Merely printing something against rape seems redundant, though. There are so many other choices that dont have these rules. Are you seriously suggesting universities ban men from campus who are accused of rape with no proof and without an accuser who is even willing to go to the police or a local hospital for a rape kit exam, etc. I wonder what people do with degrees from schools like Christendom. If they had to leave public areas to show affection, then they might as well go to the prettiest. But honestly what is Smith talking about when she refers to the only cafe in town?? This is garbage, not because there isnt a problem at Christendom, but because your article contains obvious errors in judgment, is clearly slanted with the intent to make Christendom look bad, and doesnt address the actual problems that make these things happen. Well be waiting forever. Men and women BOTH have free will. To me that sort of practice betrays more about the motivations of the reporter than the matters on which he/she reports. I want trying to make things seem like a cheap sex novel, just trying to illustrate that things can happen quickly without us really knowing what is going on, which we can later regret. The first amendment offers incredible protections for shoddy journalism like this piece offers. Like that has never happened before on a less stringent campus. And boy, you are right. Only as an adult did I see the dynamics of power, coercion, grooming and (lack of) consent at play, and even when I began to tell my story, many people brushed it off as in onsequential. Smith texted her boyfriend the next day, saying she didnt want to see him again. Not a Christendom problem. People might think they are trying to help women, and that is an unacceptable conclusion. Not super romantic. teacher what had happened. Unfortunately sometimes the police are notified and when they investigate the alleged crime they find out that everything does not add up as the accuser states it happened. Our time-tested integrated liberal arts education is the ideal education for the future. ), Protected: Podcast #48: Accidentally unnamed, Protected: Podcast #46: Mamas little snakey loves bananofee pie, Protected: Podcast #45: Sharples and cocaine, Protected: Podcast 44: Some degree of martyrdom, One long dad joke: My interview with EOTTs S.C. Naoum. I remember loving the lushness of the area. You described an inability or unwillingness to use your words to say, this is hard, but Im saying no! There is a moral failing when a founders son is a perpetrator and this is covered up continually over the years, Andrew, you said: I still live in Front Royal, and until very recently our police have been a joke when it comes to stuff like this. I dont know what transpired during their internal investigation, but the college could have called both accused and accuser (separately) to give testimony in the presence of an attorney. It may be that the whole thing wasnt handled as it should have been, but then, how should it have been handled? Never, though, would I equate that with saying rape is OK. Protected: Podcast 23: Look at that s car go! I say, if you rape off campus, when you come back to campus, youre still a rapist.. In your own words, this article is about how this student should have received better care, and more protection from this guy later. The reason I posited a scenario where the college questioned both accused and accuser is so someone in a leadership position could hear the testimonies with objectivity and discernment and make a prudential judgement on behalf of the greater good of the community. Dorman, who no longer works for Christendom, did not respond to requests for an interview for this story. jlhyacintha wrote: A school can also take rape allegations seriously, and remove the accused person from campus. The only time that happens is when the entire story is based on a provable lie that they should have known about. So this rape would not have occurred if the dorms were mixed gender? Hes obviously prideful and arrogant. Students from over 45 states and 7 foreign countries are attracted to the Colleges Catholic family atmosphere and its dedication to the restoration of a truly Catholic culture. Purity more and more asks for a heroic virtue. Rapes happen far more frequently on college campuses where anything goes. We cant be legal positivists and simply assume anyone 18 or older is an adult. We need to be realists and recognize that being an adult has objective meaning. Instaurare Omnia in Christo! We ignore it at our peril. I mainly left because they wouldnt give tenure to the head of the sacred music department because he refused to teach the history of contemporary Christian music. It also unfortunately means this creep will probably try it again with another girl. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). That is not an easy thing to set up, yet the article claims that adding a sexual assault policy to the handbook is as easy as, opening a word document and writing it up: Dont rape people.'. Racism among white Christians is higher than among the nonreligious. Vol. In The Sin of White Supremacy: Christianity, Racism and Religious Diversity in America (Orbis, 2017), Jeannine Hill Fletcher, Ph.D., professor of theology, examines theology's culpability in perpetuating ideas that elevate both Christianity and whiteness over all else. L.A. council President Nury Martinez faces pressure to resign after racist remarks in leaked audio. Which is probably why you hide behind your anon screenname. What are men doing to step up their game for women? There is a feeling of disillusionment for many, even those who stay. I can understand the experience of being surrounded by 'unholy' people and being unable to come to grips with them being Not Catholic Enough, though. I think rape should be a clearly defined and promulgated capital crime so there would be fewer instances and false allegations. It sounds from the way the witnesses say he behaved that this guy probably is a sociopath and I believe probably did rape her. That is a fundamental principle of justice. That often results in rapists going free and never even getting charged for lack of evidence. Seriously how is this possible? Christendom teaches its students to group date first. It is a call to be honest about their mistakes, so they can address them in a properly Christian manner. Our on-campus nurse and counselor are available at no cost and can help with trauma and recovery. is buddy allen married. I cant relate myself, but I hope youre doing well now! In 2010, after the church sex abuse scandal, the air force academy sexual assault scandal, among others, its horrendously negligent not to have these policies. The other allegations against him were also by hearsay, and they put those allegations in writing and asked him to defend himself. Los Angeles City Councilmember resigns after leaked racist remarks. While it is reasonable for a Catholic school to allow chaste PDAs, its not necessary that do so. Good job trying to romanticize rape, but your writing would be more appropriate in a pornographic novel, where creeps actually try to convince themselves women enjoy being raped. The more men have to be heroic, the more women do as well. Ya got me! The young man then started unbuttoning her jeans, and she again told him No. He pulled her down so she was flat on the back seat. Which, I dont suppose I have any obligation to do, but its unfair to simply expect the school to just automatically presume the worst. Glad to hear everyone still hates those fountains. He took his knee and pushed my legs open, pulled my shirt off, and pulled my jeans down. I sympathize with the people who want a man to be expelled based on one womans testimony (such as in the above article), but we have to admit that is at the expense of innocent men getting expelled as well. Mr. Dorman showed no apparent interest in pursuing any sort of investigation, Scott Smith wrote. Grad school was a very supportive environment for me in a number of ways. I can tell you personally when I read the hand holding policy I thought it was a paper rule, I had no idea the lengths of its enforcement. Before I left the church one of the last times I went to confession was before serving a mass in the dominican rite for a priest I'd shared most of my courses with in grad school. A handbook that is not going to stop a rape. First, Christendom College could have made their own report to the police. I am not making this up. You keep going. Now, 10 years later, she popped on my fb board, so I checkes her up. Sin and error should be brought into the light so that Christ can heal them. In 2018, while delivering the Commencement Address for Christendom, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said, This is a wonderful, wonderful, college a decidedly Catholic college, and I am decidedly and unapologetically Catholic. I think so. The accused do NOT have to prove their innocence. The college has strict rules about students of opposite sexes being alone together. The article linked directly to the current handbook. [3] In 2002, Fr. Funding for the creation of this archive was generously provided by Christendom College. It is beyond belief that the man has not ever been punished. Congrats for finding a better life path. But the job of the press would be to make me out a liar, Smith said, noting that rape victims often find the trial to be more traumatizing than the actual event. My inclination is that this was rape and the man is guilty. Andrew, She said she realized she could not stop the man. The article linked directly to the current handbook.. Now that everyone has cellphones, it would be cool if the school set up a service where you could text for a pickup if youre in trouble for instance if youre at a party where youre being pressured to drink, or alone in a car with a pushy guy. I remember thinking, Is that what I think it is? What I found was the opposite, the longer a person had been at Christendom the less likely they were to show Christian charity, or even a spirit of evangelization. Hardly seems fair to hide behind a university and blame it for this problem. No matter what your belief now, or if you have no belief at all. The college cracks down on professors hosting parties with drinking, because theyre professors. We have to ask ourselves if its okay for innocent men to have lives ruined for the trade off of punishing all the men who deserve it. It wasnt until the beginning of her junior year that she heard the word rape applied to her ordeal. Are you saying that because Christendom isnt under governmental control this happened? The lack of process in place is about the same for most schools that size and design. Several have contended that having a policy would have prevented the problem. Such a different vibe from my Canadian background. Higher rates of rape, according to USNews&World Report. Clearly the college doesnt think it is patently false. She had been diagnosed with depression and an anxiety disorder after graduating high school, and her anxiety kicked in at this point. Im a current female student at Christendom, class of 2020, and I feel safe on campus. We are in this as a team and pointing fingers at the other sex gets us nowhere. Christendom College does not receive federal funding, and so is not subject to Title IX regulations, which would legally require it to respond to and remedy hostile educational environments. From day one, the men of this campus are filled with a joy in being a gentleman to every girl. The schools rigid rules governing male and female interaction werent just awkward, though. In speaking with our counsel, it is my understanding that under Virginia law, the doctrine of in loco parentis as applied to colleges and universities simply means that Christendom has a responsibility to provide a safe campus for its students. Unfortunately we cant actually know if Christendom is safer when they dont even write down that there was an allegation. What in this story is inaccurate? She told her friends, He had sex with me, and I didnt want to.. The molestation permanently altered the course of my life, most of all because I thought it was my fault, because coercion and sexual violation was always portrayed as something that happened from creepy men to women, and my experience didnt fit that template. And I think the criticism of the PDA policy is quite apt. I agree with you, they need to recognize the issue and address it more head on. Hes taken enough from me; hes not gonna take this.. Front Royal Police told her it was out of their jurisdiction, since it had happened in a national park. Teresa, if the school is a place to strengthen ones faith, but they have a history of taking rape and assault lightly, then what does that example say about the Catholic institutions ability to accurately guard and present the faith to these students? All I do have is the perspective of a dumb young adult who thought he'd found Heaven's outpost on earth. However, I avoided the professors whose reputation for being ultra-trad proceeded them as much as possible. Are you saying that campus security police are supposed to be policing the town? The college also acquired the Notre Dame Institute during O'Donnell's tenure. Help me fund this site and get access to my and my husbands occasional podcast and other perks. Thats just scratching the surface. Do this by bringing up older, isolated issues and make it sound like the college has done next to nothing to improve. I am a 92 graduate, and my oldest is a graduate, and I have three other kids currently there. The victims always blame themselves.. And yeah, I knew a lot of people who thought women shouldnt vote. Extraordinary how you miraculously have the ability and the right to judge her soul from an article. Since the story initially broke, additional allegations of at least 18 previous cases of sexual harassment and assault over the past 45 years have been made. That is a philosophical question where I think people can legitimately disagree. She describes the open houses that would take place in the dorms once a semester. It was a good conversation, to this day he is one of the only people I've spoken with in real life who I think truly understood the problem and its implications. Please refrain from proselytizing to members of this community. Not everyone can be brought to justice so easily, but if you make no effort to even recognize an issue as an institution then that can become something serious. After graduation, she went to a catholic high school that was run by nuns. Second, the rape occurred off campus; and so the school considered itself helpless to respond to it. And I did end up seeing that friar once for counselling but he activated several gut feelings to stay away, and so I did. All the people who are asking if Christendom girls could really be that naive, yes! Christendom College is a private Catholic college in Virginia. Consent is not nebulous. Through it, you will gain the communication and critical thinking skills necessary to refine and elevate your intellect and enable you to pursue your profession and personal vocation. Did you read where she said no to his hand in her shirt? Maybe because I studied theology and philosophy I did not experience this? She took refuge in one of the buildings until he left as he obviously meant her harm. Liked it? Would you like to explain, please, what you mean by inaccuracies? After I finally rejected the Faith, I was intellectually under-equipped to handle the outside world; I've honestly learned more about the actual world (as opposed to the imaginary Catholic one) by browsing Reddit and the rest of the internet than I ever learned in my four years at Christendom. To those students who have been harmed, I am deeply sorry. He kept saying, Hit me. He kept grabbing my hand and trying to make me slap him, Smith said. If not, then how is the school supposed to levy public punishments that would permittly alter this guys life if the woman would not go forward to authorities? Smith herself says these rules drive couples off campus. She didnt want to accept that something so ugly had happened to her. Undergraduate students combine a liberal arts core-curriculum with eventual upper-level courses in their major field (or fields) of study. Christendom has taken several steps forward. Can confirm. Start your day off right, with a Dayspring Coffee Rob, earlier in the comments, gave wonderful suggestions as to what the school could do, and what he would expect them to do(that they did not), but its still worth noting that the article itself mentions things the school DID do to try to protect the students. This would be a situation in which shed be even less safe as the university would literally have no leverage over him. College disciplinary boards, however, can set whatever standards they want, especially a completely independent institution like Christendom. nor were the other women I know who hung out with them. 3) Reinforce this impression with nebulous allegations of serious problems in the current environment. It says she felt like the provost didnt care which is entirely subjective, and wasnt able to respond promptly, especially since extra duties were imposed on him and probably didnt have an exact answer ready for them anyway. The hollow piety I encountered there was so devastating, I expected everyone to be devout, not just going through the motions. . That bothers me as well. "[25], Over the years, the college has also received praise from political leaders in the United States. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. She in now posting anti-church, pro-LGBTQ, pro-choice etc stuff. I had seen already something was wrong, something had happened, Foeckler said. The criticism is directed towards how the school handled the matter after the legal authorities failed. Not sure you thought through what you wrote at all and how that would affect rape victims. We have video footage of crimes being committed and the persons pictured are still spoken of in the media and elsewhere as the alleged perpetrators. Respectfully, I must disagree with your recollection . And it is these serious issues which led the Fishers to dedicate a great deal of time and energy into researching and writing this article. Assuming the research you have done here is all reported accurately (which the college disputes), it doesnt exactly make the place a hot-bed of sexual assaults and sexual harassment issues. The way I see it, and many may disagree with this, but the failure was not a moral failure, but an administerial one(if that). Please post in r/excatholicDebate for further discussion, Press J to jump to the feed. Whats for supper? From its founding, Christendom College has rejected federal funding. All PDA-rule-free. Enjoy your freedom. Before I went to Christendom I was the head of my diocesan youth council, so to say I was active in my faith was an understatement. The semester also includes a week's pilgrimage to Assisi and Siena as well as a trip to Florence. False accusations may be relatively rare, but they are still real. Ive never read porn, eeek! Its not 50% excitement its 100% terror. Read More. Protected: Podcast 33: Hes a very nice guy. Smith claims they are dangerous. The other students were friendly and contributed to a comfy atmosphere (though I say this as someone who earnestly tried to be a good rule-following Catholic; if you were closeted LGBTQ+, for instance, I'd imagine it was a lot less comfy). The fact that little can be done in this tragedy is very much a fallen world problem, a human nature problem, and a justice system problem. All we know is that they did some kind of inquiry and issued that statement. We would like to apologize to any of those in our community who feel they were not properly responded to concerning an alleged sexual harassment and assault. Her grades continued to be low for the rest of her junior year. Her hatred for Christendom is glaring. Few go this far and remain unharmed. People were mostly really nice, and there was this kind of lovely cocoon of ideological sameness that I'd never experienced before. I distinctly remember going back and forth with a friar who had a terminal degree in theology about whether the immaculate conception implies hard determinism and thus refutes the notion of moral responsibility and therefore Catholicism in general. [12], The college's Junior Semester in Rome program was established in 2002. O.o. She returned the car to her friend, went back to her dorm, sat down in the shower fully clothed, and cried. in Theological Studies degrees online. I could leave my laptop lying out anywhere on campus, with no password, and be confident I could come back and find it un-stolen. Why not the new policy? The spirituality they relentlessly pushed never really clicked for me, though I always told myself it was my fault for not Jesusing harder, for not totally surrendering myself to a God Who wasn't really interested in talking back. Simcha, Im not quite sure what any of the rape allegations have to do with Christendom College. You shooting in the dark hoping to hit a target, isnt helping. So printing, rape is not tolerated or whatever they expected to be printed in the handbook sounds a little naive. Smith and her family were floored. Ive always thought that would be delightful and I graduated in 2000 from Christendom. DOH! Thanks; I've largely shed myself of the Catholic mental baggage by this point, so don't worry.