Students march, speak out against sexual assault

With buzz surrounding the alleged gang rape continuing across campus, President Richard Brodhead started reaching out to a variety of concerned groups Wednesday. After remaining relatively quiet until a press conference Tuesday night, Brodhead listened to students worried about wide-ranging issues, including racism and a lack of University action. Posters were hung around campus Wednesday with photos of 43 of the 47 lacrosse teammates, urging the players to come forward and talk about the incident. While students, faculty and community members discussed the incident and its fallout from dorm rooms to Charlie's Pub & Grille Tuesday night, a group of students spent the night preparing for Brodhead's early-morning conversation in the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture. "It is our impression that the University is cultivating and sustaining a culture of privilege and silence that allows inappropriate behavior to plague the campus," read a message drafted by some of the students in the late-night planning session. Students told Brodhead about a culture of racism, sexism, homophobia and hatred present in the University. They urged the president to use the recent incident as a way to jump-start major changes in the campus climate. "This issue has touched very deep chords in this community and very deep sources of potential division," Brodhead said. "We all know that when communities become bitterly divided, everyone loses out." The president also met with a representative of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Wednesday. Brodhead said they discussed the gravity of the racial tensions and problems that have been highlighted by the alleged rape and racial slurs. The Academic Council will hold a special session Thursday at which Brodhead is expected to listen to and address the faculty's concerns. Paul Haagen, chair of the council and a professor in the School of Law, said professors' reactions have ranged from the outraged to the wait-and-see. "What we are getting are a variety of responses, all of which reflect deep hurt about this incident, some anxiety about what it means for a variety of relationships plus some frustration that certain things exist or haven't been dealt with," said Haagen, who is also the chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The University's response has been a point of significant criticism around campus, including at Brodhead's Wednesday meeting with students. One undergraduate questioned what type of punishment the lacrosse players would receive if found guilty by the courts, adding that she was concerned the University's punishment may ultimately be too lenient. "These are very very serious allegations," Brodhead responded. "Punishment is based on some sense of proportionality... if it were verified, you are talking about something of very grave seriousness." He affirmed his faith in education in dealing with the racially insensitive comments. He said education may be better than formal University policies and punishment. "In an educational institution, we have to trust the process of education," Brodhead said. "Why should we trust it for only trivial things? Why shouldn't we also trust it for fairly serious things?" Several students and administrators expressed frustration that the students who most need awareness programs do not come to town hall events like the one Wednesday morning. Others wished the meeting had centered more on the issues directly surrounding the lacrosse team. "I am frustrated this meeting focussed on long-term issues, and that there was no traction under immediate actions," junior Meenakshi Chivukula said. "It is dangerous to wait for the conclusion of the criminal investigation because the community, in strong numbers, have raised their voices of what this means to the history of the University." Chandra Guinn, director of the Mary Lou Williams Center, said she thought the event was a great chance for the students to challenge the president with complex issues.