I have often recommended Skidmore as a great school and many friends and family members are graduates. I love the city of Saratoga Springs and think it makes a great backdrop to the college experience. While extolling the virtues of the school, it can be easy to overlook what goes on behind the curtain. Sometimes, though, we need to shed light back there and unfortunately, this is one of those times.
Yes, we all know assaults occur on campus. To think otherwise is naive. I just take issue with administrators who are tone deaf and are more concerned with optics than the well-being of students. I am sharing these articles so future applicants can be informed.
The first article presents the issue as: How to balance due process rights with campus safety.
The second article written by a Skidmore student lacked facts. It was composed of the writer’s subjective thoughts, impressions, and emotions. There were no specific allegations and there were no facts presented in the writing. Nevertheless, it is clear that there is something in need of immediate attention regarding the handling of sexual assault claims.
I also wondered about any students named as perpetrators by anonymous posters on a website. What if any of those individuals were innocent of the allegations ?
My heart goes out to any victim of sexual assault. It appears that the better approach at this time might be to report any such alleged crime to the local police so that a proper investigation may be done. Also, the school administrators should report any such non-anonymous allegations to the local police for further investigation.
Both victims and the accused have rights which must be protected. Ignoring claims of sexual assault is wrong as is inaction after such an allegation has been made, but it is also wrong to name-names anonymously in a public forum prior to any proper investigation.