On-Campus Rapes Cause Controversy Between Students and Administration

During the 2014 Fall Semester at Bridgewater State University, the student body was uninformed about two on-campus rapes because the police determined that there was no immediate threat, leaving students to find out only through news and media and causing distrust between students and officials.

“It was late afternoon when I got the email from the Presidents Office,” freshman Ilenny Nunez said, “but that was not the first I had heard of the incident.” She reported that she first heard about the sexual assaults from her aunt, who called her two nights before to ask if she knew what was going on.

Another student, Josh Rosa, said that he was “shocked that he heard the news from the television before hearing anything from school.” He expressed the importance of informing the entire campus of events like this, even if they are believed to be taken care of. “We deserve to know what’s going on, especially if we live here.”

Bridgewater police and administration felt slightly differently about the situation.  The police reported that there was “no longer an immediate threat” and felt no need to notify residents promptly. This caused controversy and a large disconnect between students and officials because, as reported by students, it felt as though they were trying to “cover it up” instead of addressing the situations.

Administration is aware, however, that according the the Clery Act, they are required to “disseminate information about certain crimes occurring on and near their respective campuses, including timely warnings of crimes that may represent a ‘serious or continuing threat’ to the safety of students and employees,” which was revealed in an email sent to students and faculty two weeks after the incidents had occurred.

Although things started off rough, students have reported that administration has gotten better at communicating. According to Jassmine Munoz-Torres, the police department and administration sent out an email quickly after a student was sexually harassed on November 8th, 2014. “Although it doesn’t seem like a lot, it matters to me,” she said. “I actually feel safer knowing what’s going on around campus, even if it’s hearing about the bad things. And I’d rather hear it from campus police than Fox25, that way I know they’re doing something to handle it.”

Students have expressed their concern with the timing of these messages getting out, and it seems that administration is responding openly and quickly, and hopefully this cooperation will continue.