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SEE SPORTS, PAGE 26
Volume #98 | Issue #22 | April 28, 2014 | depauliaonline.com
Sexual assault awareness Banners upset student athletes By Grant Myatt News Editor
Several DePaul student athletes feel misrepresented and that the whole department’s reputation is tarnished following the sexual assault awareness banners hung on campus last week calling out the athletic department. The DePaulia spoke to four student athletes who asked to remain anonymous and will be identified as Student Athlete One, Two, Three and Four for clarity. “I just think it’s an overgeneralization, it paints everybody in a bad light when that’s not the case at all,” Student Athlete Two said. “By spreading it to all of these people I feel victimized by it … I’m supposedly in this department that is perpetuating rape culture when that’s not the case at all.” “You can promote that rape culture is bad and try to stop rape, but don’t talk about the athletic department,” Student Athlete Three said. “The whole society is promoting rape culture, you need to address that, not just address one part, one athletic part.” The two banners hung by an anonymous group, called DePaul Exposed, were up for about 20 minutes before they were removed by DePaul Public Safety because they violated policy, Public Safety Director Bob
See ATHLETES, page 5
When ‘no’ is not enough Students question DePaul’s sexual assault policies
GRANT MYATT | THE DEPAULIA
A student holds a sign at DePaul’s Take Back the Night rally that reads “No Special Treatment” with a basketball in place of the “o.”
By Courtney Jacquin & Grant Myatt Managing Editor & News Editor
As Sexual Assault Awareness month comes to an end, the discussion about sexual assault on DePaul’s campus is just beginning. After Wednesday’s banner drop in Arts and Letters Hall and Thursday’s Take Back the Night rally, many students are asking for more answers about the university’s
policies on handling sexual assaults. SGA hosted a panel Thursday night addressing many of these concerns, and though it was planned prior to the banners being raised the day before, it brought more than 100 students out to question DePaul’s policies. Bob Wachowski, Public Safety director; Rima Shah, sexual health and violence prevention coordinator; and Ellen Herion Fingado, assistant dean of students, spoke on the panel, scarcely answering many of
the students’ questions. Even though the panel was extended 15 minutes, it ended abruptly when someone from the audience asked a question about about the athletic department, which was called out on one of the banners that read “DPU Athletics, we know what you did #RapeCulture #YouCantHide.” “I kept quiet about it for a few months... until I saw the banners in Arts and
By Erin Yarnall
contribute to a diverse discussion on these issues,” sophomore Laura Springman, another organizer of Take Back the Night, added. After the planned speakers, the crowd gathered outside of the Student Center and passed around the megaphone to let others speak on issues related to sexual abuse. A rape survivor at DePaul University spoke about her experience, and discussed her anger at the banners placed in Arts and Letters April 23, blaming the athletics department for not taking accountability for sexual assault. “I chose to speak because I was mad at the signs,” the survivor said. “People like to make big claims, but they don’t understand what actually happened.” Although much of the focus at the event was on how DePaul does not address rape culture or take accountability, the survivor was happy with how DePaul dealt
See POLICY, page 5
Students rally to end rape culture on campus Contributing Writer
GRANT MYATT | THE DEPAULIA
Junior Rhone Talsma and sophomore Laura Springman lead a group of DePaul students around the Lincoln Park Campus for the annual Take Back The Night rally Thursday, April 24.
The annual Take Back the Night event occurred April 24 at the Student Center, with students calling to raise awareness and talk about sexual assault policies. “We want to use it as a way to raise awareness,” junior Sam Lowy, an organizer of the event, said. “We also want people to get together to talk about change.” The event began with a student-led rally at the James Egan statue outside of the Student Center, where numerous speakers discussed accountability on the behalf of DePaul, ending rape culture, domestic violence and transforming anger into change, among other issues, to a large group consisting of both students and staff members. “We chose the speakers based on who we knew and liked, and who would have something smart to say,” Lowy said. “We also chose speakers who would
See TBTN, page 9