This Sunday, GUSA passed two bills concerning sexual assault on campus. “A Resolution Concerning Sexual Assault” addresses the University’s response to the crime and “An Act Concerning SAPE Training for All Members of GUSA” initiates a drive for increased sexual education at Georgetown.

Sexual assault constituted a significant talking point throughout the GUSA election season. The two bills are the culmination of a yearlong dialogue within GUSA to combat the issue on two fronts: policy and culture.

Reforming the policy surrounding sexual assault
President Nate Tisa (SFS ’14) said, “Over the summer, I knew someone who was assaulted on this campus. The response they received from both the university and the people who had been involved was essentially to sweep everything under the rug. These are things we have to change culturally and with policy.”

Sen. Robert Shepherd (COL ’15) and Sen. Pat Spagnuolo (COL ’14) authored both bills. Introduced to the floor by Spagnuolo, the resolution focuses on the University’s policy.

The bill advocates for the inclusion an amnesty clause in the Student Code of Conduct so that those reporting a sexual assault will not be penalized for potential violations, such as drug use, noise, or alcohol consumption. It also asks for clearer language concerning sexual misconduct (Class B violation) and sexual assault (Class C violation) in the Code of Conduct.

“This resolution is a springboard to pushing the University more and more to address this issue. Survivors right now do not have amnesty if they report. If there are drugs or alcohol on them, that is something that can count against them. There should be no problems if you need to report something like this,” said Spagnuolo.

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Earlier today, students received two emails from the Department of Public Safety, one regarding a sexual assault last Wednesday and the second on a burglary in Village C West earlier today.

A woman was jogging on Capital Crescent Trail at approximately 9:15 pm., just north of the Three Sisters Island and Water Street, when a man approached her from behind and put her in a chokehold. The victim reportedly lost consciousness and woke up to the suspect fondling her, causing her to scream. He promptly fled to the Fletcher’s Boat House. “As this trail is used by many members of the University Community, please use caution while in that area,” the PSA said.

The PSA described the suspect as a black male wearing a white shirt with black shorts, “5-8″ to 5-11″ tall, weighing 180 to 200 pounds, muscular build, dreadlocks 3 to 4 inches in length and a light, scruffy beard.” The U.S. Park Police is currently investigating the incident. Tee Park Police asks that any individual with more information should call 202-610-8750 or the U.S. Park Police Tip Line at 202-610-8737.

The second announcement from the Department of Public Safety declared that a laptop was stolen at around 8 a.m. in a student’s residence in Village C West. The student reported locking the door before leaving his or her residence, and there were no signs of forced entry. No physical injuries occurred during the burglary. More information is available on the theft here.

Photo by Flickr user Kevin H.

Last week, Emily Yoffe, a well-known blog writer and columnist for Slate, wrote a personal account titled “My Molesters” on her experience being sexually assaulted by former Georgetown law professor and Jesuit Rev. Robert Drinan. She was 18 or 19 when the incident occurred in the 1970s. Drinan passed away in 2007, and according to Yoffe’s account he was in his 50s during the incident, before he began his tenure at Georgetown.

Yoffe and her family were supporting Father Drinan’s campaign for congressman at the time. Drinan offered her a ride to the subway when the incident occurred:

We got to where he was letting me off, he turned off the engine, and he began jabbering incoherently about men and women. Then he lunged, shoving his tongue in my mouth while running his hands over my breasts and up and down my torso. It seems like the set-up for a joke, a Jewish woman being molested by a Jesuit. As we tussled, I had probably the most naïve thought of my life: “How could this be happening, he’s a priest!”

She mentions that if these events were reported today, the case has the potential to be considered indecent assault and battery. “Again, I told no one. It was embarrassing, revolting, and I had no desire to make accusations against a congressman, especially one I admired,” Toffe wrote.

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At approximately 2:15 a.m. this morning, a student was sexually assaulted on 36th Street just north of N Street in West Georgetown, according to a public safety alert. The victim was physically injured during the incident. the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene and is investigating the incident. MPD and Department of Public Safety personnel canvassed the area with negative results.

The suspect is described as a roughly 6′ white male between 18-22 years old, wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans.

In the alert, DPS also reminded the University community to walk in groups, call SafeRides, or utilize DPS’s safety escorts, which are available 24/7. DPS requests that anyone who has information regarding this incident, or who noticed any suspects before or after the incident, to contact them immediately at (202) 687-4343.

Last Monday, five female Howard University students filed suit against the university in the United States Court for the District of Columbia, claiming that the school did not do enough to protect them from sexual abuse by one of its employees.

The employee, librarian George Bright-Abu, was arrested earlier this year after Rukayatu Bello and Mercedes Woodson, both HU students, filed a police report alleging sexual misconduct. In a July trial, Bright-Abu was found guilty of one count of simple assault and two counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse. He was sentenced to sixty days in prison and probation.

In a statement released by the five students’ attorneys last week, they say Bright-Abu “sexually assaulted two full-time students during the 2010-2011 academic year. This included unwanted touching, flirting, fondling and degrading propositions of a sexual nature.” Bright-Abu was the work-study supervisor of all five plaintiffs in the federal case filed last week.

The lawsuit details months of unwanted sexual harassment and abuse by Bright-Abu, which Howard allegedly did nothing to stop. Woodson told MyFoxDC that after she reported an incident in November 2010, university administrators did not take action. “Basically, it seemed as though they weren’t really concerned and wanted me to overlook it,” Woodson told the station. In addition to Bello and Woodson, three other Howard students have come forward in this new lawsuit, alleging that Bright-Abu abused them and the university did nothing to stop him.

“Howard University created a hostile and abusive working environment for all plaintiffs by continuing to employ Bright-Abu after being made aware of his ongoing physical and verbal sexual assault,” Christal Edwards, one of the attorneys, told WJLA. After several months of university inaction, the lawsuit alleges, Bello and Woodson finally filed a police report.

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Georgetown campus and neighborhood are relatively safe, but crime isn’t unknown: 820 property crimes and 83 violent incidents occurred last year, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The island of misfit laptops

The most common type of crime on most college campuses is property theft. Based on our analysis of the weekly campus crime report, thefts of laptops from Lauinger Library and bikes from on-campus racks are the main targets of would-be Hilltop larcenists.

The biggest part of preventing petty theft: don’t leave your valuables unattended. Laptop theft dropped a little after the Department of Public Safety apprehended three persons suspected stealing laptops in Lau, but sporadic incidents continued into May.

As for bikes, remember: U-locks with steel cuffs are the best, and always lock the front wheel. Otherwise, thieves will strip your bicycle and leave its denuded corpse on the rack (like this, or this).

We also recommend students register their bikes. (Bicycle registration, which was required in D.C. until 2008, is potentially the only way to recover a stolen bicycle.)

Another common property crime against students is GOCard fraud. Merchants rarely check the picture I.D., so it’s easy to steal debit dollars. If your GOCard ever goes missing, deactivate it on the website.

Afte the jump, Vox tackles burglaries, street crime, and sexual assault.

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On April 14, Senators Robert Casey (D-PA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced legislation to broaden the array of relationship and sexual crimes that colleges must report to the federal government under the Clery Act.

Under the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (S.834), colleges that receive federal funding would now have to report not only instances of sexual assault, but also domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, as well as the procedures it follows in the case of each offense. The bill also outlines new requirements for sexual violence education, including so-called “bystander training,” and notification of a victim’s right to seek law enforcement or court action.

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At 2 a.m. Saturday, a student on the 1300 block of 35th Street was sexually assaulted by an unknown man.

According to a Department of Public Safety alert, the assault occurred while the woman was looking for her keys and about to enter her residence. The student defended herself against her attacker, who then fled north on 36th Street and was described as “a white male, approximately 5 feet, 9 inches, stocky build, dark hair and wearing a white t-shirt.” Afterward, the student went to the DPS office to report the crime.

The assault will be investigated under the direction of the Metropolitan Police Department.

DPS is requesting that anyone who has information regarding this assault, or who noticed any suspects around the time of the incident, to contact them immediately at (202) 687-4343.

The Georgetown neighborhood and surrounding areas had the second highest number of reported serious sexual assaults in 2010, according to a recent report by The Examiner.

Overall, the District had a 46 percent increase in the amount of serious sexual assaults in D.C. There were 63 more assaults reported in 2010 than the 137 that occurred in 2009.

The Second District, which Georgetown is a part of, had an increase from 9 to 24—a 167 percent increase.

Despite the large increase, the First District—which includes the Capitol and Verizon Center area—had the most serious sexual assaults in 2010.

Metropolitan Police Department numbers of sexual assaults indicate smaller percentile increases than The Examiner’s report, however, according to The Georgetown Dish this is because MPD does not differentiate between misdemeanor sexual assaults and forced sexual contact in its reporting.

h/t The Georgetown Dish

View Campus Crime Watch: October 19-26 in a larger map

Drug violations—and the ensuing arrests—took a prominent position in this week’s news coverage. However, theft remains the most prevalent type of crime on campus. Six reported incidents of laptop thefts occurred on campus in the past week, two of which occurred within minutes of one another on Sunday in Lauinger Library. (In total, four laptops were stolen on Sunday.)

While investigating a laptop theft in Village A on Tuesday night, Metropolitan Police Department Sergeant Nick Cook offered students some tongue-in-cheek advice.

“Look out for the guy running around with 17 Macbooks,” he said.

To report an emergency, call the Georgetown Department of Public Safety at (202) 687-4343 or the DC Metropolitan Police Department at 911. To report other suspicious behavior, call the DPS tip-line at (202) 687-2320.

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