Mustang News Staff Report
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A woman reported being sexually assaulted at a Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) off-campus party located at 740 W. Foothill Blvd. on Friday, according to a campus-wide crime alert email sent out Saturday. The incident was reported on Saturday.
According to the email, the woman told police she may have been given drugs without her knowledge, rendering her unconscious. When she awoke, a man identified as Jake was engaging in sexual activity with her without her consent.
The day after, the anonymous social media application Yik Yak had several posts that mentioned the incident, though there was no official confirmation until the campus-wide email was sent out on Saturday evening.
In the email, the University Police Department and Safer included personal safety guidelines:
- Trust your instincts. If a situation makes you uncomfortable or uneasy, leave immediately and contact the police.
- Be alert to your surroundings and the people around you.
- Walk confidently and with a steady pace.
- Always let someone know where you are and where you may be going.
- Always travel in pairs or groups and inform friends of your intended locations and times of arrival.
- Use the buddy system. Always walk to/from your car with someone.
- Make sure you always have a ride home or a plan to walk home with a friend or roommate.
- Do not accept beverages from strangers or of an unknown origin.
“If you are attacked: Do whatever it takes to survive,” the email read. “Remember, you are the victim. You have nothing to feel guilty or ashamed about. Rapists commit the crime, not the victim.”
The email ended with resources students may use if they have been sexually assaulted, including Safer.
Celina Oseguera contributed to this report.
Seriously, PIKE? Can Cal Poly just get rid of this fraternity already? If it’s not some crude and offensive Facebook post, it’s someone getting assaulted. I feel like they’ve had too many strikes against them. It’s making the rest of Cal Poly (and our greek life) look bad.
I will be disgusted if PIKE isn’t kicked off campus. We have had so many issues with this fraternity in the past…and now this? There is only one clear option here
For more comments, check out http://www.reddit.com/r/calpoly
Citing Yik Yak as possible evidence, a new journalism low.
Hi Jake,
This is Jacob, editor-in-chief of Mustang News. As you’ll read in the story, we didn’t report the incident until we had official university confirmation. We never report on social media/hearsay alone, and this case is no different. The Yik Yak comments merely added another angle to the story.
If you have any more concerns relating to our coverage, shoot me an email at editor@mustangnews.net. I’m happy to talk.
-Jacob
One concern I have is about the school’s tips to prevent sexual assault and rape. There needs to be more emphasis on third party intervention, and educating people about consent (and the consequences of disregarding it). Suggesting precautions like this is problematic for two reasons: 1) most sexual assaults are committed by lovers, friends or acquaintances of the victim, so advice oriented towards avoiding strangers is not helpful, and 2) it puts the onus on the victim to avoid rape or sexual assault, which feeds a harmful dynamic where victims are blamed for “irresponsibility” when they failed to take one precaution or another.
Too bad Cal Poly administration still won’t be kicking them off campus thanks to all the anonymous donations the school will be receiving in the coming weeks.
There is clearly a pattern; these assaults are being
reported against members of the same fraternities year after year. We don’t need a culture change; we need accountability
for organizations that enable these assaults.
I think the office Student Affairs is partially responsible for the
assaults that take place at fraternities with a long track record of sexual assault
allegations. Punishing the entire Greek
community for the sins of a few is a counter-productive way to protect the university
from legal liability for assaults they could have prevented.