@Hoggirl “I am fairly sure that Stanford takes proactive steps through orientation and required training sessions for students about the issue of consent. Are you saying that they need to do more? What would you suggest be done by Stanford to be more proactive?”
I suspect that Stanford needs to do more, as do almost all other schools. All I am looking for the Stanford President to address the issue openly and honestly. It is clear that Stanford women are saying that there is a problem. (http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/10/01/one-third-of-stanford-women-experience-sexual-misconduct-survey-finds). Additionally, in the Turner case, Brock Turner apparently blamed the Stanford culture for his actions during the trial. There were also reports that the women’s swim team were discouraged by administrators from contacting the district attorney in the Turner case, and now it is being reported that Stanford has more sexual violence investigations in process than any other school (see the OP). Still, at commencement, all that Stanford President John Hennessy could say about all of this was to call for a moment of silence to honor survivors of sexual violence. Why?
If Stanford’s programs to prevent/stop sexual misconduct are best-in-class, then why not say so? If Stanford encourages athletes to report what they know to authorities, why not say so? Why not show leadership on this issue and assure everyone that while Stanford has taken many steps to address sexual assault, he now believes that additional measures are warranted based on the feedback of students, and that he will make additional improvements a top priority?
Stanford has a chance to be a leader and proactively address an important issue. Instead they seem to be taking the ostrich approach. That is very disappointing. Especially when they are one of the only top universities to never have had a female president.
Notice that no one responded to my earlier questions. Instead posters have posted some of the saddest rationalizations I have ever seen, apparently to defend/justify why Stanford’s President continues to be unresponsive.
The post below by @sbballer is honestly the saddest posts I have ever seen on cc: Apparently suggesting that large numbers of rapes and sexual misconduct on campus don’t need to be addressed, as long as some other school has more rapes. I sincerely hope that is not the attitude of many at Stanford. I do not believe that it is.
"Rapes by University 2014
Brown: 43
U-Conn.: 43
Dartmouth College: 42
Wesleyan University: 37
University of Virginia: 35
Harvard: 33
University of North Carolina at Charlotte: 32
Rutgers-New Brunswick: 32
University of Vermont: 27
Stanford: 26
what is Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth doing about rapes? The ivy league leads the nation in rapes… what are they doing???
I have the impression that the Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth Presidents have, thus far, been very unresponsive and seems to want to avoid addressing the issue. Why do you think that is?’