Office for Student Affairs > Safety/Concerns > University Response to Recent Sexual Assaults

University Response to Recent Sexual Assaults

May 20, 2008

Dear Concerned Members of the University Community,

We are writing today to provide an update about the University’s response to the three sexual assaults that recently occurred in our community. First, we would like to acknowledge that these incidents were horrible and traumatic. The victims of the assaults are in our thoughts, and we join with others across campus in hoping for their healing and recovery. When such incidents occur, the entire campus community is affected. Sexual assaults challenge our sense of personal and campus safety. We want to assure you that campus safety is of utmost importance to all of us.

Since the assaults were first reported, the University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD), Housing & Residential Life, the Aurora Center (which provides crisis intervention, advocacy, and on-going support services to sexual assault survivors, roommates, friends, family, and parents), and the Office for Student Affairs have been working diligently in support of the police investigation of the assault; serving the needs of students, faculty, and staff in distress; and addressing how to best enhance campus security. A team of police, counselors, and Housing & Residential Life and Student Affairs administrators held an open meeting for the residents of Pioneer Hall shortly after the incident there was reported. This kind of collaborative approach best helps meet the needs of survivors of such incidents. Those needs may include housing changes if requested, academic advocacy, legal advocacy, on-going support group services, referrals to ensure a sense of safety, and avenues for effective healing.

To enhance campus safety, especially in and around the residence halls and on-campus apartments, specific measures are being considered, such as improving lighting surrounding the residential facilities and installing more security cameras and door alarms inside the residence halls and campus apartments. Over the summer, staff will explore additional security measures for all on-campus residential facilities and the broader campus community. The UMPD investigative unit is actively pursuing evidence that may help bring the perpetrators to justice.

Many measures to protect the safety of on-campus residents are already in place. Outside entrance doors are locked at all facilities 24 hours a day, with the exception of four buildings that are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to allow access to residential dining areas. Doors and elevators to all residential living areas are secured 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are only accessible by card access or keys issued to residents. In addition, in each on-campus residence, security monitors from the UMPD are on duty nightly, 11 p.m.-7 a.m., as are night managers who are stationed at the front desk.

We encourage anyone affected by these incidents to contact the Aurora Center. Their Web site, http://www.umn.edu/aurora/, details the extensive services available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Or, you can call the 24-hour crisis line at 612-626-9111. For more information about what you can do to enhance personal safety and to help create a safer campus community, visit http://www1.umn.edu/prepared/safety.html.

Sincerely,

Kathleen O’Brien, Vice President for University Services
Jerry Rinehart, Vice Provost for Student Affairs

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