Forum addresses security at Med. School

Medical School students and faculty criticized security practices and the University's handling of an alleged sexual assault at the Medical School during a two-hour forum last night. The forum was sponsored by the Medical School in response to the alleged sexual assault last month of a freshman by a University-hired building guard at the Med School complex. It presented information on rape and sexual assault while panelists asked the audience to offer advice and comments on how to combat the problem. The guard was fired after the incident for "administrative reasons." The student has not filed criminal charges. Students at the discussion told the panelists they had lost their sense of safety because of "lackadaisical" security practices both in medical buildings and around campus. They added that they particularly had lost faith in the security guards. "I feel absolute terror when I work [alone] on weekends," one medical student said, describing her fear when she would see two guards pacing the hallways. "I'd feel safer with women -- or no guards at all." Women's Center Director Elena DiLapi said during her presentation that feelings of distrust between men and women after incidents of alleged sexual assault are typical. "[Incidents such as these] pull apart the community," DiLapi said. "They damage trust relationships, affecting the way men and women relate." Other faculty members criticized the University administration for not spending enough money or showing enough commitment to the problems of sexual assault, saying the University has never stated "rape is unacceptable -- ever." Microbiology Professor Helen Davies, a member of the University Council Safety and Security Committee, said although the University reacts better than almost every other school to security problems, she and other tenured women faculty are forced to continually push the University. Students charged that they have never received correct information about the incident since the University has not released a statement. Forum participant Gordon Williams, vice president of the Medical Center and executive director of the Medical School administration, apologized for the lack of information available about last month's incident. He suggested a "crisis-management team" be set up to deal with situations such as last month's incident. This crisis management team, which he said Provost Michael Aiken's office was looking into, could include public relations people who would "get the information to the correct places," Williams said. Other forum participants included Students Together Against Acquaintance Rape executive committee member Nick King and Victim Support Services Director Ruth Wells. About 30 people attended the forum. Participants and audience members praised the forum saying they were pleased Williams wanted to hear other viewpoints. They said they hoped other schools would follow his lead. "I thought it was wonderful," University Life administrator Barbara Cassel said afterwards. "The panel said it all. [It's constructive] just being able to talk about this and clarify the issues."

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