HAMILTON, MADISON COUNTY -- Statistics say that at least one in four women in college will be the victim of a sexual assault. That’s a statistic Angelica knows very well. She asked to not give her last name because she is a victim - or as she says a survivor - of an assault that happened at Colgate University. She knew she wasn't alone, but also found a lot of people who wanted to do something about it.
On Wednesday, hundreds of students, faculty and staff came out to a rally she organized on the main quad of the campus. "In talking with people, I realized there was an overwhelming need to share their stories to make the public aware and make the school unify itself and realize it's not just about prevention," Angelica says.
Angelica says it's also about consequences for perpetrators and she has a lot of frustration with the way Colgate handled her case.
"The school didn't do anything about it,” said Angelica. “The school made it very difficult and when it came to actually sanctioning him or punishing him - they didn't. So he's still here."
Angelica and other students at the rally said that in addition to tougher sanctions, they would like Colgate to provide a legal advocate for students. Angelica says she was confused about how the process of pressing criminal charges would work and wishes she could have had more advice from someone with a legal background.
Colgate's Dean of Student Affairs says the school takes the issue very seriously and just recently revised the sexual misconduct policy with assistance from students.
"I think we will continuously be trying to create a climate for reporting, a climate that encourages young women and young men to come forward and report these matters,” said Dean Charlotte Johnson.
Angelica says she appreciates the work that went into the new policy, but doesn't feel it goes far enough.
"My dealing with the administration was more traumatizing than actually being sexually assaulted,” said Angelica. “That shouldn't be the case. That should not be the case at all and I want to change that."
Johnson says the new policy has much clearer language and definitions of sexual assault. She added that the school will continue to work with students, faculty and staff to make the campus safer.
