President Paxson, I am writing to you on behalf of young alums. I am not speaking for all young alums, but for the many recent graduates from the classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014 whom I know well and speak to frequently. We are angry. We take the issue of campus sexual assault seriously. Lena Sclove’s ’16 case last spring brought to light a highly dysfunctional university bureaucracy that gives perpetrators who are found guilty of sexual assault dangerously limited repercussions for their crimes. Women’s safety on Brown’s campus is not improving.
On my first day of pre-orientation at Brown, I was warned about sexual assault on campus. A sophomore advised me to avoid Phi Kappa Psi parties because “they’re known for roofie-ing girls’ drinks.” Several of my friends from the class of 2013 were given the same advice by other Brown women. In a recent Herald article, a current Brown senior stated that, as first-years, her friends were also informed of which fraternities on campus use date-rape drugs. Six weeks ago, two female Brown students reported that they had been roofied at a Phi Psi party. One of those students tested positive for GHB, a common date-rape drug, and a test for the other student is still pending. One of these two students reported that she was sexually assaulted on the same night. Five years have passed, and yet women remain unsafe in the same campus spaces as when I began my time at Brown.
Has nothing changed since 1990, when Brown women had to write the names of known rapists on bathroom stalls to protect one another? It is outrageous that women must pass on knowledge by word of mouth in order to know where they can safely have a drink on campus without fear of being roofied and sexually assaulted. Beyond that, it is completely unacceptable that there are any places on Brown’s campus where women cannot safely have a drink.
Last month, I attended a Brown Women’s Leadership Council event, where a panel of successful and influential Brown alums who graduated in the 1970s spoke to an audience predominantly composed of two groups: young alums in their 20s and early 30s and older alums in their 50s and 60s. During the question-and-answer session, a young alumna asked the panelists about their thoughts on the issue of campus sexual assault. One of the first responses to this question was from a panelist who said, “There was no rape at Brown in the ’70s. That just didn’t happen.” Nods of agreement came from other older alums. Older alums cited “alcoholism” and “more women having sexual intercourse in college” as possible causes for sexual assault on campus.
Shockingly, one panelist even stated that the rate of campus sexual assault made her wonder, “Were parietal rules really such a bad thing?” She then explained that parietal rules were residential regulations that existed at Pembroke College to “protect” women — for example, prohibiting men from female dorms after 9 p.m. and mandating that women’s doors be open “a matchbox wide” whenever there was a male visitor in the room.
At a certain point, a member of the WLC stepped in to say that you, President Paxson, are very concerned about the issue of sexual assault and have asked the WLC to advise you on this issue. She concluded by asking the audience to take a moment to acknowledge Brown for not being under federal investigation under Title IX over the University’s handling of sexual assault. As you know, she was incorrect: Brown was added to the list of universities under federal investigation for possible Title IX violations in July.
These comments sparked impassioned responses from young alums in the room and prompted a heated discussion. Many older alums seemed completely uninformed about the critical nature of the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. Even some members of the WLC seemed uninformed about sexual assault occurring on our campus. Considering that more than 50 of the 59 members of the Women’s Leadership Council graduated from Brown more than 20 years ago and no members graduated within the last 10, it is not surprising that some of them are disconnected from the reality of women’s lives on our campus today. These prominent alumni voices do not speak for all of us. Young alums feel differently about this issue than many alums who graduated decades ago, and our voices should be heard as well.
There is far too much at stake to allow people who may be uninformed about sexual assault and campus life to advise on how to address sexual assault at Brown. In order for the University not only to fulfill the minimum federal Title IX requirements but also to serve as a leader among American universities in addressing the sexual assault epidemic, you must hear the voices of people who understand the reality of campus life for Brown women today. Those people include current students and young alums, none of whom serve on the WLC. It is true that a few members of the Task Force on Sexual Assault are current students. But in a recent Herald article, a student member of the task force expressed frustration at the limited baseline knowledge held by faculty and staff members who had to be educated on current policy and procedures and student sentiment about sexual assault after being selected to serve on the task force. The student asserted that this ignorance has slowed the task force’s process, which has resulted in the delay of the release of its report by three months until March. Statistically speaking, numerous sexual assaults will occur on our campus during that three-month period and no changes will have been made to our University’s responses to such assaults. Continued inaction on this issue has dire consequences: affecting students’ lives.
President Paxson, I am writing to inform you that young alums are angry and ashamed. We are ashamed that Brown is under federal investigation under Title IX over our university’s handling of sexual assault. We are ashamed that a perpetrator on our campus was found responsible for sexual misconduct and received a one-year suspension in Sclove’s case. We are ashamed that two women were apparently roofied at a fraternity party on our campus just six weeks ago and one reported being sexually assaulted. We believe that Brown is better than this.
Brown can be a leader in addressing sexual assault among universities in this country. We expect no more delays to the task force’s report. We expect that the University will take the maximum steps possible in response to the task force’s recommendations not just the minimum necessary to meet federal requirements. We expect that all of the people informing your decisions and advising you on this issue understand the reality of sexual assault on campus today and include experts in the field.
There is too much at stake for inaction or uninformed action. Act swiftly and appropriately. Hear our voices, and take immediate steps to address this issue.
Jessie Papalia ’13 is a teacher in Washington, D.C., and can be contacted at
jessica_papalia@alumni.brown.edu.
Due to an editing error, a previous version of this byline misstated Papalia’s email address. It is jessica_papalia@alumni.brown.edu, not jessica_papalia@alums.brown.edu. The Herald regrets the error.
