Students at Augustana College in Rock Island are asking administrators for answers about sexual assault policies. In early January, a student reported she was sexually assaulted at an off-campus house.
Michelle O'Neill reports the student shared her story with local news media, and some students say they're not satisfied with the college's response.
WVIK News Intern, Tori Charnetzki, reported and co-produced this feature. The Multimedia Journalism and Mass Communication major will graduate from Augustana College in the spring.
Two years ago, when Augustana student Abigail Roselieb was a freshman, she reported to the college she'd been sexually assaulted. Eventually, Roselieb asked the college to stop the investigation to protect her identity. In the meantime, the student she accused of assaulting her was hired as a residential advisor for the next academic year. And someone from Residential Life called her to schedule a hearing. Roselieb, who's now a junior, hopes Augustana will improve the way it implements Title IX policies, to prevent what happened to her from happening to others.
Early this month, Augustana College's Title IX board hosted a forum to address student concerns. But many left frustrated. Students say after half an hour of introductions, members of the the crowd began yelling questions at the panel of four administrators. Associate Dean, Dr. Wendy Hilton-Morrow, is one of Augustana's Title IX coordinators and served on the panel. She says, "Student enthusiasm has led to positive change," such as a new task force led by college President Steve Bahls and more involvement of the Student Government Association.Hilton-Morrow says all the coordinators follow Title IX policies, and detailed information about them is available on Augustana's website and flyers posted throughout campus.
Natalie Trujillo is the president and founder of "Positive Impact," an Augustana student group dedicated to sex education and bystander intervention. She says the heated discussion at the forum was an eye-opener for both administrators and students. And Trujillo says a task force alone might not be enough to satisfy student demand for change.
The student who reported the sexual assault case in January became frustrated and dropped the Title IX case at Augustana. But the Rock Island Police Department's criminal investigation continues.
The Augustana College Task Force on Sexual Assault Response and Prevention is expected to give a report to President Bahls by May 1st, 2018. Then he'll work with the Committee on Sexual Health and Violence Prevention to create an action plan.
