Last night Baylor students and community members gathered on campus to host a vigil in response to what event organizers called a failure on the university鈥檚 part to take appropriate action against rape.
Outside the Allbritton House 鈥� home to Baylor chancellor and president Ken Starr 鈥� nearly 200 hundred people gathered to support Stefanie Mundhenk and victims of sexual violence. Early last week, Mundhenk posted a titled 鈥淚 Was Raped at Baylor and This is My Story鈥�.
In the post, Mundhenk alleges that another student raped her during her senior year. After she reported the case 鈥� to Baylor鈥檚 Title IX office, to the university鈥檚 human resources department and to campus police, she says officials failed to take appropriate actions against the accused students. In her case, she added, there was a systematic failure on every level to provide support and justice.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 say that happens for every case but I can say from my experience in talking with other sexual assault survivors and things like that, I would say it happens far more than is portrayed in the media," Mundhenk said. "You know, it鈥檚 not just, my rapist was not a football player. It鈥檚 not just the high-profile cases, there are a lot of us."
Mundhenk met with Starr in December, to talk about her case. But she says she wasn't looking for him to review it.
鈥淢y case is closed, and I told him that. When I went into his office, I said, I don鈥檛 want him to review my case. Justice is not, it鈥檚 already over," Mundhenk said. "I鈥檓 left to pick up the pieces of my life, but there are a million other girls out there who deserve justice so we really need to get this thing fixed.鈥�
Event organizers point to the policies outlined in Baylor's Title IX compliance documents as the problem, calling them 鈥渋nconsistently followed, and, at times, ignored altogether.鈥�
This weekend, Starr released a statement saying 鈥渟exual violence emphatically has no place whatsoever at Baylor University.鈥� He added, that the University鈥檚 procedures to address such situations have evolved, noting the hiring of Patty Crawford, Baylor鈥檚 Title IX coordinator. Crawford oversees investigations and resolutions of matters like sexual violence.
At the vigil,Mundhenkaddressed a crowd:
鈥淏aylor鈥檚 education statement says it promises to provide a safe and assault-free education environment and that鈥檚 where I think Baylor has failed. But I would be remised in saying that it鈥檚 only Baylor that had failed, it鈥檚 not; colleges across the nation fail to address this issue."
One Baylor alum has written 鈥� 鈥�. The letter 鈥� which had 1500 signatures showing support by Monday night 鈥� calls for 鈥渟ignificant improvement鈥� on how the university handles complaints of sexual assault.
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