Old Gold&Black “Covers the campus like the magnolias”
VOL 109 NO.83 109,,NO.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 2022 DECEMBER 1,
WA K E F O R E S T ’ S S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1 9 1 6
We have work to do: Campus Climate Survey data released Wake Forest’s Campus Climate Survey names sexual misconduct as major public health concern BREANNA LAWS, CHRISTA DUTTON & CONNOR MCNEELY Staff Writer, News Editor & Editor-in-Chief Fifty-five percent of the total sample gathered by the Campus Climate Survey reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual misconduct. The results of the survey, which was conducted by the social research organization NORC at the University of Chicago in the spring of 2022, were released to students, faculty and staff at forums last week. Undergraduate women and transgender, genderqueer, questioning and non-binary (TGQN) students reported the highest rates of sexual misconduct, with the most common experiences being sexual harassment and unwanted sexual contact. The online survey was designed to provide insight into the prevalence of sexual misconduct at Wake Forest. It was sent to 7,357 undergraduate and graduate students and received a 38% response rate. The executive summary of the Campus Climate
55%
of students reported one incident of sexual misconduct Survey can be found on the Sexual Misconduct Survey webpage. Statistical weighting was used to correct for non-response and to ensure that the results were reflective of the student body demographics. The demographic profile of the survey respondents has not published. The available survey data did not differentiate between students involved in Greek life and those that were not. According to Jackson Buttler, Wake Forest Student Government Speaker of the House, this decision was made because “this is not a Greek vs. non-Greek issue.” He continued: “Sexual violence touches every single student on this campus in some way, shape or form so differentiating between these groups would likely not provide much additional information and may serve as a means to unintentionally other or devalue the experiences of students who
may not fall into one group or another.” In the survey, sexual misconduct was defined as being one of four incidents: sexual harassment, stalking, unwanted sexual contact and intimate partner violence. Findings showed that most sexual misconduct occurs between Wake Forest students in on or off-campus residential locations. The report showed that levels of sexual misconduct at Wake Forest were comparable to other universities, according to a comparison to the Association of American Universities (AAU) Campus Climate Survey — a multi-institution study of sexual misconduct on college campuses — that served as the basis for Wake Forest’s Campus Climate Survey. Dr. Emily Palmieri is a licensed clinical mental health counselor and the director of the Safe Office. Upon seeing the results, she said that she was not surprised as Wake Forest’s numbers were comparable to other universities that have been surveyed. She also noted while the survey received a good response rate, the numbers may actually be higher due to underreporting. “As somebody who works in a confidential role, and in keeping with what we know to be true about interpersonal violence numbers, there’s always going to be some under reporting, simply because a lot of people who have experienced harm may not be inclined to be ready to engage with the material yet,” Palmieri said. “And that was completely on par with what we would have expected as well. I was really grateful that we got the response rate that we did, and I do think it was a good sample size. The information that was gathered was really helpful.” The survey found that undergraduate and graduate women were more likely to have experienced
1/3
of students indicated that their experience created a hostile social, academic or work any incident of sexual misconduct than men. Multiracial women reported the highest rates across all four types of sexual misconduct incidents. TGQN students were not included in the significance testing to examine cross-group differences because of the smaller size of the TGQN sample size. Howev-
er, previous research indicates that TGQN students also experience significantly higher victimization rates compared to men. “I was disheartened to see the extent to which traditionally marginalized groups reported experiencing at least one instance of sexual misconduct at the highest rates in comparison to the rest of the student body,” Buttler said. “This underlines the importance of connecting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging efforts to this work.” Additionally, TGQN students were not separated by graduate and undergraduate classification. According to Vice President for Campus Life Dr. Shea Kidd Brown, this was to preserve confidentiality as this population made up a small percentage of respondents. Sixty-six percent of these respondents
38%
of students participated in the survey reported having experienced at least one incident of sexual misconduct. Data on Campus Resources A majority of students who reported experiencing non-consensual or unwanted sexual contact said that the incident negatively impacted their physical or emotional health in some way. However, a low percentage of students reported having contacted on-campus resources for assistance. The most common reasons why students did not
seek out assistance from these resources were that they were not physically injured and that they per ceived their experiences to be common occurrences. “We have work to do to make sure that all students understand emotional harm is just as concerning and reportable as physical harm,” Aishah Casseus, director of the Title IX office at Wake Forest, said. More students reported never contacting a campus resource than students doing so after instances of non-consensual sexual contact. The students that sought out resources were most likely to reach out to the Safe Office, the University Counseling Center and the Title IX Office.
See Campus Climate, Page 3
What's Inside NEWS President Wente delivers... Page Four
ENVIRONMENT Tohi Talk Asks: Should we go to Hawaii? ... Page Five
FEATURES Unmasking the Deacon: Caleb Strickler Page Six
OPINION "I Do Not Feel Safe" A deep dive into... Page Eight
SPORTS Deacon Sportlight: Alex Wood Page Thirteen
LIFE How George Saunders breaks your heart Page Fifteen