App Store, Google Play Store, or Blackberry Appworld.] We also will promote U ASK DC through the campus electronic message boards in the fall and review downloading procedures at the mandatory residence hall floor meetings during Welcome Week.

University Police Consortium Training Academy. AU Public Safety hosted the 10-week Academy this summer and expanded the training module on “preliminary investigations” to place greater emphasis on sexual assault investigations. The newly hired police cadets who attended from a number of university police departments learned about the three primary responsibilities of law enforcement in sexual assault cases: (1) protect, interview and support the victim/survivor; (2) investigate the crime and apprehend the perpetrator; and (3) collect and preserve evidence of the assault to assist in prosecution of the assailant. The Academy training complements established programs for AU Public Safety officers on sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking.

Victim Support
Between mid-May 2013 and mid-May 2014, AU’s sexual assault prevention coordinator and victim advocate saw 137 clients, accounting for approximately 50-60% of his time. The balance of time was spent in sexual assault prevention education and training activities, including work with PEERS – Peer Educators for the Elimination of Relationship and Sexual Violence. During the same time period, 77 students sought support from the Counseling Center. There may be some overlap between these two confidential client groups, and the experiences for which they sought support occurred over a range of time and places.

We want to build capacity for victim/survivor advocacy and ensure that we have enough trained staff and student volunteers to support an expanding calendar of sexual assault prevention and bystander intervention workshops. To achieve this, we will hire an additional sexual assault prevention coordinator and victim advocate. We anticipate posting the position within the next several weeks. More detail will be reported in the August campus update.

Policy Development
Revisions to the university’s Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy are in progress. This effort will bring the policy into compliance with the provisions of the Violence Against Women Act of 2013, by incorporating the same terms and definitions for dating violence, domestic violence and stalking that were added recently to the Student Conduct Code. The revised policy also will list AU’s confidential resources for victims/survivors. The revised policy will take effect on August 1, 2014. There will be a link to it in the August campus update.

Under federal regulations, victims/survivors of sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking are guaranteed unique rights in disciplinary proceedings. We are reorganizing the Student Conduct Code so that it is easier for victims/survivors to see their rights and responsibilities by stating them both in relevant sections of the Code and in summary in the Code’s section, II. Responsibilities and Rights. The reorganization will be complete before the beginning of the academic year and reported in more detail in the August campus update.

Campus Climate Assessment
Review of Fraternity & Sorority Life. The Campus Committee charged to prepare for the external review of Fraternity & Sorority Life has been appointed. Members are:
Council Presidents: Gabe Menchaca (IFC); Leslie Reid (Panhel); Diana Williams (NPHC)
FSL Advisors: Lana Knox (Panhel; AU alum); Nancy Gaskins (AKA; AU alum); Jesse Epstein (IFC; AU alum)
AU Staff: Nicole Schoeb (Academic Support & Access Center); Michelle Espinosa (Office of the Dean of Students); Megan Cohen (Wellness Center); Rosie McSweeney (Student Conduct); Will Sowers (Public Safety); Lindsay Whipple (Housing & Dining Programs); David Fletcher (Career Center); Matt LaBrasseur (School of Public Affairs advisor); Michelle Doyle (Kogod advisor); Isaac Agbeshie-Noye (Center for Diversity & Inclusion); Malinda Morewatz (Athletics & Recreation); Isaac Thweatt (Alumni Relations)

The committee will be chaired by the new director of Student Activities, Dominic Greene. Dominic comes to AU from Northwestern University, where he was director of Fraternity & Sorority Life for eight years. The external review team will be on campus September 16-17; team members have not yet been selected.

Campus Climate Survey. We continue to evaluate campus climate survey instruments against the standards of the White House Task Force assessment tool kit. In the meantime we will administer the National College Health Assessment to all undergraduate and law students in April 2015. This national survey contains sections on Violence, Abusive Relationships and Personal Safety and on Sexual Behavior. In addition, AU Professor Jane Palmer will conduct her biennial survey of sexual violence, dating violence and bystander intervention on campus in March 2015. The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment will help coordinate this survey activity, and we welcome suggestions for how to most effectively share survey results with the campus community.

Campus Collaboration

Thank you to the many members of the AU community who are contributing to this important work to prevent sexual violence at AU and support victims/survivors. The final summer update will be issued in mid-August.

Some campus sexual assault cases are clear-cut, while others emerge from blearier circumstances involving alcohol and young students exploring the new world of college. Regardless of the…

One is too many.

June 13, 2014

To:  The American University Community

Fr:  Gail Short Hanson, Vice President of Campus Life

Re:  Progress Report on Student Conduct and Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Initiatives

This is the first of three updates planned for this summer to inform the campus community about efforts to address the critical issues raised by a chain of e-mails released in April from the underground group of students known as Epsilon Iota (EI).  The e-mails suggested members of the group were engaging in a range of harmful and potentially illegal activities, starkly inconsistent with American University’s values.  The alleged activities included abuse of alcohol and drugs as well as abuse of other AU students in alleged acts that may have included sexual assaults.  

As a community we knew we had to confront the proposition that some of the conduct surfaced in the EI e-mails also occurs in other aspects of campus life - beyond EI.  The EI incident was a call to action.

Our response has been to investigate fully the activities described in the e-mails and hold students responsible for violations of the Conduct Code and the law where there is sufficient evidence to do so.  We are also committed to implementing measures that:

• affirm our community standards,
• give students tools to navigate risky situations safely and
• provide students with the resources to recover should they become victims, particularly of sexual assault.

Student Conduct and Law Enforcement.  Campus Life immediately contacted every individual named in the EI e-mail chain that was an AU student in Spring 2014 and appeared to be a target or victim of abuse by EI to inquire about their well-being and inform them about support services and procedures for filing complaints.  

• To date, no individuals have filed complaints related to actions described in the e-mails.  However, there was sufficient evidence for the University to bring one Student Conduct case.  That case has been concluded.  
• Public Safety has prepared reports for all e-mails to support investigations into criminality, and AU’s Clery crime log has been updated.
• Some matters are still under investigation by law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  

Intervention Strategies.  AU’s new intervention strategies to address sexual misconduct are being guided by the recommendations from the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013).  They are directed toward:  
I. Policy Development; II. Education & Training;  III. Victim Support;  IV. Campus Climate Assessment;    Following is an account of progress to date in these areas.  

I.  Policy Development
The Conduct Advisory Board proposed, and President Kerwin has approved, additions and refinements to the Student Conduct Code so that our definition of “Prohibited Conduct” aligns with sexual violence terms outlined in VAWA 2013.  The changes are effective immediately.

• Prohibited Conductnow includes “Interpersonal violence including, but not limited to, physical assault, dating violence and domestic violence.”
• Stalking and Harassment are now listed as separate violations.
• The definition of Stalking has been amended to:  “Repeated, unwanted contact with any person, including contact by electronic means or by proxy, or the credible threat of repeated contact with the intent to place a reasonable person in fear for his or her safety or the safety of his or her family or close acquaintances or to inflict substantial emotional distress.”

In addition, these new definitions have been added to the Student Conduct Code:

• Physical Assault: “Unwanted physical contact or the use of physical force to threaten or cause physical injury, pain, or illness.”
• Dating Violence: “Violence or abusive behavior against an intimate partner (romantic, dating, or sexual partner) that seeks to control the partner or has caused harm to the partner (the harm may be physical, verbal, emotional, economic, or sexual in nature).  The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on consideration of the following factors:  the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of the interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.”
• Domestic Violence:  “Violence or abusive behavior against a roommate, family member, or intimate partner that causes physical or psychological injury, pain, or illness.”

II. Education & Training
Sexual assault prevention education and training, particularly bystander intervention training, is identified by the White House Task Force as one of the strategies with the greatest promise for reducing incidents of sexual assault.  

• New Bystander Intervention Program.This summer, AU is launching a new bystander intervention program at Eagle Summit and during Welcome Week 2014.  The program is adapted from the highly rated STEP UP! program developed by the NCAA in collaboration with the University of Arizona.  Two Campus Life staff members secured a grant to participate in STEP UP! training this summer. They will take the lead in training others.
  • All new students will learn how to apply the program’s Five Decision Making Steps:  (1) Notice the Event, (2) Interpret it as a Problem (3) Assume Personal Responsibility, (4) Know How to Help, and (5) STEP UP!
  • STEP UP! training is already scheduled for orientation coordinators and leaders, residence hall staff (resident assistants, program associates, desk receptionists, and Residence Hall Association leaders), and all student athletes.  Other trainings and education sessions will be scheduled for fall to include fraternity and sorority members and other student leaders.
  • Under development are: a training video; bystander related Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for the campus’ electronic message boards and related print materials to distribute and post.  The bystander intervention program will also be promoted on campus through the Wellness Cabana, the residence hall bathroom bulletin (Flushington Post), and social media.
• Online Education.  Beginning this summer, all graduate and law students will be expected to complete the online course,Haven-Understanding Sexual Assault (EverFi), prior to their arrival at AU for the fall semester. New undergraduates have had this expectation for several years.  Haven teaches lessons about healthy relationships, the importance of consent and being a good communicator, and the many ways you can help create a safe and positive campus community.  Haven includes a pre- and post-survey, and all responses are confidential.  The university receives only information about students as a population, never individual answers.

III. Victim Support
We know that expanding resources for victim advocacy is a priority for many in the AU community.  We are evaluating service use data from the past year, skill sets of current staff and DC community resources to determine the most effective way to add capacity to current services.  We will report more on this important objective in the July Update.

IV. Campus Climate Assessment
Sexual Assault prevention work at AU has been informed in recent years by data from the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment and survey research conducted by AU Professor Jane Palmer.  

• We are evaluating new assessment instruments developed from the tool kit made available by the White House Task Force and will have an assessment plan ready for the July Update.  When assessments are conducted, results will be available to the campus community and will further guide campus interventions.
• The Office of Campus Life has invited an External Review of Fraternity & Sorority Life by a trained team of professional campus and fraternity and sorority leaders. The team is being assembled by the National Inter-fraternity Council’s Fraternity & Sorority Coalition Assessment Project in Indianapolis, IN.  Purposes of the review are to:
  • Assess the state of AU’s FSL community – its strengths and challenges;
  • Assess how FSL is contributing to a positive social environment for AU students, where the dignity of every student is recognized and respected;
  • Recommend ways to improve the overall FSL experience at AU.

• Developing Positive Interpersonal Relationships
• Advancing Leadership Development
• Strengthening Social IQ, Citizenship and Service Learning
• Advancing Academic Interests/Assessing Graduation Rates of Members
• Determining the Effectiveness of Campus Interactions and Support of the Fraternity and Sorority Community
• Responding Effectively to Unrecognized Groups

The external reviewers will visit AU on September 16-17, 2014, and they will meet with a broad range of campus constituents.  Data gathering and preparation for the visit will be carried out by a campus committee, and outcomes will be shared with the campus community no later than the end of the fall semester.

Campus Collaboration
In addition to the work described here, the Student Government has appointed a task force on Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention.  We have pledged to work collaboratively with the task force and give timely attention to its recommendations.

I want to thank the many students, faculty and staff who have offered constructive input and suggestions. There will be more opportunities for your input in the near future.

Or coverup?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/1is2many

This is not just an AU problem. The White House is taking notice. 

MEMORANDUM
April 29, 2014

TO: Campus Community
FROM:Gail Short Hanson, Vice President for Campus Life
SUBJECT:Response to Proposals Addressing Misconduct 

We would like to share with the community our response to a series of proposals originating from students to improve our effectiveness in sexual assault prevention and provide for the safety of our students. We thank all who have signed a petition supporting these proposals. We share your outrage and concern over the content of the emails recently released and the behavior they describe. The American University community stands united against behavior that threatens the safety or well-being of any member of our community. Assault, sexual assault, bullying, underage and binge drinking, illicit drug use, misogyny, homophobia, and racism are antithetical to our values. They will not be tolerated.

The university is taking swift and deliberate action to address each of the specific allegations raised by the recent release of emails. Investigations are being conducted by Public Safety, in consultation with law enforcement authorities, and by the Office of Campus Life. I will continue to post communications to update the campus community on these matters. We are committed to being transparent about the investigations within the boundaries allowed by the law.

The proposals in the petition call for specific actions related to individual violations of the Student Conduct Code. Our commitment in pursuing code violations is to ensure fairness in our actions.  We will afford due process and exercise care to arrive at findings of responsibility that are consistent with the weight of the evidence and sanctions that are commensurate with proven violations.  

While we investigate the allegations described in the email messages, we are taking steps to improve the programs that contribute to student safety and compliance with our Student Conduct Code. In this pursuit, we are open to collaboration and to constructive ideas from others about programs and measures that can reduce illegal activity and misconduct, specifically by groups not recognized by the university and comprised of AU students, operating to the detriment of the AU community.

President Kerwin has assured us that resources will not be the limiting factor in developing responses to the challenges we face. We are evaluating the capacity of our current staff, which already includes a full-time sexual assault prevention coordinator and victim advocate, and we will add resources where there is a demonstrated need and the promise of greater effectiveness.

We are also reviewing our current sexual assault education and training programs, where these elements figure prominently:

New Students.

2.  New Fraternity/Sorority Members.AU’s Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator conducts a workshop on sexual assault prevention during Greek Orientationfor all new members. Participation is required.Fraternities and sororities are also encouraged to request PEERS workshops (Peer Educators for the Elimination of Relationship and Sexual Violence) throughout the year. We will work with Student Activities and fraternity and sorority leaders to enhance this training and evaluate its effectiveness.

3.  New Student-Athletes.AU’s Sexual Assault Prevention Coordinator conducts a workshop for all new student-athletes with a focus on sexual and dating violence. The workshop includes elements of bystander intervention training. Participation is required. We will work with Athletics & Recreation to enhance this training and evaluate its effectiveness.

4.  Male Students. AU’sSexual Assault Prevention Coordinator facilitates the recognized student club, Men of Strength (MOST), sponsored by the national organization, Men Can Stop Rape. The program helps participants examine and reevaluate their masculinity in order to create healthier, safer, and happier lives for themselves and the men and women they care about. We will work with club leaders to grow their membership and extend their influence.

Actions such as the Panhellenic Council’s decision to implement twice-yearly bystander training, and the Interfraternity Council’s repudiation of the attitudes and methods of the underground group in question are excellent contributions as well.

We are also prepared to work with the AU Club Council and Student Government to explore the proposal regarding mandatory sexual assault education for the executive board members of AU’s more than 200 student clubs and organizations.

We will share additional steps and program enhancements as they are more fully developed and look to you for valuable inputs and additional ideas.

American University will continue to provide a high-quality educational experience in an environment that is safe and that reflects our shared values. That is the American University we cherish and will do our utmost to preserve. Thank you to all who have expressed your concern and commitment to our community.

Transformative Activism at American University I could not have imagined a better way to wind down my freshman year. I have spent the last couple of days organizing with some of the most passionate…

A great blog post from one of the organizers of “No More Silence”

Pictured: A Statement from the Interfraternity Council

Hell yeah. This is a campus > community > generational issue. Keep talking. This is really really good. 

We whisper and gossip. We hope our daughters are not rounding up their girlfriends to go to parties like this. We hope our sons wouldn’t drop a roofy, rohypnol, into the glass of an unsuspecting girl with the express intent of raping her. We hope….

We are speechless. This article is beyond notable. Thank you for this. 

*And sidenote: shout out to the incredible group behind React to Film AU who use media every month to bring attention to notable causes. 

Announcement from the “No More Silence” group*: There will be a rally at 12 p.m. on the quad tomorrow. Bring your signs, t-shirts, and a hopeful spirit for a safer future on our campus. All are welcome.

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We were given the details for the poster making meeting but prefer to not disclose this in the interest of the safety of members in “No More Silence.“ If you are following and would like to join, contact the Facebook group. We heard on a news report that several group members are victims and this is a challenging time for them. Our support goes out to all of you.

Fratergate will not be present at the coming events. Given the increasing media storm and buzz around on campus, our identity must be protected. Please know that this is both for our safety and that our names do not matter. We are not acting as individuals any longer, we are acting objectively to represent a voice of students on our campus who have not been heard for far too long. Sure it is fun for drama, but revealing our names defeats the entire purpose behind this page.

If you are press and would like a comment from us, you can contact us non-anonymously and we will connect you to The Fratergate email account.

*We have yet to publicize our opinion on their specific demands 

We’d like to make a statement of clarification: Several external media sources (including the Washington Post) as well as anonymous writers to this tumblr have identified Fratergate as the original source of the EI email leaks. We would like to clarify that this is not true. 

We were emailed the documents, as were many other individuals on AU campus, from an anonymous email address. We spent three hours redacting all names and contact information, and then posted the documents to this blog. Our goal, as we have said before, was not to start a witch hunt (the reason we redacted ALL names), but rather to begin a conversation about rape culture’s pervasiveness. We didn’t want this issue to be swept under the rug again. It’s time for people to start talking about this issue, and for something to be done. 

It is shocking that instead of taking responsibility as a community, we choose to fight one another and continue to point fingers. Our name does just this and we could not apologize for that enough. If we had not been cited all over the place, we would change it. This is no longer about frat culture, it is about culture.

Upon making this page, we knew rape culture was problem within Epsilon Iota, an unrecognized chapter of a fraternity at AU that was previously a recognized frat called Alpha Tau Omega. This group lost their charter in 2001 but since, have continued to wear EI letters, have a house, and throw parties. Although unrecognized by the Greek council, they are referred to as a fraternity by the student body. When you arrive at AU as a freshman, you are warned to not take rides out of the LA Quad to EI parties. You are told that if you are a girl, you are at a high risk of getting date raped or if you are a guy, beaten up at EI. If any of the above information is false, please inform us.

Upon making this page, we learned that rape culture goes far beyond the individuals within EI. Our perspective began to shift, realizing that letters, club titles, and any sort of border or categorization of people does not isolate rape culture. This realization further solidified our decision to censor all documents and remain anonymous ourselves. We have chosen to represent a voice and expose a cultural problem, instead of put ourselves on a pedestal and attack certain groups. If you have yet to understand that at this point, we really don’t know what to say there anymore.

We have received criticism because several of our posts have been snarky and more light-hearted than others, but do not mistake this as dismissing the problem at hand. If it is not reflected in our maintenance of this page, we will candidly say our sleep, school work, personal relationships, and general productivity have all been affected by this incident and the creation of this tumblr (which we stand by through thick and thin). We said we would operate as long as we were needed and given that we receive 5 messages an hour and are unable to reply to them all, we are needed. Especially now that documents from other organizations are arriving in our inbox.

Visitors, since last night’s post, understand that there is now a public outcry for these new documents to be released.

If as a generation and a growing online community who seeks solidarity to dispel rape culture, we need this to work. It cannot become a witch hunt. Although we stated earlier that we would make a hasty decision on the matter, we have sinced changed our minds. An anonymous encouraged us to take our time and thank you for giving us the permission to do so.

So we have set a deadline for ourselves: three days. You will know our decision this Friday.

We are taking this time to consult our professors, friends, families, and professionals. The decision we make will affect our futures and seriously decrease our safety. Yes, we are anonymous but we are students and need our followers to understand that. Some of the messages we have received today are attacking us, from both sides of the argument and that is not going to get anything done. If you have suggestions, they are welcome but just because you are anonymous and we are anonymous, we are still humans. We are not your punching bag.

Our worry is that releasing these other documents will be unproductive and put more people at risk. On that note, we would like to publicize that we are refusing to cooperate with Jezebel because they released the uncensored documents. The brothers with visible contact information in the documents are receiving death threats. One has allegedly become suicidal. Although we are a mere tumblr, we are hoping that standing against this has some weight to media sources. We cannot move towards positive change by behaving in the same way as those who perpetuate rape culture, i.e. with hate (see: Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, George Washington).

We do not want war- especially a gendered or anti-frat army. Everyone needs to be a part of this conversation and by posting the documents, we are risking putting potential colleagues on the offensive.

To the anonymous who have challenged our credibility for not posting yet, we hear you.
To the anonymous who have said we will lose all credibility if we do post, we hear you.
To the anonymous who claims we have a personal agenda to attack EI, we do not hear you. These messages are nauseating and completely false. How many times do we need to spell out that we are here to promote rape free culture? Please reconsider how we are approaching this and come back with a level head.

There is a wager to be made and we will not make this decision on our own or without serious reflection.

In the meantime, promote care.

“Can this page please make it more clear that EI is not Greek Life (Maybe a statement). Rape culture is alive in nearly every group on campus. That is the sad reality. Pointing fingers at the larger greek community and generalizing will only be counterproductive as it will galvanize members against this extremely valid cause. I’ve read your stance and I agree with it but others visiting this page need to get that message for the sake of making progress on these issues.”

Our last anonymous made a great point. Although we are the “FRATergate AU” and in Our Stance we clearly state that this a problem in both Greek Life and the greater community, EI is not a fraternity. It is stated in our info and restated here. We are not attacking. 

We actually heard through the grapevine that Greek Life is potentially planning a cause of action to dispel rape culture and we are looking forward to helping their movement in whatever ways they need. 

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As alluded to earlier, we have been receiving more disturbing screenshots from other organization’s pages which are degrading, racist, and perpetuate rape culture. In relation to the above statement, we have chosen to not share in this post the negative documents we received. We do not want anyone to feel ostracized and aspire to remain positive. As of now, we feel the EI documents are enough to prove to visitors that rape culture is alive at AU.  

Instead, we will share the following conversation between two frat bros working to promote care and a rape free AU:

i.e. If anyone wonders what the “wind up here” refers to:

… Awkward. 

This is a big deal and progress. We applaud you with a standing ovation and roaring cheer. 

Thank you Anonymous & Anonymous. We couldn’t do this without you.