Dear Stanford University,
On January 18, 2015, a woman was brutally assaulted on Stanford’s campus during a Kappa Alpha Fraternity party. Brock Allen Turner, who at the time was a Stanford freshman, was found thrusting himself into an unconscious woman on the ground behind a dumpster. Two Stanford graduate students witnessed the incident and stopped the perpetrator. In March 2016, Turner was found guilty on three felony counts, facing a punishment of a maximum of 14 years in state prison. On June 2, 2016, Turner was sentenced to only six months in county jail and three years probation. Now, he is expected to serve only three months with good behavior.
This petition is in support of the survivor in this case. We are asking that Stanford:
Before the sentencing, the Stanford Association of Students for Sexual Assault Prevention wrote a letter advocating that justice be upheld by giving Turner no less than the minimum sentence outlined by the California Penal Code Section 220(a)(1). We asked members of the Stanford student body who agreed with our position to join us by signing onto the letter addressed to Judge Aaron Persky. In less than 72 hours, more than 250 members of the Stanford community signed the letter, which was then submitted to the court. Our hope was that the letter would make a difference by highlighting the fact that members of the Stanford community agreed a light sentence would reaffirm the rape culture that is all too prevalent on our campus and in society. Unfortunately, it did not.
On Friday, the survivor released the letter that she read to Brock Turner during the sentencing. To describe the letter as anything less than heroic would be a disservice to her bravery and to every survivor. However, she still did not receive the justice she deserved. While her story is unique, the outcome of the sentencing is one that happens much too often. If anything, the results of this case set the precedent that even when the legal system finds guilt, it does not provide the justice that survivors deserve. While this case, like many others, demonstrates the problems of the legal system and the prevalence of rape culture, there are still ways in which Stanford University can step up and support the survivor.
First, throughout the trial and sentencing, the university never apologized to the survivor or offered to provide any form of accommodation. In fact, Stanford University and Kappa Alpha have yet to apologize to the survivor. Whether the survivor is a student at our university or not, rape happened here. The university has neither apologized to the victim nor released a statement on the case and its outcomes. We believe Stanford should both reach out to the victim to offer their apology and publicly address the violent act that occurred on our campus.
(Update: After receiving thousands of signatures, Stanford has finally released a statement admitting the case had occurred but still failing to apologize or offer the survivor any therapy.)
Second, we believe that Stanford University should provide accommodations to the survivor on the grounds that the sexual assault occurred on Stanford’s campus at a university-sanctioned fraternity and was committed by a Stanford student at the time of the attack. We are asking the university pay for any counseling and other services that the survivor may need during the healing process. Stanford has the opportunity and ability to support the survivor and should take the steps to do so.
Third, we believe that Stanford University has an obligation to not only provide support for the survivor but also increase both its sexual assault education and prevention efforts. Stanford University is one of the top institutions of higher education, yet there has not been enough progress made in reforming its prevention and education efforts. We suggest Stanford introduce a mandatory one-unit class requirement that students must take twice during their time at Stanford. This class would address the consequences and effects of sexual assault as well as the ways students can prevent sexual assault through addressing rape culture, learning about bystander intervention, and learning about ways to respond to relationship violence and mental health issues like suicide prevention and alcohol abuse in an active learning environment.
Fourth, we believe that Stanford University should increase the resources allocated to Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and confidential sexual assault counselors to ensure student safety and well-being. Whether it is a larger feature of our society or not, Stanford University can and must change the culture of our community by adequately educating its students on the realities of sexual assault and providing services to students who need counseling services. As the survivor stated, if she wasn’t the victim, it likely would have been one of our classmates.
Fifth, just weeks prior to Turner’s crime, Stanford’s 2015 sexual violence climate survey announced that only 1.9% of students are sexually assaulted, a figure that was widely seen as misleading. This survey, which differed from the survey used by peer schools such as Harvard and Yale, did not even ask about sexual violence occurring at fraternities. This is yet another reason to follow the student referendum in which 91% of undergraduate students voted to repeat the climate survey using the AAU survey instead. This request is supported by many faculty, students, and alumni. Stanford, has so far refused. In light of the Brock Turner conviction for a fraternity party assault and the ensuing furor, Stanford’s refusal to conduct a new survey means we cannot fully understand the extent of sexual assault on our campus and how we compare to our peer universities.
Finally, we must realize that Stanford University did not expel Turner; he withdrew voluntarily. Throughout the history of the university, Stanford has only expelled one student for sexual assault. While the university has introduced reforms in response to student, faculty, and community concerns, there is still a precedent on our campus that rape is not taken seriously. From not holding perpetrators accountable for sexual violence to not providing survivors with appropriate accommodations, Stanford has failed, time and time again, to promote the safety and well being of students. With the most open Title IX investigations in the nation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Stanford has yet to prove that it adequately supports survivors on our campus. To this day, Stanford has only proved the opposite, and the absence of the university’s voice on this case to condemn the violence that occurred in our community and to show support for the survivor is evidence of that.
With this case and so many others, Stanford has too often failed to support survivors of sexual assault. It is time that this university works to foster a community that believes and advocates for survivors. We must ensure that sexual assault is no longer a common experience on our campus. The national spotlight is on this case, and it is on our university. Stanford needs to step up, take responsibility for the crime committed by its own student, recognize the pain and needs of the survivor, and realize that this is not an isolated incident. We believe our university has the opportunity to change the narrative of sexual assault on our campus and be an example for the rest of the nation. Stanford University can do more to address the prevalence of sexual assault in our community, and it can start by supporting the survivor of this case.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Pham ‘18 and Matthew Baiza ‘18
Founders of the Stanford Association of Students for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP)