The U.S. Department of Education began an informal inquiry last week into the university’s managing of the Gasparilla rape incident. The inquiry, which was made to university spokesman Grant Donaldson, involved university compliance with the Clery Act, a federal law that regulates notification of students about crime on their campus.
President Ronald Vaughn appointed Dean of Students Bob Ruday and Director of Campus Safety and Security Charles Mascenik to lead the examination of the university’s notification procedures.
Ruday responded via email on Feb. 22 to the Department of Education inquiry.
‘The University of Tampa takes seriously its responsibility of providing a safe and secure campus environment,’ said Ruday. ‘Based on the information available at the time, [on-site personnel] determined that the alleged crime did not present a serious or continuing threat to the campus.’
If circumstances had been different, notification would have been posted in all campus buildings, Ruday said.
Outside inquiries began when an email was sent to UT from Security on Campus, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring universities follow the Clery Act. Security on Campus Senior Vice President S. Daniel Carter sent copies of the email to the U.S. Dept. of Education and The Minaret.
‘We also remain concerned that no timely warning was issued as required by the federal Jeanne Clery Act,’ Carter wrote. He also expressed concern that the crime was classified as date rape and that UT officials notified neither The Minaret nor the campus.
‘It has been our [Security on Campus] experience that the types of individuals that perpetrate these offenses are just as predatory, if not more so, than their stranger rapist counterparts[‘hellip;]But it is clear they [the suspect] acted in a predatory manner, and there is no reason to believe this wouldn’t happen again.’
When the suspect has not been arrested or identified, officials should issue timely warnings, Carter said. He requested that UT immediately reevaluate the procedures for timely warnings to consider instances of date rape and to evaluate how even ‘stranger in the bushes’ type assaults are handled. An evaluation of whether a warning should have been issued in this instance should be published, Carter said.
He added that Security on Campus and the U.S. Department of Education would be willing to assist UT in policy changes. Ruday took Carter up on that offer.
Spokesman Grant Donaldson and Trustee Rod Plowman insist this incident was handled properly from a student affairs perspective but that the error and miscommunication occurred within the senior staff, who are currently working on new policies for alerting students and even the university spokesperson.
‘The time we warn is when there is a near and present danger,’ said Donaldson. ‘If something [a campus incident] has public interest potential, I usually know. It didn’t happen this time. I don’t know why. I didn’t know until your reporter called me. It was a combination of factors,’ said Donaldson. ‘I honestly can’t tell you why [I wasn’t informed].’
On the night of the sexual assault, campus security and Tampa Police searched campus and all residence halls. After failing to find the suspect, the crime was made known to certain senior staff on a need-to-know basis. Ruday and Mascenik worked with the TPD to decide that this issue was not a continuing threat to students.
‘We never did warn the campus on that particular instance because we didn’t feel like the details of the situation warranted it at that time,’ said Donaldson.
As for the administration, talks and review continue to determine what was done wrong in the notification of students and administration. After a series of meetings on Monday and Tuesday, senior administrators decided to appoint Charles Mascenik and Bob Ruday to evaluate if any procedural changes are necessary about who needs to be informed in these situations.
‘One of the things to look at is when do you warn students and about what? Those definitions we may decide we want to shift based on this most recent situation,’ said Donaldson.
Victim privacy issues were part of the reason why students were not notified immediately, said Monnie Wertz
‘Everyone saw TPD go into a residence hall [on Gasparilla]. If you issue a warning the next day, then everybody knows which hall and which room they went into and then know so-and-so got sexually assaulted.’
She also worries that violating a victim’s privacy may scare other victims into not reporting.
‘We need to balance safety and we need to have a conversation on how to balance privacy for the victim but also provide info to the campus,’ said Wertz.
‘We run into the same kind of stuff with hurricane notices. We want to do a good job. We want to communicate. We want to do it well,’ said Plowman. ‘It’s just a question of us coordinating this and doing a good job with our postings and getting the word out.’
In reporting incidents to The Minaret, Donaldson and Plowman said changes in reporting will be made to provide more information about the nature of the crime to the newspaper without violating confidentiality. Mascenik will review incident reports to The Minaret to make sure that they are as accurate as possible without violating confidentiality.
‘Our goal is to work cooperatively with everyone. We’re trying to work cooperatively with student government on vandalism issues, stolen bicycles, and parking. Our whole thrust is to work cooperative,’ said Plowman. ‘I don’t think this mistake was intentional.’
Ruday will provide a report to University President Ronald Vaughn by March 30.
Timeline
Jan. 27: The sexual battery occurred and university officials along with TPD decided it did not pose ‘a serious or continuing threat to the campus.’
Feb. 9: The Minaret learns of the rape and starts its investigation.
Feb. 12-13: Dean of Students Bob Ruday requests that a discussion of Ohio State’s revamping of crime reporting to be added to the agenda for the March 2 meeting of the Independent College and Universities of Florida.
Feb. 15: The Minaret published its online article and editorial on the rape.
Feb. 16-18: Local media converge on campus to cover the story. Articles appeared in The St. Petersburg Times and The Tampa Tribune. Numerous stories appeared on ABC 28, FOX 13, CBS 10 and NBC 8 throughout the weekend.
Feb. 19: President Vaughn asked Dean of Students Bob Ruday and Director of Campus Safety and Security Charles Mascenik to lead the investigation of the university’s notification procedures and handling of the incident.
Feb. 20: A non-profit, Security On Campus, criticizes the university and offers to help administration comply with the Clery Act, a federal law that concerns universities’ notification of students about campus crime. The Dept.of Education and The Minaret are copied on the email.
Feb. 21-22: U.S. Dept. of Education issues an informal inquiry via email to UT spokesman Grant Donaldson.
Feb. 22- Bob Ruday issues the university’s e-mailed response, which details the university’s reaction and accepts the assistance of Security on Campus. He then leaves to attend a silent protest held by the UT Women’s Organization in front of the Vaughn Center.
March 2: ICUF meeting to discuss Clery Act, Ohio State University’s changes, and how this relates to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
March 30: Bob Ruday’s report will be due to university President Ronald Vaughn.