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Video of students, faculty speaking about UO’s sexual violence problem at the 5/21 Senate meeting.

5/22/2014: There are so many powerful, honest statements in this video. Link here and below. I don’t know where to start. If you comment, please post the time in the video. The UO Trustees are meeting June 12-13 and the signup for making public comments is here. I expect that several of the speakers in this video will also speak there, providing a direct refutation, to the people who can fire him, of Gottfredson’s 5/14 attack on his faculty, staff, and student critics:

“… some have speculated that we are not acting in the best interest of the university and that student safety has been compromised. Or that we turn a blind eye toward misconduct, or that we would tolerate, for one moment, sexual violence and intimidation on our campus. These assumptions are patently false, and such speculations are very, very inappropriate.”

5/21/2014: Open forum lasts 2 & 1/2 hours. Gottfredson’s story gets no support from students, faculty, administrators:

If you spoke at the Senate forum and have typed or scanned notes, please send them to me so I can post. It’s important to do this quickly. Gottfredson’s chief PR flack Tobin Klinger already has the official spin of this meeting posted on “Around the O”. (Speaking of which, the administration’s official news blog has now dropped the bylines from their posts.) Here’s what I have so far, with a brief clip from each.

Carol Stabile’s comments: According to President Gottfredson, “This is a time when it is important for us to come together as a campus, as a community, to make our university stronger. Safer.” But how are we to come together when the UO administration, over-rehearsed by either legal counsel or their PR people, won’t even admit that there’s a problem, much less look that problem in the face?”

Carly Smith’s comments: “I think about this recent publicized sexual assault as a final cram session for students on the topic of sexual violence and institutional betrayal – including those who have been lucky enough not to have a personal experience, or a friend, sibling, partner with their own. What lessons has the university fit into these last few weeks? Are they the ones we mean to teach?”

Update: Troy Brynelson has a report in the Emerald:

“We need an investigation that is fully independent of the influence of big sports or the Greek system,” [Professor] Stabile said. “We need an investigation that asks the hard questions about system breakdowns in our policies, procedures and campus climate. And then we need to look the answer in the face, publicly and bravely. Anything less just isn’t going to cut it.”

Jennifer Freyd, a psychology professor who has helped spur demonstrations on the Johnson Hall lawn for the past month, read a letter from December 2012 portending a sexual assault problem at UO. “Currently, the University of Oregon fails to comply with its obligations under Title IX regarding sexual harassment and its discriminatory impact on students,” Freyd said, reciting the letter. “We cannot wait until a Penn State-type incident occurs until we take these issues seriously.”

Carly Smith, a graduate student in psychology, spoke about the research she’s conducted alongside Freyd. Smith mentioned the statistics that one in five women will experience some form of sexual assault in college.

“I think about that statistic and I think about those who will not be walking across the stage in a few weeks because they left the university; because they fell behind in class and won’t be done in time to walk with their friends; because they don’t want to commemorate their time at UO,” Smith said. “Maybe they’d rather forget it entirely. These are all outcomes of sexual assault.”

5/21/2014: It will be a few days before the archived video of today’s meeting is available. The many passionate, knowledgeable speakers today – and some astonishingly brave undergraduates, talking about their own experiences at UO – ripped many new holes in Mike Gottfredson’s carefully scripted speech from the 5/14 meeting. VPSA Robin Holmes was silent. Nothing to say? Really? Too busy texting while pretending to listen? A few of her staff did speak, but given that Gottfredson hasn’t signed the academic freedom policy, it’s hard to know what to make of what they said. And where was our beloved President? At a BBQ:

Screen Shot 2014-05-21 at 9.16.18 PM

FWIW, video of Gottfredson’s 5/14 “cover his ass” speech is now posted below. Or read the speech his lawyers wrote for him, here:

“Because we cannot, by law, share many details of this case, some have speculated that we are not acting in the best interest of the university and that student safety has been compromised. Or that we turn a blind eye toward misconduct, or that we would tolerate, for one moment, sexual violence and intimidation on our campus. These assumptions are patently false, and such speculations are very, very inappropriate.”

5/21/2014 3PM: Senate to create Task Force on basketball rape allegations and next steps.

Live-blog of sorts. Video here.

 

Rob Kyr (Music) is chairing the meeting. 115 Lawrence is packed, SRO only and not much of that.

Show’s original version of the motion, reads revision that has come from Senate listserv discussions. The big differences? The new version omits any reference to rape or basketball, and does not include an explicit call for the task force to examine the UO administration’s failed response.

Bad changes. Truth and reconciliation starts with truth. No, wait, it does say “study the administration’s responses”.

Carol Stabile reads a very strong statement – a damning indictment of Gottfredson’s inactions prior to the alleged rape, his speech to the Senate last week, and his current efforts to shift the blame. She also alleges that there have been threats of retaliation against whistleblowers.

Jennifer Freyd explains her research on sexual violence and institutional betrayal. She gives a long history of dilatory responses from UO and President Gottfredson to efforts by her and others to get basic information about UO’s procedures for addressing sexual violence. She quotes Gottfredson’s senate speech – and then destroys his claims, using verbatim quotes that she has collected from UO students who have been survivors of sexual violence, and then been betrayed by the administration’s response to the incidents.

[Sorry, it is hard to keep up with the live-blogging, I want to hear what people are saying.]

Carly Smith: Very powerful. Talks about the upcoming graduation. Who will be there, who won’t – perhaps because of sexual violence, and failed responses by UO. All backed by her research.

Earlier: No news from Johnson Hall on who Mike Gottfredson has found to run his “independent review” of what went wrong with his own response to the basketball rape allegations, and the athletic special admits process that was apparently supervised by his special assistant Lorraine Davis.

It doesn’t really matter, the UO Senate is moving forward without him. The open forum is this Wednesday, to draft legislation for the 5/28 meeting to set up a Senate Task Force. Presumably the UO Trustees will also commission an investigation, as part of ‘due diligence’. Normally this would be done by the Board’s own legal counsel, but Randy Geller is, well, perhaps even more conflicted than Gottfredson.

Next Senate Meeting

SPECIAL CAMPUS FORUM:

Response to Sexual Violence

Wednesday May 21, 2014
Lawrence 115; 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Watch Live  |  Senate Agenda  |

There are a few working drafts of the resolution floating around, this is the most recent I’ve seen:

Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support

Number:

Date of Notice: May 14, 2014

Legislation, Resolution, or Policy Adoption: Legislation.

Motion:

Section I

1.1 WHEREAS, Sexual violence and sexual harassment at universities are part of a national problem and these problems are also present at the University of Oregon;
1.2 AND WHEREAS the UO must take measures to address the problem of sexual violence and the needs of survivors of sexual violence, on and off our campus;
1.3 AND, WHEREAS many questions remain unanswered about the alleged rape of a female UO undergraduate by three UO basketball players on March 8-9, and the University’s response to that incident;
1.4 AND, WHEREAS the UO’s Student Conduct Code requires sustained and focused attention by students, the University Senate, and the University President as it relates to this matter, and that revisions to this code must be done through the UO Senate;
1.5 AND, WHEREAS the University’s financial commitment to ending sexual violence and supporting survivors of sexual assault at the UO remains unspecified and without needed transparency.
1.6 AND, WHEREAS the University Senate acknowledges the lack of transparency regarding recent cases of sexual assault, and the lack of a university-wide initiative to fully engage all of the university community in efforts to reduce sexual violence on campus and off campus, and the limited support that has been provided to survivors of sexual violence, and acknowledges its obligation to address these problems.

Section II:

2.1 BE IT THEREFORE MOVED that a Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support is formed to examine the university’s response to the March 8-9 events, and to initiate sustained, proactive changes aimed at ending sexual violence and supporting survivors of sexual violence;
2.2 AND BE IT FURTHER MOVED that this Task Force is formed no later than June 6, 2014, consisting of no fewer than two elected members of the University Senate, two other members of Senate constituencies, two additional nominees recommended by the UO-CESV, two students, and a member of the University administration, all to be appointed by the Senate President, and that the meetings of this task force shall be open to the university community except as required by privacy laws, and that the university administration shall provide all assistance necessary and consistent with privacy and other laws;
2.3 AND BE IT FINALLY MOVED that this Task Force shall work with the University Board of Trustees, the ASUO, the University President and administration, and the Senate’s constituencies to report on initial findings, and initial recommendations for action, by the second Senate meeting of Fall 2014.

23 Comments

  1. A good model 05/19/2014

    An excellent model for an independent review would be that conducted at Yale, after its crisis a few years ago. The report was done by distinguished alumni, none of them currently connected to Yale, with background on the issues. I would really urge the senators to look at it:

    http://smr.yale.edu/node/12/attachment

  2. University of Nike 05/19/2014

    Rumor is that Phil Knight is going to help out, by building a “Basketball Operations Center Complex” on the site of deserted, derelict Johnson Hall, just as soon as demolition is finished.

    • Oh Check 05/20/2014

      I can visualize the giant Oh and swish now. Pioneer Mother looking wistfully at Pioneer Father through a Black Steel O. I wonder will the students who pay the bills be allowed to enter the edifice or only watch the wall of tv’s of their new administration from outside on the steps?

  3. ghost 05/21/2014

    The issue is not just about sexual assault on campus. The story could just as easily have been “Drunk driving UO basketball player kills family of 4 in mini-van” or “UO basketball player assaults his girlfriend and she’s in the hospital. ” The issue is that U of O Athletics is a cancer that has not only metastasized across the UO campus but also in Eugene. The issue is that Lane County law enforcement thinks that UO athletes are exempt from laws. The best thing that could happen to Eugene would be if Phil Knight never gave the UO another Penny (pun intended).

  4. watcher 05/21/2014

    And once again the livestream fails.

  5. watcher 05/21/2014

    A sobering, provocative and highly revealing forum minus the “let’s move on” happy-speak of last week. Professor Stabile’s comments rightfully set the tone as first speaker, and kudos to other brave participants. One can only wonder at what *important* calendar function kept the criminologist, and –oh– President, Gottfredson from attending.

    • Anonymous 05/21/2014

      Agreed and I’m glad she called out the Gott for his comment that any questioning of his administration’s actions were “inappropriate”. I was insulted by that and it is an affront to shared governance to suggest that his majesty’s actions cannot be questioned. Especially when not one single news outlet buys his bullshit account of what happened.

      We can’t move forward if we don’t look back for the truth.

    • uomatters Post author | 05/21/2014

      OK, I checked, a BBQ. Nice. I added it to the post, because of its relevance. BBQ involves fire and slow indirect cooking for many hours or days, until the meat finally falls off the bones.

      • Fishwrapper 05/21/2014

        Wow. Just plain old wow. To send minions to deal with this event instead of the BBQ is either tone deafness…or he’s holding to his “how much extra will you pay to buy me out so I don’t make it any worse than it already is…” 3X strategy.

        In the vernacular of my home town: Un-[obscene gerund]-believable.

  6. nom 05/21/2014

    Institutional betrayal, and from many angles. The real heart of dysfunction.

  7. Anonymous 05/21/2014

    Robin Holmes was outrageous, giggling away in the back with her phone. I tell students like that they’re being disruptive, and this is the first warning.

  8. troll anthem 05/21/2014

    “send in the clowns, where are the clowns?”

    Apparently, they’ve become converts.

    • One Eyed Pinhead 05/22/2014

      I hear they were all at a BBQ…

    • an observant watcher 05/22/2014

      This article needs more highlighting. Maybe UOM can make it a stand alone entry?

  9. Gottfredson is a liar 05/22/2014

    Gottfredson on 5/14:

    “Or that we turn a blind eye toward misconduct, or that we would tolerate, for one moment, sexual violence and intimidation on our campus. These assumptions (sic) are patently false, and such speculations are very, very inappropriate.”

    Actually, these assertions have now been carefully documented. The fact that Gottfredson knew they were true on 5/14 has also been documented.

    Mike Gottfredson is a liar. That’s not speculation, it’s a fact.

    • Anonymous 05/22/2014

      He comes from the new school of PR – if you just say it enough….it becomes truth. What a disappointing failure he is.

  10. Anonymous 05/23/2014

    If the sorority member speaking at 105:30 shows up for the Trustees meeting, Gottfredson will be gone by the end of the day. The other undergraduates are also moving and courageous. Respect.

  11. Undergrad Question 05/25/2014

    Prof Freyd brought up “essay questions” that accused perpetrators would have to write out as part of the discipline process. The questions were said to do more damage than good in her opinion. Does anyone know what these questions say/ ask?

    Just curious because they weren’t specifically cited.

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