Administration hires law firm to investigate St. Patrick Hall misconduct
After last week's edition of The Record broke the Pat Hall story, IWL and other campus organizations have put out statements objecting to the alleged actions of Johnnies involved. Several news organizations, including MPR and KNSI radio, have picked up the story for coverage.
On Oct. 19, the Vice Presidents for Student Development announced that administration hired the law firm used to conduct external investigations for sexual misconduct allegations to investigate the Pat Hall allegations. According to their email, they expect the investigation to take a few weeks and they will determine the next steps at its conclusion. Administration condemned the alleged activities.
The Institute for Women’s Leadership coordinated a sit-in outside the Reef from 1-3p.m. on Oct. 21 in protest of these alleged activities. They also published a statement and are providing office hours and other avenues for students to seek support.
Last week, The Record reported allegations regarding a “sex competition” on the first two floors of Pat Hall. Some students had allegedly assigned point values to sexual acts with women, with the goal of scoring the most points. Administration was initially unable to secure a list of names involved, so floor meetings to discuss the issue were organized.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigations is encouraged to contact Jeff Glover, assistant director for student support. Glover initially received reports of the competition from a student’s parent after a student found his girlfriend’s name on a list of students allegedly created for the competition, he said in an interview last week.
“Where are the Johnnies who hear this? There are Johnnies who know this. There are Johnnies who know something, and they’re not saying anything. Which is a… culture of silence,” Glover said.
Liam Miller, resident assistant for Pat 2, hopes that this conversation will lead to change in campus culture.
“[The meetings were] a way to start a conversation about rape culture and the implications of toxic masculinity on our campus,” Miller said. “You can’t just say ‘boys will be boys,’ there has to be acknowledgement and there has to be accountability.”
