Speaking Out

“One in five women and one in sixteen men are sexually assaulted while in college, and more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault,” according to the National Sexual Assault Resource Center.

90 percent does seem like a shocking statistic, but it is a reality.

“I think people don’t report assault because they are afraid of the consequences,” said Margaret Kemper (COM ’17). “I think woman often feel both victimized and isolated by reporting assault because of how cases have been handled in the past.”

Detective Lieutenant Peter DiDomenica of the Boston University Police Department explained that in his first four years here, the number of cases reported was low. But there has been a slight increase in the past two years.

“The increase is primarily due to awareness programs that the school provides,” said DiDomenica. “In the last two years we have had an average of eight serious rape cases per academic year.”

Those eight cases are part of the less-thanten-percent of cases reported. The low number of reported rape cases might be due to BU’s multi-step process that the BUPD and victim have to go through when a case is reported, according to DiDomenica.

There is an interview with the victim, as well as any witnesses, and the location is secured so that no one can contaminate any evidence. Any evidence is sent into a lab for testing, and the victim is encouraged to be examined at a hospital by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. Videotapes and swipe records are reviewed, and if a suspect is found they will be interviewed and arrested if there is enough evidence to prove him or her as guilty.

“The process could take several days to several months depending on difficulty in obtaining evidence,” said DiDomenica. “And if the assault did not happen on campus we will help the victim make contact with the Boston Police Department.”

Many students can vouch for the difficult process, or in some instances that their case was shut down after reporting it.

“I have close friends that have faced sexual assault at BU and after confronting the school, the President and Dean of Students dismissed their cases for not having enough evidence, despite rape kits and witness testimony,” said Kemper.

In two cases reported in 2014, two College of Fine Arts students reported they were sexually assaulted by a professor, CFA’s Eric Ruske, and felt that the process they went through was “frustrating and incredibly difficult.”

“I was sexually harassed by Eric Ruske in December 2013,” said Maria Currie (New England Conservatory ’16). “Ruske coached my chamber music ensemble that semester and sat on the panel for my end-of-semester jury, a performance-based evaluation.”

Currie viewed Ruske as a mentor, and reached out to get his feedback on her jury. The two exchanged phone numbers and planned to meet in Ruske’s CFA office.

“During our meeting, Ruske told me that listening to my playing made him feel like, ‘I’m having sex with you, and you’re very beautiful, but you’re just lying there, you’re not doing anything.’ Shocked, I knew I needed to get out of his office, so I thanked him for his time and left,” said Currie. “Ruske continued to text me that afternoon, saying that he hoped Santa brought me ‘nice high heels’ and asking me for ‘pix.’” Currie attempted to make the conversation professional, but with no luck decided to stop responding to the messages.

Sexual assault changes lives and I’m just lucky that I made it through to the other side. Not everyone does.”

The other victim, Erin Shyr (CAS/CFA ’17), shares a similar story, as she was responsible for coordinating rehearsals with Ruske. The initial exchange was purely class related, but quickly turned inappropriate.

“In his emails, he requested pictures and wrote, ‘you are amazing and do have something truly unique. Please don’t be offended by my honesty...as I think you already know, I am rather blunt,’” said Shyr, after she repeatedly tried to reinforce a professional boundary.

Both students felt unprotected by Boston University when they spoke out.

“I never felt supported by BU,” said Currie. She had reported Ruske’s harassment to several administrators, including Sarah Bellott, CFA’s student affairs liaison, but Bellot, whom Currie said was “visibly uncomfortable when I showed her Ruske’s texts,” never provided any assistance other than to say she should have asked him to stop.

Currie decided to speak with a more senior administrator and was eventually contacted by Patricia Mitro, who’s responsible for CFA’s Title IX compliance. Currie met with Mitro and Eleanor Druckman, from BU’s Equal Opportunity Office, where Mitro took notes as Currie described Ruske’s harassment. Mitro responded by saying that “Ruske, a married man with children, might ‘not understand that his actions were inappropriate’ due to his ‘vibrant personality.’” When pressed about disciplinary actions against Ruske they said “his right to privacy prevented them from disclosing BU’s disciplinary actions, an assertion that contradicts BU’s own guidelines on investigating allegations of sexual harassment.” Currie received no follow up information.

“Though it was clear that Ruske had harassed me multiple times, BU still allowed him to grade me as an instructor. I was speechless,” said Currie.

When Currie contacted Mitro about Ruske still being able to grade her, Mitro shockingly said, “Don’t you want an A? In my experience, faculty tends to overcompensate to show that they’re not retaliating in any way.”

“I didn’t want an A,” Currie said. “What I wanted was a fair grade from a professor who didn’t make sexual advances towards me.”

Boston University encourages students to speak up about sexual assault. However, when the 10 percent of students decide to come forward, it is rare that the university takes action against the aggressor. Sexual assault affects many people, yet it doesn’t seem to be taken as seriously as it should be.

“Here’s what sexual assault did to me: It took away my sense of adventure and freedom,” said a BU student who requested anonymity. “It made me fear men smiling at me, even in a completely non-sexual way. I feared leaving the house. I feared becoming intimate with someone again. It made me bitter and sad. It made me depressed. Sexual assault changes lives and I’m just lucky that I made it through to the other side. Not everyone does. It made me turn to vices such as food and alcohol. It made me gain 20 pounds. It took away my sense of self. We need to change this for our future generations.”

BY TONI-ANN MATTERA | PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN BY MADELEINE ARCH