Sexual Misconduct on College Campuses: At This Point it is Normalized.
Photo Credit Courtesy of CNY Central
With all the seminars, measures, and laws on this campus, you would think that sexual assault, harassment, and misconduct on Syracuse University’s campus would not happen this much. But it does, and worse is that all those measures seem to be doing nothing to help the victim. SU’s campus is fed up, and after their protest a month ago, Stand With Survivors Syracuse University (SWSSU) released their calls to action and manifesto to the campus population on Oct. 26.
Their demands include temporarily removing students under investigation during ongoing sexual misconduct investigations to off-campus housing; a requirement for all SU students to take a preventative in-depth seminar on consent, anti-rape culture, and resources in collaboration with third parties the Vera House, Callisto, and Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York; and changes to the administration’s processes, such as increasing the number of blue lights on campus, expanding the Title IX office, and immediate expulsion of students found guilty. The manifesto accounts for all students who have been sexually assaulted and harassed on campus, including and specifically student-athletes.
In fact, the community organization wrote an entire section for the athletes (in all caps even), reiterating that all student-athletes must attend the in-depth seminar and receive a 100% on an exit exam or else they will not be allowed to practice or attend games. The emphasis on student-athletes comes from a long history of sexual misconduct in SU Athletics and a failure to penalize those accused and/or under investigation. Shocker.
Most recently, Chase Scanlan. An unnamed victim at SU reported physical and emotional abuse by the SU men’s lacrosse player to SU women’s lacrosse coaches and the university’s Title IX. Can you guess how this ended? Ding ding ding. Nothing. Well, nothing until after the men’s lacrosse season finished. Guess those seven wins were more important.
Winning over worth seems to be the motto of SU Athletics. Former SU women’s basketball coach, Quentin Hillsman, otherwise known as “the winningest head coach in Syracuse women’s program’s history,” as written by Syracuse.com. Although, his overall record of 319-169 came at the cost of his players, who interviewed with “The Athletic” about their head coach’s pattern of inappropriate comments and touching. As a result of his behavior, 11 players transferred out of the program last April, and a few days after The Athletic reached out for a comment from SU Athletics, the department, a third-party investigation started, and Hillsman resigned in August. Turns out, Hillsman was investigated in 2011 after a Title IX complaint was filed. And, all together now: NOTHING HAPPENED.
SU updated Title IX in 2020, mandating that sexual assault and harassment complaints be heard in a live hearing where both parties have an advisor that cross-examines the other. This discourages victims from speaking up. Imagine being sexually assaulted and then being questioned about it by a trained lawyer whose job is to make you slip up. You would begin to doubt your own story, traumatizing the victim further. Title IX, which was put in place to protect victims, is the very thing that is failing them.
If you couldn’t tell, a pattern repeats itself over and over and over again. Players cannot trust the administration, Title IX, or even their own coaches (as in the case of current SU head softball coach, Shannon Doepking, who mocked a player about her past sexual harassment by another SU student, reported The Daily Orange last spring). The mistrust and lack of confidence spread far beyond Marshall Street. At the end of this September, The Athletic published an article exposing the sexual coercion from Paul Riley, a prominent coach for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), through accounts from the league’s players, most notably Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim. The league commissioner knew about the incidents since 2015 and allowed Riley to coach at a new club despite firing him from his current club.
Or let’s look at the USA Gymnastics. This September, former and current athletes, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Mckayla Maroney, and Maggie Nichols, testified against the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation. Basically, the FBI knew that this man — who deserves to not get any more attention for his behavior — molested hundreds of girls. THEY KNEW FOR YEARS. They probably flipped through fewer hoops on the Olympic mat than with the FBI.
Those hoops exist in the highest levels of the industry and trickle down to SU Athletics and the broader campus. Victims and allies are calling for SU to do better, the sports industry to do better, the whole world to do better, starting with awareness, education, and resources that actually help the victims (wow, what a concept). It requires a deep cultural change. Because we are done.