Shippensburg University President Laurie Carter said the university followed procedures in relation to two sexual assault accusations brought to light in a PennLive article last week. 

The university is obligated to protect the rights of the people on campus, Carter said. But because of legal reasons, the university cannot release information about the incidents. 

“At SU we work very hard to make sure [students] are safe,” Carter said.

SU student Brianna Armour said she first heard about the sexual assaults when her friend sent her a link to the PennLive articles a day after they were posted.

“I was shocked reading about the reports because we typically don’t hear about things like that happening on this campus,” Armour said.

She said she has seen SU do nothing to inform students about the sexual assaults. 

“The only reason the news is being spread is by social media and word of mouth,” she said.

Armour said she would like the administration to make everyone on campus aware of the situation.

“They don’t even need to go into detail but it would be nice to let people know that there could potentially be an admitted rapist attending classes with them, whether it’s by a simple tweet, email, or alert by text message,” she said.

Although Armour does feel safe on campus, she said she feels sickened that there is an admitted rapist at the university.

Senior Rachel Nazay said she was shocked and angry when one of the accused men attended a class they had together after the news had broken.

“We shouldn’t have to be going out of the way to avoid him,” Nazay said.

She added that her professor was also confused, because she had not been notified of the charges against him.

Nazay later sent an email to the president, dean of students, women’s center director and several others in which she shared her concerns with the handling of the situation. She was reassured by administrators that the situation was being dealt with behind-the-scenes.

Nazay emphasized that her concern is being able to feel safe on campus and in class.

“I want to be able to go to class without feeling uncomfortable,” she said.

Women’s Center director Arielle Catron advised that the Women’s Center is open to all SU students as a confidential resource.

“Students are welcome to come by Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to discuss their concerns, get information on reporting options [and] learn about on and off campus resources, all in a confidential environment,” she said. “We’re here to give support, information and non-judgmental confidential counseling when it’s needed.”

Share