Earlier this week, a Nashville jury found two former Vanderbilt students guilty of a vicious attack against a fellow student. The victim showed exceptional courage and strength in pursuing justice through the criminal trial. At this time, we are called upon again to consider as a community how we can ensure that what happened to the survivor of this terrible crime never happens again.
The heinous conduct described at trial was not the product of Vanderbilt’s culture. On the contrary, such conduct is the very opposite of the values Vanderbilt stands for and our students hold dear. We abhor sexual misconduct, and we subject every student to the same standards.
Yet we must acknowledge that sexual assaults occur on college campuses across the country, and that Vanderbilt is no exception. But Vanderbilt can make a difference, and we must make a difference, because the consequences of sexual violence - shattered dreams and shattered lives - are intolerable.
As your Chancellor, I am personally committed to ending sexual misconduct at Vanderbilt, giving victims the support and assistance they need and sanctioning those found responsible. To end sexual misconduct at Vanderbilt we must all commit ourselves every day to our values, including respecting and caring for one another and holding accountable those who violate our standards. The university has taken numerous concrete steps to address sexual misconduct, including updating the university’s policy against Sexual Misconduct and Other Forms of Power-Based Personal Violence; requiring all incoming students to complete PETSA and Alcohol.Edu training; making sure students and responsible employees know how and to whom to report sexual misconduct incidents; encouraging all members of our community to participate in the Green Dot bystander intervention program; opening a new Project Safe Center; and adding to our staff of prevention educators and victim resource specialists. We will administer a new campus climate survey this spring. And we will continue our comprehensive ongoing efforts to raise awareness of the importance of every student intervening when another student is at risk or in distress.
We can all commit to this never happening again but ending sexual misconduct requires more. It requires commitment to our core principles which demand that sexual harassment and sexual assault will never be ignored or downplayed or get lost in a bureaucracy. We must individually and collectively create a culture of transparency, support and cooperation.
The university’s response to this tragic incident demonstrates our commitment to these principles. When the university reviewed surveillance video that raised suspicions about the actions of certain students, we immediately commenced an investigation and promptly reported our concerns to the Nashville police. We have worked closely with the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office ever since. Not for a second did anyone consider sweeping the incident under the rug or according special treatment to our student-athletes. Indeed, if not for actions taken by Vanderbilt, the incident may never have been discovered and the defendants never prosecuted.
I will not be satisfied until campus sexual assaults are a thing of the past. And I want Vanderbilt to be at the forefront of that effort. I have therefore authorized Project Safe to augment its educational and prevention programs and victim support. Please visit the Project Safe Center or click on the Project Safe website to learn more. I encourage every member of the Vanderbilt community to get involved with Green Dot at Vanderbilt. Attend an upcoming Green Dot training session, the next of which is February 20, or click on the Green Dot website to request information about bystander intervention. Make a personal commitment to stand up, not stand by, when you or another member of our community is at risk.
We come to Vanderbilt to be part of a community of exceptional individuals who learn from, support and take care of one another. We must never forget this. I am deeply troubled that some students who knew or should have known about the incident that led to this week’s convictions failed to take any positive action. This is not the culture at Vanderbilt and it must never be repeated.
I urge anyone who has been a victim of sexual misconduct, or who knows a victim, to contact the Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action & Disability Services department , whose director, Anita Jenious, is Vanderbilt’s Title IX coordinator. EAD investigates sexual misconduct reports, coordinates interim services for students who need them and determines responsibility for violations of the university’s Sexual Misconduct policy. Whether the incident occurred yesterday, last week or last year, let EAD know so it can take action.
Above all, I ask each and every student to contribute the best of yourselves to our Vanderbilt community. Vanderbilt must and will play a leadership role in ending sexual misconduct. But it is only by coming together as a community that we can effect the deep and lasting change Othat this moment demands.
Sincerely,
Nicholas S. Zeppos
Chancellor"
@kelsmom yes - I agree. The terrible acts of a few people can certainly cast a pernicious light on an entire university. Although the negative press generated by this horrible ordeal will probably hurt Vanderbilt in the short term, I feel that the school is committed to making changes to reduce the likelihood that it will happen again.
As a parent, I think it is also important to tell your children (especially sons) what is and is not okay before they leave for college.
I don’t think it will hurt Vandy because they took action correctly. They notified police, expelled the students and banned them from campus before they had their day in court. They even kicked them off the football team. Many other U’s would have not called police, not filed it as an assault because the victim did not recall the event, called a group of students to review the incident, kept the students on campus and on the football team.
Zeppos has made a good start, but it will be meaningless unless schools like VU address this basic question:
What are their values and priorities that allow them to scrape such “students” off the very bottom of the academic and character barrel just because they can toss a football???
What is the larger culpability of these elite schools when they allow practically illiterate and sometimes unteachable “students” of an essentially criminal character to be on campus, live in co-ed dorms, and have ready access to their victims??? Is there not some fraud implicit in this phenomenon, because this clearly puts kids at risk who in their personal lives have always avoided exposure to such dangers, and whose parents have done their best to protect their kids from the very elements who now rub shoulders with their kids thanks to the policies of schools like VU?
No one can predict behaviour with complete accuracy, but do these schools not willfully turn a blind eye to sure signs of danger that are statistically associated with these sort of “students”…just to benefit their athletic programs???
It is not VU alone, but all elite schools share this guilt.
The parents of this girl should consult a lawyer as to VU’s part in this matter.
It sounds great that VU “handled” it well…AFTER the fact!!!
WHY did the event occur??? HOW and WHY were these illiterate goons even on campus to begin with???
Do you have some information about these guys that Vandy should have known? How do you know these guys were “practically illiterate nd sometimes unteachable “students” of an essentially criminal character”? I’m curious.
Read the post again. It refers to a general category of students, not just at VU but at many other similar schools. And yes, amongst this general category, there are some unteachable “students” with no interest in academics. If you are indeed curious, there is abundant evidence to this effect. Res ipsa loquitur. But you are welcome do your own view, of course.
oliver- That post shows some real lack of facts and ignorance.
Corey Batey attended one of the top prep schools in Nashville on scholarship. He was a good citizen and very well liked and respected. He wasn’t the top student, but he was in good standing and graduated. The local community here was beyond shocked at his involvement in this matter. I don’t know how Vanderbilt coaches or admissions could have known this would happen.
Vandenburg had some red flags, in my opinion, but I’m sure he had good references from his junior college and had committed to the Vanderbilt coaches and admission staff to follow rules. Again- no one could have envisioned this situation.
Vanderbilt is not interested in having “unteachable students with no interest in academics” on the campus. I have enough contact with coaches and admissions folks to know this for a fact. In recruiting for Vandy, the strength of the academics and the degree is used as a big selling point, and many desirable athletes don’t make the cut for Vandy because of the academic standards. Are the standards for the athletes in the top sports somewhat lower than for an unhooked applicant? Yes. But there are many, many athletes who make honor roll and make good use of the academic opportunities. One of the basketball players who would have been a senior this year managed to graduate in 3 years with top grades and is now in graduate school at Vanderbilt while he plays his final year of eligibility.
I’m not sure who exactly @oliver007 is referring to but I read somewhere that Batey attended Ensworth in Nashville for at least high school, not sure if for elementary school too. Ensworth is an elite private school in Nashville so I wouldn’t think he could be categorized as an unteachable illiterate.
I believe when something horrible like this happens, we tend to always blame alcohol and sororities/fraternities but how about the sports culture in our society? Is this to blame? Do we not idolize these top players and hold them less accountable for their actions, even in high schools? Are excuses and cover ups not used in their favor to keep them on the playing fields? Do the parents of some of these players also overlook unfavorable behavior as long as they are playing well? I have seen it going on for years in our local high school. A top athlete gets caught doing something that a regular student would be severely punished for but the athlete is slapped on the wrist or given a punishment that won’t interfere with playing time. Are we teaching these kids, from an early age, that nothing sticks to them? IMO this is the conversation we need to have and not hide it behind the alcohol and sororities/fraternites.
First off, before I respond I want to state that I am not knocking Vanderbilt in this post…as I believe the problem goes well beyond Vanderbilt and probably one faced at many colleges with fairly well-known athletic programs.
I realize that the post from @oliver007 might startle some folks, but there are studies that reveal the incidence of college sexual assaults perpetrated by male student athletes is unusually high --1 in 3 are committed by male student athletes even though they generally make up a much smaller percentage of the actual college population. This number is even higher when you factor in assaults that involved 2+ perpetrators.) Coupled with this is a Sports Illustrated study/survey/article that found that of the top 25 football programs (note: Vandy was not in this study), that 7% of the athletes recruited had criminal backgrounds, yet only 2 schools in the top 25 did background checks.
For anyone that is agonizing over your (non recruited athlete) child’s ability to be admitted to an elite school…do you think for one moment your child would be admitted if they answered “yes” to the criminal history question on the Common App?
Yes, there are many, many fine student athletes. But what troubles me about this situation is not only the 4 students that were just charged (there are 2 others awaiting trial), but that there more athletes who were aware of the situation and/or helped with the cover-up.
The others who were aware of the situation and helped with the cover up have been charged. Chris Boyd was charged, and found guilty of a misdemeanor and was kicked off the team at a crucial NFL recruiting time for him. He had been a leader on the team and a model student. Very, very poor judgment in this situation.
Eddie George’s (former NFL player and local leader in our community) son just today committed to Vanderbilt for football. He does not live here in town and is a 4.0 honor roll student. Vanderbilt does check criminal records, by the way, but many of these players, if they have gotten into trouble, have sealed or expunged records.
Is attendance by one of these men at an elite prep school exculpatory? Might not he have gotten into that school for the same flawed reasons that VU admitted him? (Tossing a football better than other kids).
I expressed an observation. Some will agree, others will not. That is OK. I realize that we live in a society where increasingly things are merely “different”…not bad or reprehensible…and every conceivable deviation will have some vocal apologists and defenders. I understand that too.
The sad thing is that many of these athletes, even from elite colleges, have woeful future lives, despite the opportunities they had. In many ways colleges are also letting them down by admitting them and merely pushing them along to a diploma, without insisting on criteria for a real education. Not in all cases, of course.
Obviously, it isn’t exculpatory at all in this case! While being a star athlete certainly helped Batey get in/stay in Ensworth, he still had to do the academic work. He wasn’t a top student there by any means- but he behaved and he graduated legitimately and got into Vanderbilt, which as I have said, does require the athletes to meet some pretty tough academic standards.
Many of these athletes, just like the rest of the student population, go on to have successful experiences in graduate school and successful careers. Some college grads have “woeful future lives” and some are personally and professionally successful. Most do not go on to a career in professional sports.
Momofwild…read the original post again and see the context for my comment regarding …“practically illiterate and unteachable”…I do not know any of these men as individuals…I do know the larger context of how athletes are sometimes admitted without due regard for their suitability for membership in a student body like VU’s and other elite schools. Professional football players are recruited from such college players…I read somewhere that by age 40 about 40% are either dead, broke, or in prison. That differs a wee bit from the rest of the students who attend such school, I think. From a behavioural perspective, it is not unreasonable to think that such a cohort may have a propensity for deviant behaviour while in college also. I do recognize that there are many fine athletes, both as students and individuals.
I have met the basketball player who finished in 3 years, and also know that he has a fine career in finance lined up. Interpretation of opinions in the intended context is important. Familiarity with statistical reasoning also helps.
And I have met non-athletes who have a propensity for deviant behavior while in college. One such student threatened our financial aid staff, and an athlete - now a very accomplished player in the NFL - was one of the police cadets who guarded our office following those threats. Another student’s behavior was so disturbing that he was banned from campus. It is not just athletes.
^can’t agree with Kelsmom’s sentiment enough. There’s a lot of generalizing going on here, and I think that while some of it may be based in facts, the majority is not. Athletes and non-athletes are equally capable of horrible things and amazing philanthropy.
Student athletes do get some leeway that I don’t think they should, as I student I can see it all the time. But that’s a problem with the glorification of athletes in our society, not a problem limited to any institutions. NFL players are payed more than the educators of my future children, or the doctors who would treat me if I was sick. We live in a culture that still pays more for brawn than brain, so I think it’s unreasonable to ask universities to do otherwise.