Inside Higher Ed
3.7.16 | Jake New
Student goes public with details on alleged rapist at Gustavus Adolphus, renewing debate over whether respecting privacy lets colleges get away with wrist slapping instead of expulsions.
Many college applications feature 500-word essays. Short in-class papers often have a similar word count. At Gustavus Adolphus College, a 500-word essay can also be the institution's punishment for students accused of rape.
That's the claim of students who organized protests at the small liberal arts college last week. One case in particular has galvanized student activists and concerned alumni: that of a student found responsible for sexual assault by the college, but whose punishment was later reduced from a suspension to having to write a 500-word essay about consent.
The accused student’s name and the allegations against him were made public last week in a post on Facebook. (Attempts to contact the accused student were unsuccessful.)
"The college has stated that there is essentially no other options for a survivor once the restrictions of an outcome are appealed and rescinded/lowered, and that they must accept the fact that they have to attend school, under the expectation of cordiality, with their own rapist,” Shentoria Cobbs, a student at Gustavus Adolphus wrote. “I will never be cordial and I will never forget his name, even if the school doesn't tell you it. I sincerely hope now that all of you won’t either.”
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