Teaching Students Accused of Rape

[anonnynon]

I wrote this post a few days ago, and then sat on it, uncertain of whether or not I actually wanted to publish it. In the few days that I waited, another athlete was publicly accused of rape. For my university, this is the sixth one this year. This is not an issue that is going to go away anytime soon, and I'm forced to think this is an important conversation to have.

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I’m struggling for words here, so I hope that all of this doesn’t sound too jumbled or unorganized. I think the title of the thread gives you a good idea of what I’m about to discuss. 

 

Background info:

Two male students at my university were accused of rape of a female student and a female non-student back in the fall semester. The case has received a lot of press in our community because both men were athletes, and the university has cultivated a strong following for its athletic programs. The case is ongoing, but both men have been indicted on charges of rape. Both of their names and pictures have been released in the articles concerning the case. One of the men graduated at the end of the fall semester. The other remained enrolled (though removed from his team) and was in my class this spring semester.

 

I’m in my third year in a sociology PhD program and have been a teaching associate since I entered the program. Because I teach sociology classes, it is common for us to cover topics relating to gender and sexual violence. Though the class I was teaching this spring related to food and society, I do have a section on gendered media and advertising regarding food, which includes themes of sexual violence.

 

My class was relatively small, and we all get to know each other fairly well. I use small discussion groups on a regular basis, and students are assigned to a group the first week of class. So, there is a lot of interaction in my class between the students.

 

I found out maybe a month in that he was in the class – when I read an article that used his picture. So I have been having a difficult time processing and trying to figure out if/how this might have impacted my classroom dynamics. This has been a high-profile case in our community for a few reasons: the male who had graduated was a star on his team, these accusations were not the only ones opened against male athletes in the fall, but (I think) the only ones where charges have not been dropped and the accused have been indicted. Now I don’t think that this is something I should have addressed in front of the classroom, but I find myself thinking about how the people in his group may have felt having to interact with him each time we did small group work? Knowing the stats on sexual assault, there were assuredly survivors in my class – did having him in the classroom impact their ability to learn? When giving the lecture on gendered advertising/sexual violence, do students take this information seriously with him sitting in the class? Do they feel protected? I have struggled all semester with wondering if I my students have felt alienated, unsupported, unprotected in my classroom because of this dynamic.

 

I did discuss this briefly with my dept head and diss chair. Both were very supportive in making sure that I was okay to teach, but there wasn’t much discussion about impacts on my students. To be honest, this wasn’t something really surfaced for me until mid-semester, but it has been on my mind a lot.

 

I’m not sure that I have any specific question. I guess I’m just wondering, with many other universities dealing with issues of sexual violence, have any of you been in similar situations? Heard of others? How or was it addressed at all? 

[TakeruK]

Wow, this sounds like a very tough teaching situation. I can only say two things:

 

I am not surprised that your department head and dissertation chair are mainly concerned with supporting you in your teaching rather than impact on student. This support is important but it sounds like you are wondering what else could be done?

 

So, if you are still wondering what else could be done to consider/address impact on your other students, you could consider going to other resources on campus that can provide this type of support/information. The right resources may depend on your campus--for me, I would go to my Title IX coordinator and my school's Counseling Center to seek advice.

 

Note: This is not an experience I've had myself. However, I think our school does a good job of training us on the resources on campus and if a fellow TA on my campus came to me and asked the same questions you just did, this is what I would say! 

[Eigen]

I would also strongly encourage you to go to the CHE forums, and ask for additional advice there. Such topics have been an ongoing discussion, and you're more likely to encounter faculty that have been in this position before.

[dr. t]

If you do post this on the CHE, can you link it back here? I'd love to follow this, as it's an important issue.

[anonnynon]

I would also strongly encourage you to go to the CHE forums, and ask for additional advice there. Such topics have been an ongoing discussion, and you're more likely to encounter faculty that have been in this position before.

 

 I browsed through the chem forums and didn't see anything. I just used the search function to look for key words. Any recommendation for direction? 

[Eigen]

I was suggesting you post- I can think of a couple of threads discussing rape on campus (Rape Watch) being one of them, and there have been threads in the past discussing teaching students accused of rape (or other violent crimes). 

 

I know there are faculty there who have had the experience, and I'm sure they would have helpful advice for you.

[Sigaba]

@anonnynon MOO,  I think that TakeruK's guidance is the way to go IRT finding solutions/resources on campus. 

 

Here's the thing. If you use a tactic that backfires, saying that you were trying something that you got from a third party is not going to help your cause -- even if that third party is the received wisdom at CHE.

 

Another point. Were I in your situation, I would revisit my communications with the departmental head and your dissertation committee chair. They didn't tell you what you wanted to hear, but might they have told you what you needed to hear? 

[MathCat]

 I browsed through the chem forums and didn't see anything. I just used the search function to look for key words. Any recommendation for direction? 

If by chem forums you mean the forum for chemistry here, I don't think that's what they meant. I think they were suggesting https://chronicle.com/forums/index.php

[anonnynon]

If by chem forums you mean the forum for chemistry here, I don't think that's what they meant. I think they were suggesting https://chronicle.com/forums/index.php

 

This makes way more sense. My brain is mush at this time of year. CHE def did not translate to the Chronicle. Woops. 

 

@anonnynon MOO,  I think that TakeruK's guidance is the way to go IRT finding solutions/resources on campus. 

 

Here's the thing. If you use a tactic that backfires, saying that you were trying something that you got from a third party is not going to help your cause -- even if that third party is the received wisdom at CHE.

 

Another point. Were I in your situation, I would revisit my communications with the departmental head and your dissertation committee chair. They didn't tell you what you wanted to hear, but might they have told you what you needed to hear? 

 

I think I'd be very careful before taking any specific action. I don't even know that I'm looking for a specific action right now. The semester is over for us. It was just a very very very disorienting experience? And exhausting? With all the cases happening nationwide, I know that I'm not the only one in this position. I'm more looking for community rather than "Hey tell me what to do."

 

Can you clarify your last point? 

[TakeruK]

I can't speak to what Sigaba meant by their last point, but I would like to clarify my original post/suggestion in light of your statement about community. I suggested these resources because on my campus, these resources would be a place to find community on your own campus (I mean, the students in question probably take other classes on campus). I also did not suggest these resources simply because I thought you wanted to take actions, but on my campus, these resources would be great ways to just talk about your experience and/or reflect on it, if that helps sort out the disorientation. 

 

I should note that it's important to remember which resources on campus are confidential and which are non-confidential though. In my example, the Title IX Coordinator is a non-confidential resource in the sense that if you talk to them and in doing so, reveal some problem, they will take action. Our coordinators are very good at making sure the action is in the students' best interest and involve you in determining how the action is carried out. The staff at the Counseling Center are confidential resources, which means you can tell them anything and they are just there to listen and discuss your thoughts with you. So if you do look for community on campus, keep these factors in mind.

 

Note that at my campus, the Counseling Center is just as much a resource for people seeking resources to best support others (e.g. your situation) as they are for people who need support / counseling directly themselves.

[Sigaba]

 

Can you clarify your last point? 

 

They may have communicated implicitly that they want you to focus on your own work and not get too caught up in the concerns of your students and/or your concern for your students. 

[orangeglacier]

You keep mentioning "how do my students feel with him in my class" but what is the alternative?  You can't kick someone out of class because they've been accused of a crime before they're convicted (or even if the university can, it's certainly not your place as a TA to).  Your options appear to be:

 

1.  Teach the class as normal ignoring what you know about the student.

 

2.  Teach the class, but tone down the aspects of the curriculum relating to sexual violence in case someone would be more affected by such material with someone accused of such a crime sitting near them.

 

3.  Specifically bring up the incident in class discussion.

 

4.  Somehow get rid of the alleged perpetrator by not letting them attend the section or pressuring them to drop the class.

 

Both 3 and 4 seem wildly inappropriate, especially as a TA and not an administrator, so I would go with option 1 or 2.  Also remember, you keep talking about the other students.  It's entirely possible that this student is innocent, in which case they will also be feeling equally alienated, unprotected, etc., if not more so than your other students when such matters come up in class.

Edited May 7, 2015 by orangeglacier

[mb712]

My campus has a center for women that deals with gender and sexual harassment (and race, sexual orientation, etc. etc. etc. They're great.) type issues without getting administration involved unless necessary, as well as a group that deals specifically with college-related rape and sexual harassment. Although I haven't been in a similar situation, my first instinct would be to go to people like that and tell them about your concerns. Like your department head and chair, they may not actually end up doing anything but you never know when feedback you receive will be helpful. This last point is why I liked TakeruK's suggestion to go to the counseling center.

 

With how prevalent rape is, especially involving college students, it seems like this might always be somewhat of a concern though, right? Obviously it's a little bit different when there's a well-known accused rapist is in the room but just as always, treating the topic with a little extra sensitivity knowing how likely it is someone in the classroom has been affected by sexual violence might be the only thing you do do other than avoiding the topic completely. I have a hard time advocating for avoiding the subject or even minimizing the conversation because it's an important topic and if there's a specific group that needs to have conversations about gender and gender related violence, college students are definitely that group.

[anonnynon]

They may have communicated implicitly that they want you to focus on your own work and not get too caught up in the concerns of your students and/or your concern for your students. 

 

Hm, if this were true, I think I need to be in a different department! 

 

Wow, this sounds like a very tough teaching situation. I can only say two things:

 

I am not surprised that your department head and dissertation chair are mainly concerned with supporting you in your teaching rather than impact on student. This support is important but it sounds like you are wondering what else could be done?

 

So, if you are still wondering what else could be done to consider/address impact on your other students, you could consider going to other resources on campus that can provide this type of support/information. The right resources may depend on your campus--for me, I would go to my Title IX coordinator and my school's Counseling Center to seek advice.

 

Note: This is not an experience I've had myself. However, I think our school does a good job of training us on the resources on campus and if a fellow TA on my campus came to me and asked the same questions you just did, this is what I would say! 

 

That is a good idea to go to the Title IX coordinator. I know that the counseling center has tried to create a support group for survivors, but it has failed to materialize each semester due to lack of participation. I doubt this is from lack of need - maybe lack of awareness or fear of running into classmates? Regardless, I agree that it might be a good place to ask for support. Unfortunately the university doesn't have a women's center, but the LGBTQ+ center might also be a good resource. Thanks for your input. 

 

You keep mentioning "how do my students feel with him in my class" but what is the alternative?  You can't kick someone out of class because they've been accused of a crime before they're convicted (or even if the university can, it's certainly not your place as a TA to).  Your options appear to be:

 

1.  Teach the class as normal ignoring what you know about the student.

 

2.  Teach the class, but tone down the aspects of the curriculum relating to sexual violence in case someone would be more affected by such material with someone accused of such a crime sitting near them.

 

3.  Specifically bring up the incident in class discussion.

 

4.  Somehow get rid of the alleged perpetrator by not letting them attend the section or pressuring them to drop the class.

 

Both 3 and 4 seem wildly inappropriate, especially as a TA and not an administrator, so I would go with option 1 or 2.  Also remember, you keep talking about the other students.  It's entirely possible that this student is innocent, in which case they will also be feeling equally alienated, unprotected, etc., if not more so than your other students when such matters come up in class.

 

I essentially did #1. What I'm more asking if/what are the other options? This wasn't a position I'd ever expected myself to be in - I'd sort of thought that when students are under investigation for violent crimes, they wouldn't be permitted on campus. Maybe it was because his formal indictment didn't come until the beginning of spring semester - but I've seen people charged with other violent crimes be banned from campus in the middle of a semester. 

 

Research has shown that false rape accusations are only about 2% of all allegations that are reported to the police. Frequently included in the category of "false" accusations are people who later drop their charges - which can happen for a variety of reasons, such as domestic abuse, mistreatment of evidence by legal authorities, hostile treatment of victim by legal authorities, settling out of court, etc. Overall, I'm a lot more concerned with protecting survivors than protecting falsely accused folks - mostly because survivors are a lot more common. I have 2-3 students a year come out to me about being a survivor.

 

I'll also say that it is a huge deal that the people I'm talking about were actually indicted, and on counts of aggravated rape. Yes, innocent until proven guilty, but holy moly, if they were indicted on those charges, it means that there is some realllllly strong evidence. Albeit, they probably won't still be charged. That's mostly an issue with our legal system. 

 

 

With how prevalent rape is, especially involving college students, it seems like this might always be somewhat of a concern though, right? Obviously it's a little bit different when there's a well-known accused rapist is in the room but just as always, treating the topic with a little extra sensitivity knowing how likely it is someone in the classroom has been affected by sexual violence might be the only thing you do do other than avoiding the topic completely. I have a hard time advocating for avoiding the subject or even minimizing the conversation because it's an important topic and if there's a specific group that needs to have conversations about gender and gender related violence, college students are definitely that group.

 

I agree with you on the importance of the topic, and I don't think I will ever not include it. I do a lot of prep inside and outside of class leading up to the discussions on sexual violence, excuse any absences for those days, try to heavily moderate the discussions. I've done some extra trainings on how to discuss these issues. This is just....not something would be a part of the classroom. I've always thought about it in a very general sense - knowing that inevitably there are survivors in my classes, which means the reverse is also probably true. I think this semester was different because my student was indicted about a month into the semester on aggravated rape charges. I discussed this a little bit above. Maybe I am thinking my students are more aware of campus goings-on then they are, but given our discipline, they are generally the type of students to be following these things. Regardless, I don't think this is something that is going to go away - there was another student publicly accused during finals week. I definitely will be looking into the suggestions given as ways to further this conversation.