Column: Vassar survivor deserves support

As I left the Chelsea Theater after watching “The Hunting Ground,” I heard whispers of shock from adult audience members. They seemed moved and horrified.

I felt similar grief, but not shock. For many college students, knowing horrifying stories of sexual assault and administrative neglect is routine.

For every case of sexual assault that gains national attention, there are many more cases that never get press, that never provoke mass outrage and calls for reform.

Ellie Amicucci’s case is one of them. She is a first-year at Vassar College who has said that she was assaulted during her first semester in an op-ed for Boilerplate.

Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York, is 570 miles away from Chapel Hill. But that doesn’t mean Amicucci’s story doesn’t impact us here. After the release of “The Hunting Ground,” some schools have made strides to prevent assault and respond appropriately when it occurs. But others, like Vassar, have continued to neglect survivors. It’s every student’s responsibility to pressure those schools to make a change.

Amicucci told me she still sees her assailant every day, causing her extreme anxiety.

She said none of the administrators who are aware of her case have even followed up to check on her. Regardless of whether they believe she was indeed assaulted, there’s no reason why they should neglect a student who is clearly in crisis.

In her op-ed, Amicucci asked herself: “Am I more afraid of my perpetrator or this school?”

In the same article, she said administrators have laughed in her face.

Vassar found her assailant not guilty. Amicucci has since appealed their ruling, but her appeal was unanimously rejected. She said that administrators at Vassar want to “quell complaints and maintain their image as a progressive and safe liberal arts college.”

So I emailed Catharine Hill, Vassar’s president. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, universities are not allowed to discuss the specifics of individual cases, but Hill’s office ignored my request to discuss Vassar’s compliance with Title IX, instead directing me to a link to their written policy.

I also called Richard Horowitz, who works as Vassar’s associate director of residential life and was the lead investigator on Amicucci’s case. He told me it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment on Vassar’s compliance with Title IX.

I called and emailed Julian Williams, Vassar’s Title IX coordinator. Williams directed me to Jeff Kosmacher, Vassar’s director of media relations and public affairs. By Monday night, Kosmacher had not contacted me.

Since the release of “The Hunting Ground,” the schools it features — including UNC — are on the defensive, polishing their public relations and getting ready for questions.

Whether the school in question is eight miles away or 570, it’s every student’s responsibility to keep putting pressure on schools to do whatever it takes to end assault on campus.