How Are Local Universities Handling Sexual Assault Cases?

Sasha-Ann Simons (0:12)

Hey, Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.

Be sure to listen all the way through the podcast for a breakdown of the day's top local stories. But first, when allegations of sexual assault occur at fraternity parties, they often spark a difficult conversation about Greek life, the culture, who should be held responsible, and whether enough is being done to keep students safe. That conversation is unfolding again at the University of Chicago, where a new lawsuit alleges a 19-year-old was raped at an Alpha Delta Phi party earlier this year. And the suit follows another recent allegation tied to a different fraternity party. But as you'll hear in this episode of the pod, sexual assault is a persistent problem across college campuses, not just inside fraternity houses. We'll dig into the local cases, the challenges of reporting them, and discuss what accountability could look like. At the table with me was Christina Zuba, who's a managing attorney specializing in campus sexual misconduct at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, and Sophie Sherry, who's a Chicago Sun-Times public safety reporter.

I asked Sophie to kick things off with more details about that lawsuit that was filed on Monday against a fraternity at the University of Chicago. Here's Sophie.

Sophie Sherry (1:34)

This alleged assault occurred in February of this year during a party at the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity House.

A 19-year-old woman who's identified only as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, alleges she was greeted at the door by a member of that fraternity, encouraged to drink, and immediately felt unsteady and lightheaded. She was taken to a bedroom where this assault occurred according to the lawsuit. She went straight to Chicago Police the next morning and they reported that case.

That investigation is still pending. Now, she is not a University of Chicago student, but she has followed up with the school according to her attorney and has yet to receive any updates from them. This lawsuit, as you mentioned, is seeking some accountability from the fraternity. The individual perpetrator is not named as a defendant in the suit, and her attorney tells us that's in hopes of addressing some of these larger systemic issues, holding institutions accountable, not just individuals.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:30)

We reached out to the University to get a statement from them, which they did provide. I want to get your reaction, Christina, on the back end here. But here's the statement in full. It says, quote, These allegations are very disturbing to the University community. The University of Chicago is committed to addressing and preventing incidents of sexual assault. University is not a defendant in the lawsuit against the fraternity. The University will cooperate by providing information and is prepared to help the Chicago Police Department in its investigation. The University will take appropriate further steps as new information emerges.

Thoughts?

Christina Zuba (3:02)

Yeah, I hope that they do investigate as they can.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:06)

Is this the typical response?

Christina Zuba (3:08)

I would say so. I think generally schools want to do a good job. They want to help students and community members.

In this case, where someone is not a student and they are harmed, the school is going to be a little bit more limited in what they can do for that person because they are not a member of the community. But of course, the school can cooperate with police. They can provide any information that they have. So it is good that they're saying that they will do that.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:38)

Lisa Currian-Philip, who is WBEZ Higher Education Reporter, interviewed Rosabel Garcia, who is a third year student at the University of Chicago. I want to play a little bit of what she had to say.

Rosabel Garcia (3:48)

I know stories of women who have experienced certain experiences at this college that are like, okay, that should be something that should have been sent an email and it never has. The university needs to do a better job at involving students in conversations about safety around school, and primarily talking about sexual assault around school. Because we have the safety trainings, the online modules at the beginning of the year, but it's still happening.

Sasha-Ann Simons (4:13)

U of C is going to host a special schoolwide meeting tonight to address the issue.

This, Sophie, as I alluded to at the top, it comes just days after a young woman who isn't enrolled at the university, alleged that she was sexually assaulted at an Alpha Epsilon Phi frat party on campus while a group of men actually cheered. What is the latest we should know in that case?

Sophie Sherry (4:36)

That's right. Last week, a 21-year-old woman, also not a student of the University of Chicago, reported being sexually assaulted during a party at a different UChicago frat. Earlier this month, as friends searched for her, they found a group of men cheering outside of the bathroom where the alleged assault was occurring. That's according to a report made to Chicago police. We've also spoken to those witnesses who have matched that report. That same group of men initially blocked these friends from entering the bathroom as well.