[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 122 (Thursday, July 19, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6579-H6585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SEXUAL ASSAULT ON OUR CAMPUSES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for
60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wish to address the House, Members
of Congress, and the Chair about what I consider one of our most
serious things that is happening in our country, and it has to do with
sexual assault on our campuses, our universities, our colleges, and
what is taking place there while students, our children, our
grandchildren, go to these universities.
I want to recognize a group of individuals who have started a
program, a cause is really the right word, that they call the 12th
Woman. They are all members, students, former students of Texas A&M
University in College Station, Texas.
The 12th Woman is a phrase that is a takeoff on another phrase that
that university uses, calling the 12th Man. I look at the 12th Woman as
a team, 11 on a team, and there is one more. It makes it 12, all 12
supporting each other in their cause to eliminate sexual assault on
campuses, not just Texas A&M, but all the universities and colleges
through the United States.
{time} 1215
So these remarkable ladies started using social media to see if other
people, students, former students, had encountered sexual assault on
campus and what happened and what didn't happen after that was
reported. Then they formed this organization called the 12th Woman.
Several of those members of the 12th Woman are here today watching
Congress, and later today, they are going to go to their respective
Members of Congress and talk about some of the things that are on their
heart.
Constituents in the State of Texas, the reason for this request of
time is that there are bad things that are happening on our university
campuses. It happens because of a lot of reasons. We are talking about
a lot of people, a lot of kids, in my opinion, going away from home and
spending time trying to get an education at one of our universities.
I believe wholeheartedly that our universities in this country are
the finest educational institutions anywhere in the world. That is why
we have people from all over the world coming to our universities.
So I am going to start by telling some of their stories, things that
happened to them, things that they have made public. They have been
bold to talk about the bad things that happened to them while they were
in school.
Mr. Speaker, it takes a lot for a crime victim, especially a sexual
assault victim, to come forward and publicly talk about these things.
For the last, I guess, 30 years before I came to Congress, I was a
prosecutor in Houston, Texas, and then I spent 22 years on the criminal
bench hearing only criminal cases. And I have met, unfortunately, a lot
of sexual assault victims who have come my way either when I was
prosecuting their cases or as a judge.
It is tough, really, it is tough to make those statements public and
come forward. But I want to read a few of these statements and these
stories that happened to some of our ladies that they call the 12th
Woman.
Abbie's family was based around the values of Texas A&M that it
instills in its students. She was raised by two Aggie alumni, and there
was never a doubt about where she would ultimately attend college: it
was always Texas A&M. But like so many others, what should have been an
outstanding experience, just turned sour.
One night, while hosting a Christmas party at her own apartment, she
was raped. That is correct, Mr. Speaker, she was sexually assaulted.
So when she woke up the next morning, she didn't remember how a
portion of that night ended. Bruises, scratches covered her arms, her
legs, and her clothing was ripped and torn.
So doing everything that I think a rape victim should do, she had a
rape kit conducted just a few hours later. The hospital nurse ended
Abbie's SANE exam--SANE stands for sexual assault nurse examiner--and
she told her, ``I will see you in court,'' describing it as the most
evidence that she had ever seen.
Abbie thought that she had a good case against her assailant. She was
advised by the College Station Police Department to seek justice
through the school and proceed to file her report through them.
So she filed a report. The university called a hearing.
The hearing began with what Abbie and her mom thought would be a fair
playing field, until it became evident that she faced a series of well
prepared attorneys at this hearing and she had no legal representation
of her own. Not a single person at the university, the police
department, or the hospital advised her that she had the right to
retain legal representation.
During the hearing, she was, in her opinion, ambushed by her
assailant's attorney, who peppered her with a lot of questions. The
fact that she had created a Facebook event for the party and offered
accommodation to those who were drinking to crash at her apartment was
called into question. It was if the university panel thought that
Abbie's rape was her fault.
Let's get one thing straight, Mr. Speaker. Let's make this perfectly
clear. Sexual assault is never the fault of the victim. It is the fault
of the perpetrator, and that is the way it should be, because it is the
perpetrator who caused this. The victim shouldn't feel like they did
something wrong, but in our culture, sometimes they are put on trial.
Following the hearing, she was referred to a student counseling
service, where she met an individual who had no training in working
with sexual assault victims. So what was the point of talking to the
school counseling if there was no training to handle these types of
cases?
After a lengthy process and dealing with an investigative panel that
she thought and believed was cold and uncaring, her assailant
ultimately faced no consequences. Abbie felt betrayed by the university
that she highly regarded. Her assailant just went back to class. Abbie
was forced to see the man who raped her walking freely around the
campus, a campus where she should have felt safe.
Ultimately, she made the decision to graduate early, ending her time
at Texas A&M prematurely.
She feels like the university that she highly spoke of failed her.
She says:
The university I speak so highly of has failed. Who knows
if it failed before me. There just wasn't anyone to speak out
about it.
Abbie joins the 12th Woman to demand change, not at just Texas A&M,
but colleges across the country.
Abbie says:
It is time for Texas A&M to follow the Aggie code of honor.
They should follow it themselves and unite with the sexual
assault survivors to be an example of fearless change among
the very best American universities.
Mr. Speaker, the Texas A&M code of honor says, ``An Aggie does not
lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.''
That is Abbie's story, and I think we should thank her for making her
story available for all of us.
Meghan was a fourth generation Texas A&M Aggie. Her decision to
attend this prestigious school was never a question in her mind. It was
an amazing experience until things went bad.
One morning, while serving as a tutor in the athletic department, a
member of the Aggie football team, twice her size, exposed himself to
her not 2 feet away. He made sexual advances toward her, becoming
aggressive.
Terrified and shocked, she abruptly walked out of the room, trying to
remain calm as he followed her.
Despite reporting the assault to her supervisor, something just went
wrong.
[[Page H6580]]
The remainder of her assailant's tutoring sessions were not canceled.
And get this: the very next morning, Meghan's assailant exposed himself
to another tutor, becoming aggressive.
Mr. Speaker, Meghan feels she did not get justice against her
attacker. She feels and tells me she was failed by a university that
was not really committed to helping victims. She was scared in the
process, scared to go back to work, terrified she might run into this
individual again.
Before the hearing, the university claims she did not need a lawyer,
she was not facing charges. She received no notice that her assailant,
however, had hired legal representation, which he has the right to do.
Months later, Meghan's assailant was found not responsible for
exposing himself to both tutors. The panel stated that it appeared he
had a skin condition and just couldn't control himself. A skin
condition, Mr. Speaker?
The response she received was nothing short of appalling. The school
said:
Sorry, Meghan, that you were offended, but there is nothing
else we can do.
Meghan has appealed that case, and did appeal that case. She still
believed the university would come to provide justice for her.
At the appeals hearing, she was informed that the charge against her
attacker had been downgraded from sexual exploitation to sexual
harassment. What that meant was, in the university's eyes, she was
removed from the remainder of the hearing and couldn't be considered as
a victim.
The university supposedly has several systems in place to aid
victims. Texas A&M employs a victim advocate, but no one from the Title
IX office contacted Meghan. She didn't receive any information
regarding what sanctions her assailant received, if any, and of course
her assailant was allowed to be back on the athletic team.
Mr. Speaker, he stayed on the team until she told the media about all
of this, and then he was later removed from the team and two
misdemeanor charges were filed against him after she went to the media.
Meghan felt abandoned by the university. She thought the accused was
protected due to his status. Texas A&M spends a lot of money on teal
ribbons, according to her, for athletes to wear for sexual assault, and
she says that the ribbon is not enough. Universities must put the
safety and care of sexual assault victims first. I agree with her.
She says:
A&M has a chance to be fearless on every front and to be
fearless in the face of such horrible things that are
happening to our victims.
She wants A&M to take the lead on this that is taking place on our
university campuses.
I applaud Meghan for having the courage to come forward and tell her
story to the world.
Kirsten, she loved being at Texas A&M University. She considered it
one of the friendliest campuses, and enjoyed her time at one of the
country's finest educational institutions.
After she returned from the winter break in the second semester of
her freshman year, her happy-go-lucky bubble of college was shattered.
She was invited to hang out at her guy friend's apartment, and was
led to believe that several of their mutual friends would be there.
When she arrived at the apartment, she realized that they were alone.
Her so-called friend proceeded to sexually assault her.
The next day, her friends and sister pushed her to report the
assault, but she didn't want to. She was made to feel like the crime
was her fault. She told her resident assistant, who warned her that as
an RA, she was required to report it. So a few days later, she received
an email from the Division of Student Affairs inviting her to tell her
story.
Time and time again, she had to relive the story in graphic detail
almost directly after it happened.
One thing about sexual assault victims that unfortunately seems to
happen, when they first tell the first person about what happened to
them, it is not going to be the last time. Generally they tell people
who are strangers, people they don't know, and they have to tell that
story over and over again, and because of that, they have to relive
that experience. That is what happens when sexual assault victims have
to come forward. They go through that, but we should be understanding
of that process.
She says:
If I hadn't already been traumatized by this, the
university officials re-victimized me, certainly cementing
the damage to my mental health.
It is true that any investigative panel must understand what happened
before drawing conclusions, but there is a way of doing that and
getting that information without being insensitive.
Kirsten says she felt as if the investigators were cold and devoid of
empathy. During the disciplinary appeals panel after the deadline to
submit new evidence had passed, she was informed that the assailant's
fiancee, who wasn't even present the night he attacked her, was
permitted to serve as a witness. This witness served only the purpose
to disparage Kirsten's character.
Right before the panel began, she discovered that her assailant had,
like some of the others, obtained legal counsel. Unable to have
representation of her own, she ran to the Student Legal Services. They
refused to help her. They wouldn't offer her legal advice. They had no
victim advocate there to speak to her or on her behalf.
Kirsten, like many other victims, was alone, and she felt alone.
There was no other choice. The investigation continued.
At one point, the officials at the university asked her why didn't
she scream, as if it is Kirsten's fault she was assaulted and raped.
Kirsten says the university official in the investigation became
increasingly irritated, and it was abundantly clear to her that that
person viewed this as a waste of the university's time.
Ultimately, the university concluded that Kirsten had likely been
sexually harassed, but it was not up to the university to sanction her
offender, because there was no impediment to her educational
opportunity.
{time} 1230
Let me repeat that. Nothing happened because, according to them,
there was no impediment to her educational opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, Kirsten fully believes, in the end, the panel turned her
words, her desire to complete her education, and her commitment to her
family against her. And they used her resilience and her loyalty to the
university as a weapon against her to absolve themselves from any
responsibility.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to tell Nikki's story, as she recounts it. I
have a total of six. For Nikki, a semester's worth of studying was
about to pay off. Finals week was here. One week was all that stood
between Nikki and a short break before the next semester began--that
is, until she was sexually assaulted.
Following her assault, she reported to the Texas A&M clinic, creating
even more stress on her. Before she left the clinic, Nikki recalls the
head physician came over to her and told her: Things happen for a
reason.
It was shocking to her, and it was traumatic.
Following this traumatic experience at the clinic, she decided
against engaging in the reporting process, feeling that the university
was not sensitive enough. She was aware of the process, because she sat
on the university disciplinary appeals panel, listening to the appeals
of cases similar to hers.
She did return to a private hospital for a SANE examination--once
again, sexual assault nurse examination--by someone who is qualified to
examine, on a medical basis, sexual assault victims. She returned home
for a short break, where she says she had time to process everything.
Mr. Speaker, deciding to come forward and report the sexual assault,
as I have said, is overwhelming to these victims.
After some serious soul-searching, she began the reporting process.
She told the story to the university officials, like so many others,
over, and over, and over again. After her shocking experience with her
visit to the Texas A&M clinic, she says it felt like the reporting was
getting nowhere.
After weeks of attempting to report the behavior of the school
clinic, she finally received a call back, but she was dissatisfied.
The school apologized, but no change ever occurred that she knows of.
She says that: ``After encountering three different women's clinic
physicians
[[Page H6581]]
with such poor manners in a sexual assault case, it is clear to me that
something is wrong at the institutional level.''
It felt like she was the bad guy, forced to justify over and over
again her reasons for reporting. Feeling attacked, she tried to
withdraw her case.
Mr. Speaker, no victim should be forced into a situation where they
feel more discouraged by reporting a rape than they do by staying
silent.
But it was too much. Her grades started dropping. She started
receiving Ds and Cs on tests. She had never gotten Cs and Ds. Her
professors questioned her excused absences, asking if she was in
trouble, only forcing her to explain the situation more and more.
Upon finding out her assailant had hired legal counsel, she asked the
university if she could obtain her own legal counsel. The university
discouraged her from doing so and set a quick panel date.
Ultimately, her attacker was found guilty of sexual abuse, sexual
misconduct, dating violence, and sexual harassment. He was suspended
for the remaining three semesters of Nikki's time at Texas A&M. She
felt lucky because many survivors never receive, in her opinion,
justice.
Just in my opinion, if a person is guilty of sexual abuse, sexual
misconduct, dating violence, and sexual harassment, a three-semester
suspension doesn't seem to be much punishment, if any.
She says: ``If I felt lucky my rapist, who was found guilty, was
suspended for three semesters, one of which was already halfway over,
then, clearly, something was wrong procedurally,'' if that happened.
Many times, so many other victims never receive any justice, and the
question remains: Why is a three-semester suspension unheard of as
severe punishment?
Mr. Speaker, something here is wrong. The reporting process for
sexual assault should never continue to traumatize the victim at every
turn.
Nikki says: ``The trials of the reporting process at A&M served to
exacerbate an already traumatizing experience, leaving me feeling
punished, trapped, and deceived.''
She called on the university's support program for survivors of
sexual assault. It is an interesting note that, during this process,
she received a cease and desist letter from a lawyer wanting her to
tell the university it never happened, and to pay $10,000--I presume
legal fees--to the attorney. I think that is just outrageous that that
happened.
Sydney was at Texas A&M, the school she loved, a school she always
wanted to go to and did go to. It was her dream school. She was in the
second semester at Texas A&M and, over a welcome weekend break, she was
sexually assaulted. Her assailant took advantage of her as she was
unconscious, intoxicated, and unable to fend for herself.
In accordance with title IX rights, she reported the rape. Ninety-six
days after reporting, she was granted an 8-hour hearing. She was told
that any individual can serve as her support during the hearing, but
was never advised to seek legal counsel. Here are a few lines from her
victim impact statement: ``Over the spring break, I decided that I
didn't want to live anymore.''
Let me read that again: ``Over spring break, I decided that I didn't
want to live anymore. I consciously decided that this was too much for
me to take. The waiting. . . . The constant paranoia. The fact that
this boy did something to me that made me want to take my own life
should speak for itself. I am an optimistic person. I excel at creating
my own happiness. But no matter what I tried, I could not find the
silver lining in this situation.''
Mr. Speaker, Sydney did seek help. She was diagnosed with PTSD.
Her impact statement continues: ``What happened to me 4 months ago
has impacted me in the most tremendous way--academically, spiritually,
mentally, physically, in how I handle my relationships. What happened
to me has ultimately changed my life and my perspective of life
forever.''
Mr. Speaker, this is one of the rare cases, in my opinion, where
there is some hope. Sydney did receive justice after going through all
this physical and mental anguish and pain that she is going through.
Her assailant was expelled, given a no-contact order, and restricted
from A&M property indefinitely. Is it the outcome that we would expect?
I would hope so.
To put it into words she said: ``The weight lifted off my shoulders
when I heard that A&M chose to expel him . . . a weight that nearly
smothered me for over 96 days. The fear of running into him on campus,
the fear of seeing him around town, the fear that haunted and
controlled my every move on campus, it was finally gone.''
That, to me, is justice. It means being free from the fear of
constantly being attacked. The rapist has given Sydney a life sentence
of mental pain. When defendants--I will call them perpetrators,
predators, whatever you want to call them--commit an act of sexual
assault, whether they are punished, suspended, go to prison or not,
whenever that consequence under society is over, they go on with their
lives. The victims don't get to go on with their lives. This is the
type of offense where they think about it almost on a daily basis.
That is why I say that it gives them a life sentence of pain and
anguish and turmoil. Sydney stands with her fellow Aggies, demanding
justice for the victims of sexual assault.
She says: ``I wouldn't be the Aggie that Texas A&M taught me to be if
I remained silent after receiving justice for myself. I wouldn't be the
Aggie that Texas A&M taught me to be if I didn't have the backs of
these other Aggies, other survivors,'' these other members of the 12th
Woman. ``Texas A&M taught me to be, if I was afraid, to stand here and
be counted as another one of its one-in-five victims on college
campuses'' of sexual assault.
Because of the time, Mr. Speaker, I am going to just relate one more
story and make some comments about what we are going to do about these
cases.
Kendra was a proud member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. Holding
an executive officer title, she could not be prouder to attend the
school and be part of this outstanding university that prides itself on
respect for men and women in our military service.
She was on track to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the
United States Army--that was, until the repercussions of her sexual
assault at the hands of a fellow cadet sent her world, like the others
that I have talked about, into an uproar.
Texas A&M has an age-old tradition called the Aggie Ring Dunk. She
and her fellow cadets, one by one, dropped their new class rings into
pitchers of beer. Then they started drinking until they surfaced with
the gold rings appearing in the foam.
What should have been a fun night ended in tragedy. One of her fellow
cadets, who happened to be engaged to someone else, her friend, walked
her and her friend to the dorm room. However, he followed her into her
room, locked the door, and began assaulting her.
Despite being weakened from the alcohol, she told him ``no,'' pushed
him away, did everything that a lady, a victim in this case, should do
to get him away from her. At one point during the attack, he began
suffocating her. She feared for her life.
Since her assault occurred in a campus dorm room, she was told that
there would be a crime alert email sent out to the entire campus. That
alert never went out. No one was warned that a violent sexual assault
on campus had been reported. Not a single A&M woman was any wiser.
Kendra says: ``I believe Texas A&M endangered the lives of every
single A&M student that came into contact with my rapist from the time
the university knew'' what he had done.
She was then told that she would meet with the commandant of the
corps, along with both of her parents, to address the safety and her
lack of safety. Suddenly, her parents were barred from the room, not
allowed to provide any support for her.
Rest assured, the general would have two assistants in the room with
him. Three against one, the 20-year-old cadet versus three high-ranking
military officials, to discuss rape, rape against her.
After much debate, the meeting never occurred. Instead, the dean of
student life met with Kendra and her parents. She described that
meeting as that individual ``implied that my report of the assault was
causing her
[[Page H6582]]
trouble, and I wasn't helping anyone by coming forward. . . . And then
there were several ways that I was requesting not to see my assailant,
because we lived in very close quarters and had common classes and
common activities.''
Every single one of those requests by her was denied to keep him away
from her. They offered to move Kendra's parking spot; not the
assailant's. They offered to change Kendra's schedule; not the
assailant's. They offered to move Kendra's dorm to another dorm, but
not the assailant's. A no-contact order was issued, but, you guessed
it, it was up to Kendra to leave if the individual showed up in a
classroom or the building.
Throughout the entire process, she said the university said that
lawyers slow things down and aren't necessary. But Kendra obtained a
lawyer that night. Shortly afterward, she received justice against her
assailant.
As soon as her attorney met with school officials, the school quickly
found a way to suspend the assailant until the hearing. Kendra's case
was decided by the university's student conduct panel composed of three
faculty members, and they found him responsible for 21 charges,
including sexual abuse and sexual contact. And he was expelled.
{time} 1245
It seems to me that because she hired her own private attorney she
got the justice that she wanted and she deserved.
To this day, Kendra hopes university police will pursue a criminal
case against her attacker. With the current backlog of DNA testing, it
would take a year for her sexual assault kit to be analyzed. Until then
she will continue to speak up, be part of the 12th Woman, and ask for
change for her beloved university and all universities to make them
safer for all students.
Those are six cases, individuals, young women, who went to college
and bad things happened to them. Their statements speak for themselves.
In some cases they felt like the university helped them; some cases
they don't feel like the university helped them. But to a person--I was
starting to say to a man--but to a woman, they all want improvements on
college campuses about what has taken place on our campuses.
After all of these things came out in the public domain, the 12th
Woman group met with university officials. They presented a 12th Woman
report outlining specifically what happened and what they want changed
on their university, and really what should be changed on other
universities.
Mr. Speaker, I include the report in the Record.
12th Woman Report
This report outlines the information shared between the
12th Woman and the administration of Texas A&M including
Chancellor John Sharp and President Michael Young on Monday,
June 25, 2018.
About 12th Woman--The 12th Woman is a group of survivors
and advocates dedicated to transforming Texas A&M University
policies for providing justice in cases of sexual assault
that are reported.
Introduction to Meeting with Texas A&M Administration
My name is Abbie Hillis, and I want to welcome everyone
here tonight. Thank you to the victims for being brave enough
to share your story and thank you to the administration and
President Young for making this meeting a priority.
It is fair to say that we all know this meeting shouldn't
even be a meeting we are forced to have. As survivors, we
know the administration has had meetings like this before,
recently in fact, where you were forced to listen to stories
about how the policies and procedures at Texas A&M need to
change. We are here tonight because there has been complete
and utter failure by the leadership at Texas A&M. You all
have declined to make sexual assault advocacy, policy, and
procedure a priority. Instead, you continue to issue what are
titled ``messages to the community,'' in the hopes that a
carefully-worded statement will keep current and future
students satisfied. Well, we are saying no more. The constant
gaslighting and victim blaming must end.
We come to you today with huge hearts for Texas A&M, but we
also come to you with broken hearts, because you have chosen
to prioritize the university's brand over justice for
victims. For a university that portrays itself to the public
as unique by priding itself on its core values, it is
unconscionable to hear the never-ending stories over and over
and over from survivors. These stories are all the same and
demonstrate in each and every case that the university
prioritizes athletes, money, and perceptions of safety over
providing advocates and support for victims who have been
sexually assaulted. Victims are silenced, shamed, and
encouraged not to hire an attorney. Victims go to the Student
Counseling Center only to be told not to report their story
or that the issues are far greater than the SCC can handle.
Victims are forced to walk on campus next to their assailant,
or worse, to watch their assailant compete and represent the
university on a global stage.
Our stories today will illustrate the inconsistencies in
Texas A&M's reporting procedures for sexual assault crimes.
There is no uniform reporting process and no one is held
accountable. Current policies encourage those in charge, like
some of you sitting in this room today, to brush stories
aside and sweep victims under a rug. Texas A&M is spending
money on ribbons for athletes to wear for sexual assault
awareness but can't provide a qualified trauma counselor to
support sexual assault victims. The university also spends
money duplicating services that are already provided for free
through the government. But this isn't new information to any
of you.
Beyond hearing our stories today, I hope you all also know
that we are investigating your Clery Act alerts with reports
of sexual assault, as we believe there are discrepancies. We
are aware that the university has hired Husch Blackwell LLP
to do a ``thorough'' review of your sexual assault
investigations related to Title IX. But we also know that
this is the exact same firm that found Michigan State
University compliant with Title IX prior to Larry Nassar
being convicted of over 200 counts of sexual assault. Maybe
if MSU actually hired a team of attorneys that genuinely had
the university's best interest at heart, they wouldn't find
themselves in a $500 million settlement. We are curious, is
this the same outcome you all want for Texas A&M? As I
mentioned before, none of this information is new, yet these
issues still come up and we get the same response from the
administration with no results. There is no doubt that the
university is proficient in providing a statement in attempt
to address an issue, but we all know that words only go so
far and actions speak so much louder, actions that you all,
to date, have not had the decency and respect to make a
priority.
Our goal is not to spread awareness to this administration;
you know very well these issues exist. Instead, our goal is
to invoke action with the leadership of the university. Texas
A&M has the ability to be a leader among universities across
the nation. You have an opportunity to address these issues
and create a system that actually works to protect and
advocate for victims of sexual assault. We can either choose
to work together and create change or we will have to work
against each other and force change. Ultimately, it is up to
you, the leadership of Texas A&M, to decide which route we
will take. What we are asking for is simple: a commitment to
integrity, to ensure that all Aggies are safe to attend Texas
A&M University.
Mr. POE of Texas. Also, the school, Texas A&M, has responded. The
president met with the 12th Woman, the ladies in this group, and had a
meeting with them and has issued a comprehensive statement, as they
call it, comprehensive reviews and actions and next steps by the
president of the university.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record what Texas A&M's response to all
of this is.
Comprehensive Reviews, Actions and Next Steps
(July 2, 2018)
Dear Aggie Community, I would like to provide you with an
update regarding review plans recently announced that seek
ways to improve how the university addresses sexual assault
investigations. Since the last update, below are some of the
efforts underway now and in the near future:
Robin Means-Coleman is, as reported earlier, leading the
internal review. She has begun the following initiatives, to
which she and those involved will add additional actions
throughout the review:
Assemble the internal review committee. The committee is
comprised of a team of experts, to include: students
including sexual assault survivors; faculty whose scholarship
focuses on sexual assault; staff including student assistance
services; a representative from the community Sexual Assault
Resource Center (SARC); and others;
Analyze related university rules and Standard
Administrative Procedures (SAPs);
Examine Student Affairs Title IX processes, from intake to
post-process;
Identify ways to improve communications with students
regarding available resources, advocates, and advisors; and
Understand staffing allocations and needs.
EVP and Provost Dr. Carol Fierke is, as reported, the lead
liaison to the third-party review firm, Husch Blackwell (HB).
HB will be on campus beginning this month to interview
students, faculty, staff, community advocates and others. HB
was selected because of their expertise and deep level of
scrutiny as it pertains to assessments of policies and,
importantly, challenges in implementing those policies.
Primary interview input, process analysis, training review
and benchmarking to other universities will be some of their
work. We will make available
[[Page H6583]]
to HB the information and resources that they require.
Significantly, as is essential to any meaningful results in a
third-party review, we will also stay out of their way so
that they may do their work independently and unfettered.
During the course of these reviews, as opportunities for
improvement are identified, we will take action. We will not
wait until conclusion of reviews to implement what we are
able to improve as we move along.
Since my last message, an Aggie-led sexual assault
survivors group agreed to meet with our leadership team last
week. The Chancellor, Provost and I along with other campus
leaders listened carefully as individuals bravely shared
their experiences. We are deeply grateful for their input. We
will not comment on any individual case or publicly share
details of that private discussion, but I want to sincerely
thank them for their testimonies and willingness to share
with us directly. I reiterate our commitment to addressing
concerns brought forth.
We are committed to keeping our Aggie community informed as
these important reviews and resulting actions progress. It is
important to remind you of the standing invitation for all
Aggies to send suggestions to [email protected], which we are
reading.
I want to thank you again for your input, caring and
support as leaders inside and outside of the university
advance this important work.
Sincerely,
Michael K. Young,
President.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Texas A&M is not alone in the fight to
provide victims a voice. As stated in one of the victim's statements
that I read into the Record, the National Sexual Violence Resource
Center reports that each year one in five women will be assaulted while
in college. One in five, 20 percent, in those 4 or 5 years. To me that
is a staggering statistic.
According to End Rape on Campus, an American woman who attends
college is more likely to be a victim of sexual assault than a woman
who does not go to college. That means whatever you think it means--one
in five.
Mr. Speaker, most of us in the House are parents. I am blessed to
have three daughters and a son, and I have 12 grandkids, eight of which
are girls. Parents need to be aware of these statistics. One in five
will be assaulted while in college as a student.
So what we want to do and what the 12th Woman wants to do is to stop
these statistics and bring them down. I understand that at Texas A&M,
the statistics--and I may be wrong--the statistics show that 1 in 14
are assaulted. At the same time, institutions of higher education
across the country, to me, do not have an incentive to acknowledge the
problem publicly, to address it.
We can understand why universities don't really talk a lot about what
is happening with crimes on campus. They just don't. It is about the
image of the university and other things. But it is not being talked
about, I think, enough so that people are on notice that there is a
problem.
Here are some solutions to the chances of having an assault committed
on campus and what we can do about it as public, Members of Congress,
and what universities can do about it. Some of those solutions are
presented in the president's report at Texas A&M. Many of the solutions
are presented in what these victims, the 12th Woman, tell us about.
The current oversight--because there are Federal laws that talk about
reporting all crimes, including assault--seems to affect encouraging
colleges to underreport sexual assaults.
I certainly applaud these young women for having the courage to come
forward and tell their stories to the world. This 12th Woman group, as
I said, are here today, and they are advocating for change on the
national level. It has nothing to do with Texas A&M. It has everything
to with changing all of our universities. It is a call to action. The
12th Woman is dedicated to bringing change to the way universities
address sexual assault, not just at A&M, but across the country.
I will stand with the 12th Woman, Mr. Speaker, for their coming
forward and telling their stories. These stories that you heard are not
unique to one university. They happen all over the country.
So what are we doing about it?
Hopefully, I have shown part of the problem. Now it is up to us. I am
talking about Congress. Victims of crime on college campuses--or really
any other place--sexual assault victims don't have high-dollar lawyers
from New York City to represent them. Whether it is in a university
setting or whether it is in a courtroom, they don't. Some of them do,
but most of them don't. As stated in these cases, most of them are
alone when they are trying to resolve this problem before officials at
the school.
The United States Congress must be their voice.
How do we become their voice? We make sure there is the right
legislation filed to protect our daughters and our sons when they go to
our universities. We have some legislation. The Clery Act is one of
these. We are going to try to improve it.
So I am talking about three pieces of legislation. These are pieces
of legislation that are bipartisan. I will repeat that. It is
bipartisan. So it may not get a whole lot of notoriety because we are
not fussing, fighting, and feuding with each other. Both sides agree. I
want to thank Carolyn Maloney from New York and Jackie Speier from
California--bipartisan--for working on these pieces of legislation.
They will help combat sexual assault on campus, provide victims with
a clear path to reporting to the universities, make sure victim
advocates are ready and available to all students nationwide, and make
sure that victims are able to access a qualified nurse examiner, a
forensic examiner.
Let me mention the first one. It is called the Megan Act. It is
bipartisan. Megan Rondini lived in Austin, Texas. She went to school at
the University of Alabama. While she was a sophomore there, she was at
a local hangout, a bar, and came in contact with a former student. She
was taken to his place. She was sexually assaulted, jumped out of the
second story window at his place, and then the whole system seemed to
fall apart.
She went to the hospital, but the person at the hospital didn't
really understand what the responsibility was of that medical test. The
rape kit was taken, but nobody knows where it is. It is gone. The
police interrogated her, I think, because they knew who the accused
was. The parents were important people at the university. They didn't
have anything to do with the case and even talked about filing charges
on her.
Then she went to the university and talked to a counselor. The
counselor said:
Well, I know the accused, and I am not qualified to talk to
you about it.
But they didn't furnish her with somebody else.
So she didn't get help from the university, didn't get help at the
hospital, and didn't get help from the police department. She had a lot
of emotional problems and decided to transfer. So she transferred from
the University of Alabama to SMU in Dallas, Texas.
Shortly after she transferred, Mr. Speaker, she committed suicide.
She couldn't handle it, all of these things going on in her mind. So
she paid; she got the death penalty for what happened to her. Megan
Rondini could have been anybody's daughter.
So we have filed the Megan Rondini Act. What does it do? It does one
thing specifically. It says universities and colleges must provide a
SANE or a SAFE, sexual assault forensic examiner, to victims of sexual
assault, or have one available for them nearby so that when they go to
report this trauma medically they get treatment from an expert. It is
bipartisan legislation. We ought to pass this legislation, get it on
the House floor and pass it to make our universities better.
I will say this about the University of Alabama, because of this
thing that happened at their school, they changed a lot of things. Good
for them that they changed a lot of their procedures.
I would ask the Speaker how much time I have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. ESTES of Kansas). The gentleman has 17
minutes remaining.
Mr. POE of Texas. Okay. I will talk a little faster. I am from Texas.
We talk slower. I would like to get more than 17 minutes, but I
understand.
Jackie Speier and I have filed a bill called the HALT Act, HALT
Campus Sexual Violence Act. I will give as many details as I can, Mr.
Speaker.
The National Institute of Justice estimates that 63 percent of
universities shirk their already legal responsibility when reporting
sexual assault violent crimes. They are already supposed to report it;
they don't. This bill will make sure that they do report it.
[[Page H6584]]
It allows the Department of Education to issue financial penalties to
people who don't comply with Title IX. It increases the penalties up to
$100,000. It allows a private right of action by the victim on campus,
and it requires public disclosure of a list of colleges and
universities under investigation in violation of Title IX and the Clery
Act. It increases funding so that universities can do this. The HALT
Act is a good piece of legislation.
The third piece of legislation by Carolyn Maloney of New York and
me--it is pretty bipartisan. Carolyn Maloney from New York is a
progressive, liberal Democrat. Ted Poe is kind of a conservative guy
from Texas. We are joining together to sponsor the Campus
Accountability and Safety Act.
What does it do? It provides, specifically, victim advocates in
sexual assault cases to victims of sexual assault on campus. It does a
lot of other things, too. I hope we can get both of these on the House
floor soon. It also requires that there is one reporting mechanism.
In other words, if you are complaining of sexual assault by a
student, there is one avenue on campuses. Other campuses, such as the
ones that have the Corps of Cadets, you go through the Corps of Cadets.
If it is against a faculty member, for example, you go that route. If
it is against an athlete, you go a different route. So we need to
combine all of those in all of our reporting systems so that students
know and are put on notice that they can go through one specific route.
These legislations do a lot of other specific things, too.
Recently I was at Rice University. I had Members of Congress down
there. We did a sexual assault forum on campus. What happened? Rice
University is doing a lot of good things. One of the things they do is
just make it real obvious that there are things that students can do.
Mr. Speaker, I include this poster in the Record.
You Are Not Alone
Rice University has supportive and caring faculty, staff,
and students who are here to help you.
If you have experienced any kind of sexual assault, sexual
harassment, relationship violence and/or stalking, it is not
your fault and you have options.
Rice University's Sexual Misconduct Policy prohibits
relationship violence, stalking, and sexual misconduct. These
behaviors include physical and verbal abuse, sexual assault,
unwanted sexual contact, and sexual harassment.
For emergency assistance, call:
RUPD/REMS.
For confidential counseling, call (24/7):
Rice Counseling Center
Houston Area Women's Center
the Montrose Center
Students can learn about their options at Rice by
contacting:
Title IX Coordinator
Student Wellbeing and Title IX Support
To learn more or to find a STRIVE Liaison:
Visit safe.rice.edu
Email TitleIXS[email protected]
Mr. POE of Texas. They post these posters throughout the university
and restrooms telling them basically you are not alone and here is what
you can do to educate and what you can do if a crime is committed
against you.
It is a good idea. They have a protocol that I think many
universities ought to look at. They have designed a student-based--
really?--a program that all students are required to take when they are
an incoming freshman. It is not just a 1-hour course. It is several
weeks long. They educate students on how to deal with other people--
relationships--that a lot of them have never been trained in doing.
Mr. Speaker, I have been talking about, I think, a very serious thing
that happens. Here in Congress, we spend a lot of time talking. Right
before I talked, you heard a lot of talking on both sides. But we spend
a lot of time talking about our national defense, and we spend a lot of
money on airplanes, aircraft carriers, and our military. I'm not saying
that we shouldn't. But it is defense spending to make us safe from
foreign countries.
Should we not be as concerned about the safety of Americans in
America and maybe refocus on their safety?
I think we can and we should. We need to make sure we get our
priorities straight.
{time} 1300
I have known a lot of sexual assault victims in my career at the
courthouse for 30-plus years. I still keep in contact with them on a
periodic basis. Sometimes they just call me to check in. I have known
sexual assault victims who, even after the trial and the person went
off to the Texas penitentiary, committed suicide.
Mr. Speaker, rape, sexual assault is a different type of crime than
your car being stolen or your house being burglarized. It affects the
individual in the deepest part of their soul. Sometimes the offender
tries to steal the identity, the soul, the self-worth of the victim.
Many of them feel that way for a long time.
We in the House of Representatives have the responsibility to be the
voice of sexual assault victims in our country and do what we can to
make sure that they have due process, that the same Constitution that
protects the rights of offenders--and I totally believe in those
rights--protects the rights of people who are victims of crime.
Due process and justice must balance both of those so that we get the
right decision for the right reason when these things happen to,
primarily, our female athletes or female students throughout our
universities.
I admire these women who have come forward, being bold to make public
what happened to them--bad things--and our response should be: We are
on your side. We are in it together. We are going to do what we can to
make our great universities even greater and protect our young men and
women on college campuses.
The 12th Woman. I would say, Mr. Speaker, don't mess with the 12th
Woman. These are relentless, tenacious young women who want to take
what happened to them and turn it around and make it something that we
can prevent, make it a positive thing.
My grandmother, who was the most influential person in my life--and I
will close with this, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the time--lived to
a ripe old age of 99. She was the most influential person in my life,
even more than both my parents, who are both alive. They are 93 now.
She told me that there is nothing more powerful than a woman who has
made up her mind.
I think these women have made up their mind, and we need to join them
and be together in our calls to stop sexual assault on campuses and
tell our universities and help our universities make those places safer
because our American children and children from other countries that go
to our universities are worth fighting for. It is our job to do so, Mr.
Speaker.
And that is just the way it is.
General Leave
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of my Special
Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my colleague
Congressman Ted Poe holding this important Special Order Hour to honor
survivors of sexual violence on our college campuses, and in particular
the brave members of the 12th Woman, a group of survivors from Texas
A&M University who are speaking truth to power about their experiences.
Judge Poe has been unwavering in his pursuit of justice for victims of
sexual violence on the bench and in Congress. I applaud his strong
advocacy and tireless dedication to this incredibly important cause. He
is a true ally and his legacy on this issue will continue to help
countless victims and survivors move forward.
When parents drop off their children for their first year of college,
we expect our institutions of higher learning to keep them safe. But
that's not the reality for 20 percent of young women and six percent of
young men who are destined to become victims of sexual assault on
campus. To make matters worse, survivors are constantly told that they
are responsible for their assault--from being penalized for so-called
`code of ethics' violations, like drinking at parties or going into
other students' dorm rooms, to being blamed for not fighting back.
That includes a brave survivor at Texas A&M who had the wherewithal
to alert her school that her rapist was allowed back on the swim team
after being suspended for only one semester and not being subject to
criminal charges. The school's response speaks volumes--``I regret your
displeasure with the perceived impact, and I wish you all the best as
[[Page H6585]]
you continue to seek healing''. The school's failure to protect the
survivor and other potential victims is unacceptable.
They are not alone. Universities continue to inadequately deal with
perpetrators across the country--from expulsions after graduation, to
honor code violations that carry less of a penalty than plagiarism, to
allowing perpetrators to directly cross-examine their victims about
their past sexual history during the so-called investigative process.
This kind of antiquated victim-blaming and -shaming must end.
That is why I am introducing the bipartisan Hold Accountable and Lend
Transparency or HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act with my colleagues
Congressmen Ted Poe and Brian Fitzpatrick to ensure that our colleges
and universities do everything they can to hold perpetrators
accountable and to provide the support survivors need and deserve.
____________________