Student Work

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Screen shows cars parked on North Jordan in front of greek houses. 

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Anchor Griffin Gonzalez: There’s an alarming rise in sexual assault reports right here on campus andstudents don’t even know about it. But there’s also a policy change in your right to know. 

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Gonzalez: The results of an IU NewsNet investigation straight ahead. 

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Anchor Ella Rhodes: Stay in your lane. Some cars are driving in bike lanes.

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Rhodes: We have a cautionary tale for the next time you try to navigate Seventh Street.

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Gonzalez: And it’s not just the boys in blue, it’s the women. We take you behind the push for more women to wear the IUPD badge. 

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Screen shows Gonzalez sitting at the anchor desk in Beckley Studio.

Gonzalez: The number of reported rapes and sexual assaults on IU’s campus is up to 14, but most people on campus don’t even know about it. Welcome to IU NewsNet, I’m Griffin Gonzalez. Let’s join my co-anchor now Ella Rhodes for more on that story. Ella. 

Screen shows Rhodes in front of a television screen in the studio.

Rhodes: Thanks Griffin. There has been a rise in sexual assault reports, but our IU NewsNet investigation just uncovered something else. And it’s major. It’s a change in policy regarding your right to the details. IU NewsNet’s Mary Claire Molloy is the first and only reporter to uncover the story on our campus. She joins us in studio with her investigation. Mary Claire? 

Screen shows Molloy standing in front of a television screen in the studio.

Molloy: They call it the red zone. It’s that time between the start of fall classes and Thanksgiving break when more than half of sexual assaults against students happen. But I’ve been checking the IUPD crime log every day and keeping a record. Our partner on this story is the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism here at IU. Only three of 14 reported sexual assault incidents have come through a campus alert. But that’s not all. I just learned the IU police department made a change in policy to leave off the details in the public police log about where the reported assaults took place. I’ll quote what they told me in just a moment. First, the backstory and why students are getting alarmed. 

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Rhodes: There’s heightened concern across campus, especially in the greek system. In six weeks, IU has sent three crime notifications to students of reported rapes and sexual assaults. 

Screen shows the IU Notify emails about the incidents.

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IU sophomore Mary Claire Wolk: I feel very unsafe, and I think it’s unfair that we have to feel this way as college girls. 

Molloy: But the issue is worse than students at IU have been told. Of 14 sexual assaultsreported since August 19, 11 are reports of rape and three of sexual battery. 

Screen shows interview with IU spokesperson Chuck Carney.

Molloy: So I’ve looked through the crime log, and all of these have been, occurred, there’s a date recorded. A record have occurred have occurred since the beginning of the semester, allegedly. And I’m just curious why students aren’t, don’t seem to be aware of these numbers. Why, why are they not receiving emails for all of them?

Carney: Well, again, because they’re case-by-case, they’re governed differently. It’s something reported on the police log, may be from weeks ago. It’s not an ongoing threat. And so not everything requires an IU Notify nor should you send out an IU Notify to unnecessarily sendsomething out that makes it seem as if it’s an ongoing threat. 

Molloy: The guideline is a federal law for higher education institutions called the Clery Act. 

Screen shows the Clery guidelines at IU.

Carney: What constitutes a Clery notice is really determined by federal law and it has to come to a certain level and it has, it has very clear boundaries as to what we can and should release. Molloy: IU spokesperson Chuck Carney says rising reports may reflect rising sexual assault awareness.

Carney: Something that is a report does not necessarily mean that there was something that rose to a criminal level.

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Molloy: But nine of the incidents, including one reported rape at Memorial Stadium on September 11, are still listed as Open Cases. Of the 14 cases, four victims declined to prosecute. 

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Molloy: Sexual assault reports are rising at campuses nationwide. But the protest here at IU took a quieter form. 

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Molloy: All 22 IU sororities boycotted the traditional greek events with fraternities last weekend. 

Screen shows interview with IU sophomore.

Wolk: I think that they need to recognize their boundaries and recognize when a woman says no, they mean no. The boycott prompted a lengthy response on Monday from the Intrafraternity Council. 

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Molloy, reading IFC statement: “We agree that this is a very pervasive issue on our campus and has been for decades. But most importantly, we agree that this is an issue that needs to end.”

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Molloy:  In the past, the IUPD police log has listed specific locations of reported sexual assault. Not anymore. Who would have information about whether this is a policy change? 

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Carney: I, you know, I can ask about that. The PIO for IUPD is Shannon Burger. And you could ask him. 

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Molloy: As we wait for an answer, the level of concern rises. 

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Rachel Locke: I love going to fraternity parties, but it doesn’t make me very scared to know that there’s people in the houses that have done terrible things that are not being held accountable for. 

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Screen shows Molloy in the studio.

Molloy: And holding sexual predators accountable just got tougher. IUPD confirmed just today what I noticed in these police logs: They are no longer listing specific locations of campus sexual assaults. Why not? 

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Molloy: Here’s what IUPD POI Shannon Bunger told me this morning: “Is it to protect (greek) people in those houses who may not have anything to do with it. It’s a privacy issue, not to protect the person that did it. But let’s say I live in a house and I have nothing to do with it.And then my stuff gets put out there, you know, then I’m guilty by association.” He goes on to say, “The change has been made because it’s a privacy issue. This is what we’ve decided to do as a team.We’re not the only ones doing this. If you look at the Bloomington police log, it says the same thing. It does not give the specific address.” 

Molloy: So how do women know what fraternities and dorms on campus are safe? They don’t. Not under this policy. I’ll follow up with the many questions it raises about safety and the public’s right to know. Ella, back to you.

Screen shows Ella in the studio.

Ella: Now that story is bound to get some reaction here on campus. And Mary Claire mentioned the IU Panhellenic Association boycott last Saturday of all events withfraternities because of the rise of sexual assault reports.