By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
In her State of the University address Friday, President Mary Ellen Mazey spoke about the changes in how Bowling Green State University handles sexual assaults.
Last spring a student went public with her story of being raped and her futile efforts to have the perpetrator stop harassing her. That prompted a protest and a call for a change in the way BGSU’s approaches the problem.
A number of faculty members in Women’s and Gender Studies sent the administration a letter spelling out what they believed should be done. (Story here.)
Mazey convened a task force that met over the summer.
That task force has issued its recommendations, and the administration has accepted them all. (Story here.)
In an interview after the State of the University address, Mazey said that she was impressed with the work the task force accomplished. It was headed by Alex Solis, a former undergraduate student body president who now works in the president’s office, Meg Burrell, the undergraduate student representative to the Board of Trustees, and Dr. Maureen Wilson, of the College of Education.
In her address, Mazey promised to work to implement the task force’s recommendations. “As a community, we must all come together to prevent sexual assaults from occurring, make sure survivors are properly supported, and continue to ensure that our investigative processes are thorough, fair, equitable and respectful.”
Sarah Anne Rainey, an associate professor in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies, was one of the professors who helped draft the letter last spring to Mazey and served on the task force.
“We did a lot of data gathering on best practices, and I can honestly say that I am impressed with the administration’s willingness to take our recommendations,” she wrote in an email this week. This led her to believe the administration is addressing their concerns.
“I’m especially happy that they are hiring a new Women’s Center Director, and I’m impressed with the creation of a new Center with increased resources, staffing, and training to deal more effectively with sexual assaults and to help the University’s prevention efforts.”
The university’s response earned praised from the producers of “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary film about rape on college campuses. “More campuses need to follow @bgsu‘s lead in creating new, focused sexual assault conduct policies and task forces,” they tweeted this week.
Mazey also announced that Jennifer McCary, now at Gettysburg College, will join the BGSU administration assistant vice president for student affairs and Title IX coordinator.
Mazey said later that she heard McCary speak at a meeting of presidents from private and public colleges on Title IX. One president said it was the best presentation on Title IX that he’d ever heard.
Mazey said bringing McCary back to BGSU – she’s an alumnae – “will make a real difference to us.”
