Daily Lobo new mexico
Friday January 23, 2015 | Volume 119 | Issue 87
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Sexual violence findings released by law firm Panelists promote openness
University policies are confusing By Lauren Marvin
The law firm Pilgrim and Associates released its findings Thursday with regard to how the UNM community reports and responds to allegations of sexual violence. According to a 71-page UNM Climate Assessment Report, the findings suggest that UNM students, staff and administrators are unfamiliar with or confused about the University’s policies and procedures for addressing sexual violence. UNM has 17 policies in place to provide victims or those seeking to report sexual violence with assistance and information. However, many of the procedures fail to comply with Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, according to the report. P&A started its investigation last fall, after the University Counsel commissioned the review in response to a complaint regarding the handling of sexual assault reports within student housing and the athletics program. “This is not just about a place — this is about our neighborhood and our community, and making it an even better place,” UNM President Bob Frank said Thursday moments before Jill Pilgrim, founder and owner of P&A, discussed her firm’s findings. During the investigation P&A sought information from 101 randomly selected individuals during both one-on-one interviews and focus group sessions, according to the report. There were 11 recurring concerns that presented themselves during the 53 one-on-one interviews conducted by P&A. These concerns included physical safety on UNM campus, visibility of UNM security and confusion as to where to report sexual assault incidents. During the Q-and-A session, P&A was criticized for not seeking out past victims of sexual violence to conduct interviews. Pilgrim responded that the sample had to be random in order to keep the results from being skewed. P&A found that having too many policies to address sexual violence hindered victims’ abilities
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Report page 3
By Moriah Carty
Sergio Jiménez / Daily Lobo / @SXfoto
TOP: Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs, left, and Jill Pilgrim, owner and founder of Pilgrim & Associates, speak after the sexual assault panel inside the SUB Atrium on Thursday. Pilgrim presented her team’s final report on UNM’s handling of previous sexual assault cases on campus during the panel. BOTTOM: ASUNM President Rachel Williams listens to recommendations during the sexual assault panel discussion.
Summary of Pilgrim and Associates’ report Key Findings • UNM is making a commitment to education and prevention programs related to sexual violence. • Staff and administration recognize the seriousness of issues surrounding sexual violence. • Attitudes and perceptions regarding sexual violence in residential housing are generally accurate. • Staff and administration believe student-athletes are no more likely to be involved in acts of sexual violence than the general student body. • Student-athletes expressed concern with being stigmatized as a group because of the inappropriate actions of a few. • Attitudes and perceptions of staff, students and administration within the UNM athletics program regarding sexual violence are generally accurate. • Several of the policies and procedures in place to address sexual violence do not comply with federal law. • Policies and procedures addressing sexual violence are unclear.
Recommendations • Simplify sexual violence policies into a single accurate, user-friendly and easily accessible policy. • Education should not be hindered for the victim or alleged perpetrator until they receive due process and fair procedure. • Security should be improved to reduce the possible occurrence of sexual violence incidents. • Sexual violence training should better emphasize the University’s legal obligation to prevent and report sexual violence. • UNM should clarify who among staff are mandatory reporters of sexual violence and those who can maintain a victim’s privacy. • Student-athlete training on the dangers of sexual violence should be mandatory throughout their experience. • UNM should expand its working relationship with the Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico, a local rape crisis service provider.
Source: UNM Climate Assessment Report
The panelists on the Sexual Violence Assessment Report Q&A panel presented many different ideas on how to decrease real or perceived instances of sexual violence on campus, but they all boiled down to one thing: Better communication. Jill Pilgrim, whose firm conducted the study that lead to the report, suggested that students start believing people who claim they’ve been assaulted, listen with openness and offer help. Pilgrim reminded audience members that it is not solely the job of the University to make campus safe, but that students carry the responsibility to be conscious of sexual violence and report it. Rita Smith, a national expert on violence against women, emphasized the importance of communication between students, as well as being more open and receptive to any mention of sexual violence. Oftentimes this violence occurs within an established relationship, in which students may not know how or if they have been assaulted or how to tell a partner no, Smith said. Collecting evidence can help students who have been victimized to receive the help they need. Smith also stressed that even if an incident does not take place on campus, students can still receive aid from University resources. Students should always communicate with the campus if they feel threatened, she said. Several representatives from the UNM Women’s Resource Center and the Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico attended the Q&A. WRC Director Summer Little said the center will resume training sessions regarding sexual violence every Thursday, starting in February, which will focus on how to avoid the ‘bystander effect’: when people stand by and don’t act or don’t know how to approach a situation in which someone has reported an act of sexual violence. This can also include watching something take
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Q&A page 3
E-magazine brings ASUNM to students By David Lynch
In an ongoing effort to improve engagement with the undergraduate students they represent, the Associated Students of UNM launched an e-magazine this week — the first of its kind for the student government body. The first edition of the publication was emailed to all UNM
undergraduates on Thursday. ASUNM Vice President Jenna Hagengruber said she hopes students find it eye-catching and informative. “It’s about us being in touch with the people we’re serving,” Hagengruber said. “Technology is huge nowadays, and we’re able to utilize it in a way that is beneficial to us and to the students, hopefully, and bridge that gap in
communication. It really puts a face on what is happening, and it also allows the students to … interact with ASUNM online.” Hagengruber recently said that interaction with students remains a priority this semester. She called the e-magazine a stepping stone, a way for members to familiarize themselves with students and vice versa.
She said ASUNM must build on that relationship by going out and letting students know more about the governing body, as well as how they can help with whatever the student body may need. “It’s all on us now to go and actually show them how they can utilize us as a resource,” she said. The first edition of the e-magazine features a variety of content,
including a schedule of ASUNM senate and committee meetings, which are open for students to attend, as well as information on UNM Day during the legislative session in Santa Fe. Also in the e-magazine is an article suggesting ways students can be more involved at UNM,
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ASUNM page 2