Another weekend of NCAA football has come and gone. I should be irate with the BCS at this point, frustrated that OK State and Oregon and the likes failed to win their games and make a “rematch” unlikely. Frustrated that LSU and Alabama will most likely meet again for the championship in that “rematch” that is now looking like a foregone conclusion. This same old story is supposed to repeat itself each year, just with different teams. This debate is supposed to give me something to talk about with my in-laws over turkey dinner this week. It should be fun to hear their SEC arguments. Sigh.
It doesn’t seem important this year. It doesn’t seem to matter as much. This year I am still dealing with the bitter taste in my mouth from the alleged sexual misconduct at Penn State. The taste keeps coming back, again and again.
New allegations and resignations at Syracuse, an investigation being requested at the Citadel... The story seems to be replicating itself all over. A Bible School in Canada, a High School in Illinois… the list goes on. In each case there is an allegation of someone sexually abusing or harassing a child, and in each case there is an allegation that someone knew and did nothing. In many cases it is alleged that those in the know not only did nothing, but actually attempted to cover up the abuse. What the heck is going on? How does this happen… and how does it happen again… and again? How many more cases are there that have not and will not be reported? How many have been reported and covered up?
A few thoughts here…
This week I have been working on updating my institutions list of Campus Security Authorities (CSA’S) partially in response to an audit taking place down the road. CSA’s are the people who are required to report crime under the Clery Act. The list includes law enforcement and security staff, and any faculty or staff with significant responsibility for student activities. On the surface this makes sense. A deeper examination shows some potential problems. At Penn State a janitor was witness to the alleged misconduct in the shower. The current parameters do not make a janitor a mandatory report. Hmmm… Do the current requirements and definitions really get at those who are most likely to witness a criminal act or violation? Why would we not want to create a culture where more people are reporting crime? Does it make sense to expand these requirements more broadly? Should we do it before someone does it for us?
Schools all over the country have sent out communications to their people in the past few weeks reminding them of the importance of reporting crime and criminal activity. How many of us get these reminders regularly? Is it just an annual notice on October 1st as required by law or is it part of the campus culture? Why does it take something like Penn State to push us to send out this information? Does it? If your schools do this more regularly or intentionally let me know.
An article in the Chronicle this week points to the tendency to create fear around these issues. Fear of lawsuits, of federal audits, of all sorts of “dangers” lurking in the unknown. The article discusses the market niche being filled by a new organization to “educate” institutions and help avoid these dangers. It seems to both question and support the fear factor. Sadly, fear can be motivating and is something that I keep in my bag of tricks for use on rare occasion. This may be one such occasion. The fact that Penn State faces huge settlements or lawsuits, plus a potential downgrade in credit rating based on allegations should motivate folks to make changes and ensure that systems are working. The fact that legislators in NY and PA are putting forth “Penn State” laws to address and strengthen reporting requirements is concerning. Again, should we make the changes ourselves, or wait for someone else to do it for us.
This post is a little bit random and wanders from point to point. It is frustrating to see how many Penn State’s have been reported in the past two weeks. It is even more frustrating to realize how many more have not been.
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