College campuses have long mismanaged reports of sexual assault, but one university's reponses to such issues "stand out," writes ProPublica. Driven by an "ethos of sexual purity" known as the "Liberty Way," the evangelical Liberty University has allegedly handled assault cases by "discouraging, dismissing and even blaming female students who have tried to come forward."
Interviews with over 50 former students and employees, in addition to records from over a dozen cases, revealed how some survivors were "made to sign forms acknowledging possible violations of the Liberty Way" after trying to file assault complaints, writes ProPublica. Code of conduct violations (for perhaps drinking or having sex), could, even when accompanied by allegations of assault, lead to separate disciplinary action for the reporting student.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I feel like Liberty bullied me into silence after what happened to me," said survivor Diane Stargel. "I remember thinking, 'What? Are you kidding me?'" added another, Amanda Stevens, who reported her own rape to the school's Title IX office in 2015. "'I could get in trouble for coming forward and reporting?'"
One employee, who was the university's senior vice president of communications until recently, said he was ultimately fired for taking issue with "the university's repeated failures to respond to concerns about sexual assault."
"The emails from ProPublica were definitely ignored," said Scott Lamb, the employee. "They're not working to get to the bottom of this," he added.
Lamb explained that issues of assault would go "up the chain and then die." It is all "a conspiracy of silence," he said. Read more at ProPublica.
-
'Is it OK to be happy when the world is falling apart?'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Will online age checks doom internet freedom?Today's Big Question Or do they protect children from harm?
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquakespeed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
