FINALS EDITION
THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY May 4, 2017
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 146 Issue 61
IGNORED
SEXUAL ASSAULT
Officials neglect to report crimes
2017 reports at all-time high Year
Sex crimes reported
Sex crimes reported in Clery Act
2017
115
Report not released yet
3
2016
89
Report not released yet
9
2015
54
16
4
2014
41
41
1
2013
65
21
0
2012
25
11
0
2011
29
12
0
2010
5
12
6
BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
On Sept. 26, 2016, a female University of Illinois student reported to a University employee that she had been the victim of a sexual offense two nights earlier. On that Friday night, she went to Brother’s Bar & Grill, and the next thing she remembered was waking up in her apartment realizing several of her possessions were stolen, including her laptop. She also remembered that she had been assaulted. But a report filed by the employee to the Title IX office on Sept. 26 didn’t make it to the University police department until Dec. 9. Another student reported to a University employee that she had been sexually assaulted at a fraternity house, after drinking heavily at a campus bar and being promised a safe place to sleep. The employee filed a report on Oct. 9, but the report did not reach University Police until Dec. 9. On Oct. 13, 2016, a female student reported to a University employee that the previous weekend she attended a concert, and an unknown audience member behind her made unwanted contact with her. By the time she turned around with pepper spray, the alleged offender ran away. Again, the employee’s report filed immediately with the Title IX office was not forwarded for almost two months. University officials neglected to forward student reports of sex offenses to University police for months, despite the requirement that all sex crimes be reported immediately, according to a CU-CitizenAccess and The Daily Illini analysis and interviews with the police department. In fact, on Dec. 9, 2016, 15 of the year’s 89 alleged sex-
Massmails
Massmails few, far between sex crimes BY MEGAN JONES STAFF WRITER
For three years, the University of Illinois police department failed to send out mass email alerts on sex-related crimes, despite requirements to do so by the U.S. Department of Education, according to a CU-CitizenAccess and The Daily Illini analysis. University police acknowledged in recent interviews that the mass emails, known as “massmails,” did not go out to the campus students, faculty and staff from 2011 to 2013. The department did not view acquaintance sexual assault as an ongoing threat, said Jennifer Payan, compliance coordinator for the University police department. Since then, the police conferred with other universities and found other campuses were sending out alerts when there were allegations of acquaintance sexual assault. Campus police also found that other institutions had been fined by the Department of Education for not sending out such alerts, said Tony Brown,
deputy chief of the University police department. In 2013, 48 sex-related crimes were reported, but no mass emails were sent. In 2011 and 2012, there were 29 and 26 sex-related crimes reported, but no mass emails sent. Police send out alerts if they believe the crime is an ongoing threat, if it’s within the geographical area defined by the Clery Act and if the assault was reported in the last seven days. The geographical area consists of University buildings and buildings of official organizations recognized by the university, such as a fraternity house. The federal act requires detailed reporting on crime on college campuses across the country, including a daily crime log, of which the latest 60 days must be made public. Since 2014, University police have sent out 17 alerts on sexrelated crimes out of a total of 299 through April 30. Police said they do not send out alerts on most of the sex-
SEE ALERT | 3A
out of every
SEE DELAY | 3A
crimes reported since 2010 2017 2015 2016
115
89
20
of reports came from security authorities
Cases of sexual misconduct:
INSIDE
Police
2A
August 2016–early April 2017
Is the crime an ongoing threat?
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SEE ANXIETY | 4A
• Delayed police investigations
threat
Is it within Clery-based geography?
Using social media before an exam can be more than just a form of procrastination. Reading supportive comments, messages and “likes” prior to an exam may reduce students’ anxiety levels and improve their performance, according to a new study from the University. Conducted by Robert Deloatch, graduate student in engineering, the study had students in one group post messages on social media asking for encouragement and support for an upcoming exam. Seven minutes before the exam, the students in this group read the positive responses to their request, while the students in another group participated in an expressive-writing exercise, writing about their thoughts and feelings. The control group studied during this time. The study found that only the students who read supportive social media messages had a signifi cant decrease in anxiety levels and an increase on the simulated exam scores. Contrary to previous research, students who participated in an expressive-writing exercise had actually increased anxiety levels. “Our research on this topic started with help from funding from the UIUC Strategic Instructional Innovations Program (SIIP), which funded the development of a computer-based testing facility on campus,” Deloatch said in an email. As a human-computer interaction researcher, Deloatch was interested in how testing in the lab versus traditional paperbased testing affected the students. After an initial investigation into this question, the research team learned of the anxiety students reported and their lack of coping methods. “This prompted our investigation into methods students could use to cope with their anxiety,” Deloatch said.
84%
August 2015–May 2016
Was the crime reported within the last seven days?
STAFF WRITER
• Reduced likelihood that a Campus Safety Notice is sent
Once the crime is reported, police have to quickly evaluate if it should go out in a massmail based off of:
location
BY LEON LI
1 in 3 alleged sex-related crimes are reported within one week, resulting in
sex-related crimes are reported through Campus Safety Notice emails as mandated by the Clery Act.
time
Peer support helps reduce test anxiety during finals
in just four months
Students are reporting to campus security authorities more than the police since 2015.
How is the campus notified?
1
related crimes were reported to the police by Title IX after a reminder email was sent to the Title IX office, campus security authorities and police departments. The dates of the 15 cases ranged from Dec. 6 as far back as Sept. 13. The reminder email, obtained by CUC i t i To read the zenAcfull version of cess and The Daithese stories ly Illini and to access through a Freedom the database of Inforfrom this mation investigation, request, was sent please visit on Nov. dailyillini.com 16, 2016, s a i d with the release of the Department of Education’s findings on Penn State.“It is imperative that you fully understand what an important role you plan on our campus and with our compliance efforts “We contacted them after we got all those, and we said, ‘What are you doing?’” said Jennifer Payan, compliance coordinator for the University police department. The Title IX office is supposed to ensure the University complies with Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination in education on the basis of sex. Staff members are mandated reporters for sex-related crimes. The Women’s Resources Center is another mandated reporter and has also delayed in filing reports on sex-related crimes to University police. After Dec. 9, the Women’s Resources Center sent over 10 additional reports. Alex Howard, records clerk,
423 sex-related
54
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