September 25, 2008

U. of Iowa President Apologizes Over Mishandled Sexual-Assault Allegations

Shock waves continue to buffet the University of Iowa over a case of alleged sexual assault. Sally Mason, the university’s president, met today with Iowa’s Board of Regents and apologized for the university’s handling of the alleged 2007 assault on a female student by two Iowa football players.

“Failing a student who asks for our help is unacceptable,” Ms. Mason said, according to the Associated Press. “Failing to be transparent and accountable to the Board of Regents and ultimately the people of Iowa is also unacceptable.”

Ms. Mason apologized to the alleged victim and her family for the university’s response. University officials followed established rules, she said, but those policies were flawed. The regents issued a resolution today directing Iowa’s public universities to conduct a comprehensive review of their procedures related to sexual assault.

The meeting came two days after Ms. Mason fired the university’s vice president for student services, Phillip E. Jones, and its general counsel, Marcus Mills. Both officials were singled out for criticism in an independent review of the university’s response. Mr. Jones and Mr. Mills are considering wrongful-termination lawsuits against the university, the Des Moines Register reported. In a letter to regents, Mr. Jones’s lawyers blamed the university’s athletics department for trying to squelch the assault allegation.

David W. Miles, president of the board, said today that Ms. Mason had his “full trust and confidence and that of this board as well,” according to the AP. However, a state lawmaker told the Des Moines newspaper that the “finger pointing” is hardly over.

“The buck needs to stop someplace, but I don’t think we know where it is yet,” said state Rep. Clel Baudler, a Republican. —Paul Fain

Comments

1. Sally Mason’s hasty attempt to throw meat to the wolves at the door will end up with her leg being bitten off. Jones and Mills were fired unjustly and they’ll have an easy day in court proving it. My estimate? A joint $12 million dollar judgement against UI and two personal injury cases against Ms. Mason that will impoverish her for the rest of her life. And you can take that to the bank.

   — My Soap Opera    Sep 25, 04:17 PM    #

2. There are several levels here that have to be determined. First, did a rape really take place or do we have yet another Duke senerio being fueled by an indignant parent? Second, if the boys did do something wrong, who, besides them, is responsible? President Mason can only act based on what others have told her. She has no first hand knowledge. Has she been let down? We’ll see.

   — Armando    Sep 25, 04:46 PM    #

3. There are some sports blogs that fill in the details on what allegedly happened that night and in the aftermath. Of course, you have to consider the source, but they make for an interesting read. Run a Google search and you will no doubt find them.

   — J. Ward    Sep 25, 05:15 PM    #

4. My Soap Opera and Armando, did you even read the report? Jones got an AD report, and later said that he has “nothing” and didn’t even know the accuser’s name. That’s unjust?
   http://www.press-citizen.com/graphics/Report.pdf

   People who compared this case to the one in Duke need to get the fact straight. In Duke, the accuser was a stripper who went to the boys’ home to do her job. And that case was injected with race issues also. This student-athlete in Iowa was assaulted in the dorm that was where she lived. University did their own informal and formal investigation last year and found that one more football player was involved in the assault, that football player was living in a female student’s room down the hall in the same building. The university has strong evidence to believe that those two players did rape this student-athlete. They failed to protect her!

   — Terry    Sep 25, 05:50 PM    #

5. HOW a rape allegation is handled can lead to over-shadowing the (and I would never equate this mess with the damage done to a rape victim) alleged crime. I am very concerned that this mess will only lead to future victims not reporting sexual assaults. How many young women would want to become the basis for such a circus?

   Her pain and suffering has gotten lost here. And that is why sexual assaults are still one of the most under-reported crimes. I have counseled too many victims who did not want their situation reported, for the very reason we are discussing here.

   — LT    Sep 26, 12:34 PM    #

6. While colleges and universities should educate students about sexual assault, provide counseling to those affected, and should take disciplinary action against any who are convicted, I believe educational institutions should not act as criminal courts.
   They have no authority under the law to replace the criminal courts, and even though their efforts to “adjudicate” sexual
   assaults are well intentioned, they inevitably get themselves into impossibly complicated and politically charged situations – satisfying no one, and in some cases, inflicting even more grief upon the victim. Colleges should do what they do best…educate and counsel. While there is a great reluctance on the part of sexual assault victims to go to court because of the pain and public humility often associated with that experience, colleges should not attempt to become an “alternative legal system” in our society for the handling of sexual assault cases. After a case is decided in the courts, then a college can take action regarding a student’s continued enrollment. Colleges do not handle murder cases involving one of their students; these cases are appropriately handled by the criminal courts; why should the awful crime of sexual assault be handled in any different manner?

   — Carl    Sep 26, 02:56 PM    #

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