@Hoggirl “regardless of what is done, this serious issue will (sadly) never be completely eliminated.”
I don’t see that as relevant. The point is that it happens way too often, and is greatly underreported. By improving awareness, education, prevention, intervention, reporting, and law enforcement, the rates can be reduced. Saying that it can’t be eliminated gives me the impression that you think that Stanford is helpless to reduce the occurrence, and I don’t believe that. If we are not going to try to reduce the incidents of crimes that can’t be eliminated, then we would not have any laws at all.
@Hoggirl “As far as what should have been said by the President, I don’t think a graduation ceremony is the place to say it.”
That is fine, but it appears that he has avoided addressing it whenever he speaks. It looks like he only wants to issue statements reviewed by legal. That gives the impression that either he believes that he needs to invoke his 5th amendment rights, or that he fails to understand why this issue is important to the university community.
Notice the stark contrast between President Hennessy’s response to rape concerns and the OU (Oklahoma U) President’s response when there were race issues on his campus last year. The OU President was immediately on camera saying that this behavior is not acceptable at OU, and assured all stakeholders that the administration will make this a top priority, and would actively work to identify potential problem areas and address them forcefully. That is called leadership.
I applaud the Stanford students and faculty who are working to obtain a stronger response from the university, but it is discouraging that the administration needs to be prodded for a firm response. It gives me the impression that the administration may be more concerned about image, athletics, and it endowments, than they are in doing the right thing for students. Much like Penn State’s administration did.