Three University of Toledo students report sexual assault on campus since mid October

Since October, the University of Toledo has experienced three individual reports of sexual assault on campus. The first assault was reported Oct. 15, the day of the homecoming football game. The second assault was Nov. 13, and the third was Nov. 19.

Each of these assaults occurred in residence halls on campus. Also in each report, a female student was sexually assaulted by a known male acquaintance.

In response to these reports of sexual assault, UT President Sharon Gaber sent an email to the student body.

“Sexual assault is never acceptable,” Gaber wrote. “We take every report of sexual assault very seriously at the University.”

According to the email, the UT police department and the University’s Title IX office is currently investigating every assault reported.

“The University has strong sexual assault education and prevention programs, and we encourage survivors to report all instances of sexual misconduct,” Gaber wrote. “We know that sexual misconduct is widely underreported across the country, and we want to do all that we can to encourage more people to come forward.”

Jeff Newton, chief of police at UT and director of public safety, and Donald Kamm, director of Title IX and Compliance, also sent out a mass emails to the student body, addressing the recent assaults and resources for students who have experienced sexual assault.

“The University of Toledo has multiple resources and programs dedicated to helping prevent sexual assault and to provide support for those who have experienced sexual misconduct,” Newton and Kamm wrote.

The emailed continued that all sexual misconduct must be reported to the Title IX office. Sexual misconduct is a broad term encompassing sex discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, the email explained.

Along with reporting sexual misconduct to the Title IX office, the email from Newton and Kamm urged student to report incidents or suspected incidents to the police immediately.

“UT Police can provide assistance by connecting the survivor to University resources and assisting in the process of obtaining court orders of protection when needed,” the email wrote. “If you choose to not immediately involve the police, please seek assistance through an Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program advocate.”

SAEPP is the on-campus resource that aims to provide the campus community with sexual assault advocacy, education and programming.

The UT Alert, which provided the “Timely Warning” of the sexual assaults, reminded students how sexual assault is defined.

“The University defines Sexual assault as unwelcome physical conduct of a sexual nature including unwanted kissing, touching, oral, vaginal or anal sex which occurs in the absent of consent,” the alert stated.

The alert also warned that most perpetrators choose a victim they know, as was the case in the three assaults reported this semester.

“The safety of our students is my number one priority. We can’t expect you to learn if you do not feel safe. To eliminate sexual assault, we need to work together,” Gaber wrote. “We need our students to treat each other with respect. We need to look out for each other and intervene when someone is threatened. We need to support each other.”