@Much2learn I don’t agree that we should only look at convictions, but I’ll just point out that the data in this thread is not responsive to @fredthered’s question. The data consists of reported crimes in the Clery geography for the school. There is no way to tell whether the reported crime involved a Stanford student in any way or whether the reporting of the crime eventually led to a conviction. Given Stanford’s graduation rates for its athletes though, I would have to assume that rape (or other) convictions are extremely rare among that population. https://parents.stanford.edu/2015/11/09/stanford-athletics-registers-high-graduation-rates/
“I know that many members of the Stanford community are taking this issue seriously, but I have the impression that the Stanford President has, thus far, been very unresponsive and seems to want to avoid addressing the issue. Why do you think that is?”
Also, with a new President coming in, you would think that Stanford would want to proactively address the issue, take proactive steps to fix it, and get this behind them. Why would you want to leave this steaming pile for the new guy to deal with?
I’ve tried to find the data I am interested in on the earlier posts but to an avail. Since this data is the foundation of your understandable concerns, perhaps you could link to it for me and others.
Thanks.
@Much2learn - I am trying to understand what you are asking. What is it that you are looking for Stanford to do? I am not being snarky - I am just unclear.
I am fairly sure that Stanford takes proactive steps through orientation and required training sessions for students about the issue of consent. Are you saying that they need to do more? What would you suggest be done by Stanford to be more proactive?
I don’t know that this issue is any more “fixable” than preventing any other types of crimes.
ETA: here is a link that contains info about what was required during the autumn of Brock Turner’s freshman year
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/september/sexual-assault-prevention-091814.html
Rapes by University 2014
Brown: 43
U-Conn.: 43
Dartmouth College: 42
Wesleyan University: 37
University of Virginia: 35
Harvard: 33
University of North Carolina at Charlotte: 32
Rutgers-New Brunswick: 32
University of Vermont: 27
Stanford: 26
what is Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth doing about rapes? The ivy league leads the nation in rapes… what are they doing???
I have the impression that the Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth Presidents have, thus far, been very unresponsive and seems to want to avoid addressing the issue. Why do you think that is?
Rapes by University 2014
Brown: 43
U-Conn.: 43
Dartmouth College: 42
Wesleyan University: 37
University of Virginia: 35
Harvard: 33
University of North Carolina at Charlotte: 32
Rutgers-New Brunswick: 32
University of Vermont: 27
Stanford: 26
what is Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth doing about rapes? The ivy league leads the nation in rapes… what are they doing???
I have the impression that the Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth Presidents have, thus far, been very unresponsive and seems to want to avoid addressing the issue. Why do you think that is?
You should read the fine points.
Rape is a very serious crime. You take your “data” from the Post which just takes it from the federal government. No chance to do any independent investigation given the reporting deadlines. Plus you want to make a splash. What the heck. Who cares about facts.
What does the government say about the data the Post–and you–use: “The crime data reported by the institutions have not been subjected to independent verification by the U.S. Department of Education. Therefore, the Department cannot vouch for the accuracy of the data reported here.”
Great. I heard that the world is flat, so that is what I report. I’m not saying it is true, just that someone told me it is. Let’s all assume it is true.
The government says (and you, of course) says that there were 26 rapes at Stanford. As a member of the Stanford community, if true this would be very upsetting.
But where does the figure of 26 come from? It is all over the internet. I guess some people believe it. It may even be true.
Where is the evidence? Rape is a very serious felony. Rape convictions are public record as are all felonies. This is as it should be so that citizens can separate fact from fiction. Maybe you can separate fact from fiction–if you care.
sbballer: you have posted a lot. Please list the people who were convicted of rape while a student at Stanford. That act has been confirmed by a court and constitutes rape. There is a reason we have criminal laws in this country. A survey is not rape and the Washington Post does not determine if there has been a rape. I understand that not all crimes lead to convictions. But a place to start is with the convictions for rape involving Stanford students.
I remain open to facts, not speculation. I think many of us look forward to your listings of Stanford students convicted of rape. Thanks for bringing facts to a subject that is often lacking them.
@Hoggirl “I am fairly sure that Stanford takes proactive steps through orientation and required training sessions for students about the issue of consent. Are you saying that they need to do more? What would you suggest be done by Stanford to be more proactive?”
I suspect that Stanford needs to do more, as do almost all other schools. All I am looking for the Stanford President to address the issue openly and honestly. It is clear that Stanford women are saying that there is a problem. (http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/10/01/one-third-of-stanford-women-experience-sexual-misconduct-survey-finds). Additionally, in the Turner case, Brock Turner apparently blamed the Stanford culture for his actions during the trial. There were also reports that the women’s swim team were discouraged by administrators from contacting the district attorney in the Turner case, and now it is being reported that Stanford has more sexual violence investigations in process than any other school (see the OP). Still, at commencement, all that Stanford President John Hennessy could say about all of this was to call for a moment of silence to honor survivors of sexual violence. Why?
If Stanford’s programs to prevent/stop sexual misconduct are best-in-class, then why not say so? If Stanford encourages athletes to report what they know to authorities, why not say so? Why not show leadership on this issue and assure everyone that while Stanford has taken many steps to address sexual assault, he now believes that additional measures are warranted based on the feedback of students, and that he will make additional improvements a top priority?
Stanford has a chance to be a leader and proactively address an important issue. Instead they seem to be taking the ostrich approach. That is very disappointing. Especially when they are one of the only top universities to never have had a female president.
Notice that no one responded to my earlier questions. Instead posters have posted some of the saddest rationalizations I have ever seen, apparently to defend/justify why Stanford’s President continues to be unresponsive.
The post below by @sbballer is honestly the saddest posts I have ever seen on cc: Apparently suggesting that large numbers of rapes and sexual misconduct on campus don’t need to be addressed, as long as some other school has more rapes. I sincerely hope that is not the attitude of many at Stanford. I do not believe that it is.
"Rapes by University 2014
Brown: 43
U-Conn.: 43
Dartmouth College: 42
Wesleyan University: 37
University of Virginia: 35
Harvard: 33
University of North Carolina at Charlotte: 32
Rutgers-New Brunswick: 32
University of Vermont: 27
Stanford: 26
what is Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth doing about rapes? The ivy league leads the nation in rapes… what are they doing???
I have the impression that the Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth Presidents have, thus far, been very unresponsive and seems to want to avoid addressing the issue. Why do you think that is?’
rape is a problem on all university campuses… fact is the ivy league has the most rapes of any conference… all university presidents need to do more. all campuses need to do more period.
the point of the post is to show that you can say this about any campus… any university… any university president.
so I’ll say it again… using your own words…
I have the impression that the Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth Presidents have (all have very high rape statistics), thus far, been very unresponsive and seems to want to avoid addressing the issue. Why do you think that is?’
what are other colleges particularly Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth doing about rape on campus??? I don’t see any college president addressing it in the manner you suggest. why don’t you point out a university that is addressing it and doing it right?
this thread makes me scared to apply to go to Stanford…
it has been my dream school for ages, but now i’m really having second thoughts… (sorry for the double post)
@sbballer said:
In response to Brown student protests, Brown faculty, administration, students and outside consultants developed a task force to investigate the problems of campus sexual assault and have since issued a report with about dozen or so recommendations that were immediately implemented at Brown. If you’re really interested, links to the the report can be found here:
https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/president/sexual-assault-prevention-and-response-0
@Chanze3: after all these, do you think that Stanford should be the safest school now?
This is what Harvard is currently doing about this issue
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/6/college-sanctions-clubs-greeklife/
Stanfords position is completely different. I will let others comment on which one is right and whether these organizations are part of the problem
https://undergrad.stanford.edu/advising/student-guides/fraternity-and-sorority-life
Actually, it is not at all clear that Harvard will do what the president wants. The faculty (not to mention the students–not to mention the female students) seems to be in rebellion and arguably they have the last say.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/26/faculty-motion-oppose-sanctions/
I will again ask the question i have asked several times above: could someone, anyone, give me a list of the Stanford students (undergrads or grads) who have been convicted of rape over the last five years. Such information is public.
@fredthered if you want information on who was convicted of rape or sexual assault or assault you can go to the San Mateo courthouse and the Santa Clara county courthouse and go through all the criminal records. I don’t know if you can verify that those individuals were students anywhere. Educational information to my understanding is privileged. You could also make public records requests to the appropriate District Attorneys. While lots of information may be public I don’t know if anyone has compiled it. Is the point an attempt to discredit the women who made the rape reports ? Or to use the blame the victim defense?
In other words, you do not know of any cases. The point is to base a discussion on facts, not on emotional speculation.
@Chanze3 “this thread makes me scared to apply to go to Stanford…”
@ewho “@Chanze3: after all these, do you think that Stanford should be the safest school now?”
If I were you, I would still apply to Stanford. It is a great school, and definitely worth considering.
However, when you visit the campus, I would be sure to ask specific questions about campus safety and what they have done to enhance student safety on campus in light of the recent student survey and in response to the protests on campus. It is good to ask questions about campus safety at other schools too.
It is important to keep in mind that it is difficult to tell which schools have the biggest issues with sexual assault because some schools are more transparent and honest in reporting what is happening on campus. I suspect that many of the schools that are low on the list may not be safer, but are not reporting all of the incidents they are aware of or may have different standard for what is included in their reports.
When you visit campuses, ask about what is done to ensure student safety and prevent sexual assault on campus. If a school fails to provide a thorough response, downplays the importance of your question, or can only say that a few other schools are even worse than they are, or tries to divert the discussion to discuss what other schools do, I would drop the school from your list.
To me, positive signs of a safe campus include taking questions about safety and sexual assault seriously, a strong presence of police and security staff on campus 24/7, security cameras and emergency phones throughout campus, a sense that greek organizations believe that are expected to comply with school rules and violations will be dealt with firmly, and providing all students with education about sexual assault.
I hope that by the time you visit, Stanford admissions will be prepared to provide a clear, detailed answer to address applicants concerns about safety and sexual assault.
There are reports by actual victims filed with the different schools. Those are facts. If you want additional facts you may have to go do the research yourself. Nice try at attempting to discredit the victims of rape who report the crimes. That defense went by the wayside many many years ago
I have said nothing about victims. I am just asking for evidence that has been confirmed by someone. Your emotional response is discouraging on many levels. At least you have (kind of) admitted that you don’t have solid facts to support your argument. Your argument may be correct or it may be wrong. Some one some day will collect the facts. It surely won’t be you.