University faces sexual assaults on campus

Written by Nicole Montero and Camila Fernandez/FIUSM Staff

With several buttgrabbing incidents and an alleged rape from an FIU football player, the University continues to push for an end to sexual assault.

“Last year, FIU embarked on the It’s On Us campaign that focuses on changing campus cultures around the issues of sexual assault and sexual violence,” said Cathy Akens, dean of students at the division of student affairs.

“[We want to] encourage students to all share the responsibility for changing the culture and that happens as a result of people becoming educated,” Akens said.

In April, the alleged rape victim and a female friend met with a football player at an on‐campus cafe and then followed him to a dorm, where she was raped, according to 7News. The victim was a 19‐year‐old freshman.

“[This is] a nightmare that I’m still living in and I’m still going through,” she told 7News. “I’m still in shock that it happened to me.”

About four rapes have occurred on campus since January, according to Alexander Casas, chief of the police department. FIUPD complies with Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program.

The police also work independently from criminal investigation. A special victims unit, one investigator and one victim’s advocate that is a school counselor, works with the victim.

“The last arrest made to a sexual assaulter was two and half years ago,” said Casas. He said a lack of physical evidence means a low number of arrests.

“It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” Casas said.

He also said that any evidence or fact is thoroughly evaluated. The information can be sent to an attorney’s office to then make a possible arrest.

The University’s serial buttgrabber striked again in late June, slapping the buttocks of a female student. Similar reports in the past indicate a man riding on a bicycle as the assaulter, according to FIUPD.

“Right now, [the buttgrabber] is not a threat to the FIU campus,” said Casas. “But it’s a significant concern that I’d want to communicate with the community. Now we have a pattern. It’s happening more often than just a random incident.”

The victim was walking towards the Green Library at 9:25 p.m., according to the case file. The male suspect rode off she sat down in the middle of the Green Library breezeway waiting for police to arrive.

The suspect returned five minutes later and started to blow kisses at her and then rode off to the Chemistry and Physics building.

The female student described him as a white male with dirty blonde hair, thin and with raccoon eyes ‐‐ “as if he had lack of sleep. “Students were told to be careful and to “stay out of poorly lit areas” when walking at night in a statement issued later by FIUPD, which has University female students worried.

“Sexual assaults on college campuses are becoming more and more common,” said Maria Tellano, a junior psychology major. “We need to stand together as one and urge victims to come forward to talk because only talking about it will make it better.”

Claudia Navarro, a senior women’s and gender studies major, agrees with Tellano. She said she was excited when the It’s On Us campaign came to campus, but that the University could do more.

“I don’t see a substantial difference in the attitudes dealing with sexual assault on campus,” said Navarro. Navarro said the statement released by FIUPD is misguided. She said that, while assault can be committed by a stranger, it’s more often done by someone familiar.

“It’s an issue that FIUPD released that statement because it’s 100 percent victim blaming. It’s the idea that rape is preventable by the victim’s own actions, which is false,” she said.

Navarro believes that addressing these issues, as well as addressing rape myths and victim blaming attitudes, are essential for change in a community.

One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college ‐‐ with 90 percent of those assaults never reported, according to a study by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Part of the It’s On Us pledge is “to create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported.” Navarro also believes that, while there was a University‐wide email released, the “booty bandit” incident was not taken seriously.

“This all occurred after the It’s On Us campaign had already had a large presence on campus with banners and flyers galore,” Navarro said.

The NSVRC study says that 30 percent of colleges and universities offer no training on sexual assault for students and staff.

Akens disagrees and said the University has seen more victims seeking services because of the It’s On Us campaign. According to her, students have engaged with the organization and the University has started to offer workshops and other ways to get involved with the topic.

The University also provides services for victims ‐‐ like counseling at the Victim Empowerment Program, calling a hotline, filing a police report or making an anonymous online report.

Akens said the University will focus on engaging FIU Greek, athletes and student clubs and organizations on issues of sexual assault.

“The more students we can engage, the more likely that the culture is going to change in a positive way,” she said.

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