Im so sorry you were raped, Jenislawski said. To think that anyone could do that to such a young child is eye-opening indeed, and helpful to know for those of us raising kids to know what to beware of. Theresa, I agree the Admin still needs to prove it is committed and i think the spotlight being held on them by this article will be helpful. I did experience the misogyny. Vol. Another day, while other students played some sort of game on campus, the young man approached her and began to insist that she slap him across the face. I went to an elite secular college and had a pretty bad experience. Ill be brief, and in no particular order, but: But he did take it away from her, she says. Im glad to see Christendom has made some changes and I certainly hope it will continue to educate its students and do all they can do to minister to needs and address wrongs. Founded in 1977 in response to the devastating blow inflicted on Catholic higher education by the cultural revolution which swept across America in the 1960s, Christendoms goal is to provide a truly Catholic education in fidelity to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and thereby to prepare students for their role as lay apostles to restore all things in Christ. FORTIFYING A COLLEGE THAT PROUDLY REJECTS FEDERAL AID. What was he going to say? The girls would get baked goods and candy, and the guys would come into the dorm and take a tour. Discouraged, Smith hesitated, then eventually called law enforcement rangers and met with them at Shenandoah National Park. A longtime economics and political science professor at Christendom College in Virginia has been charged with solicitation of a minor under the age of 16 and two counts of . Additionally, throwing out names of administrators and teachers as part of this story (good or bad) without their permission taints their reputation. What I found was the opposite, the longer a person had been at Christendom the less likely they were to show Christian charity, or even a spirit of evangelization. Christendom has taken several steps forward. you are correct about the implications. The College is actually small enough, and physically remote from the built-up town center, that it is more ignored than anything. Now that everyone has cellphones, it would be cool if the school set up a service where you could text for a pickup if youre in trouble for instance if youre at a party where youre being pressured to drink, or alone in a car with a pushy guy. It took all of her strength not to drive off the mountain. The River and the drinking that occurs there is an open secret that the administration is aware of. L.A. council President Nury Martinez faces pressure to resign after racist remarks in leaked audio. Help me fund this site and get access to my and my husbands occasional podcast and other perks. I, a female, was molested at 10 by a female with power who was near to my age (but who wielded unequal power to me). I would posit that when a woman is ovulating her sex drive out strips a mans, I think womens sex drives tend to be ignored because men are more sexual which isnt the case. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Read that section of the post again. Experience the most popular, well-attended, and highly-ranked pre-college summer program of its kind. This sexualization makes things particularly difficult for men because on men simply of the way men are wired. It doesnt discredit their criticism, but it does show an obvious bias that the scandal is associated with the school and not the park police or FroRo police. The students views, whether they arrived with them or picked them up at Christendom, were wildly sexist both men and women. The article makes the following claim without proof or attribution, and it has been contended with by several students, But current students and alumni say the school has a boys will be boys attitude which allows the male students to harass and grab at the women. No more specifics are given, but the implication is that men are allowed to grab womens arses, etc., without repercussion even to their reputations. Simcha is right on in insisting that consent be taught at Christendom and in Catholic bubbles. It is alleged that a professor offered an example about Adele in class in an effort to smear her, however multiple students have come forward to say that his example was being used many, many years before Adela even attended the university, so it couldnt have been about her. If they had to leave public areas to show affection, then they might as well go to the prettiest. How can young people be prepared to succeed and keep the Faith in such a world? Despite those inaccuracies, the hearts and prayers of our entire Christendom College community go out to all involved in the incidents described and to anyone who may be a victim of sexual harassment or assault. In April of 2011, Smith decided to tell the police about the rape. She says that the rules against romantic public displays of affection were so restrictive, it drove couples off campus. Out of curiosity, why did they choose to single out Christendom of all places? She was not treated properly from a Catholic perspective nor from an institutional perspective. is buddy allen married. [33] The college hired Husch-Blackwell to audit campus compliance with best practices in sexual assault and harassment cases, although it is not bound to do so by Title IX as the College does not accept federal funding of Title IV. The College offers two/three daily Masses; daily Confession, Rosary, and Eucharistic adoration; and celebrates together many liturgical and cultural feasts. Furthermore, it is alleged that you continued to harass her by trying to provoke her to slap you, hit you or kiss you. I think both sexes can rise to a greater standard. No, it takes opening a word document and writing it up: Dont rape people. If theres a single member on your board who has an issue with that, they shouldnt be on that board, Smith said.. i am beginning to wonder if it really exists or is just a figment of a perverted imagination. I hope you will also do an expose on colleges such as Notre Damethe wackadoodle attitudes I encountered there regarding women and sex would make your head spin. Like Christendom, Thomas Aquinas College (TAC) in Santa Paula, Calif., is one of many small Catholic liberal arts colleges well known for faithfulness to the magisterium. Karl Petrick Assistant Director of Advancement Services The accused have rights the right to an assumption of innocence, for one. Apply - Christendom College Christendom takes matters smaller than this issue into its own hands often. My condolences for all the victims. I've got one that's somewhat similar. The criticism is directed towards how the school handled the matter after the legal authorities failed. It can, however, cost people their livelihoods and smear the reputation of people and universities. Marshner has since left Christendom. Front Royal, Virginia christendom.edu Born September 14 Joined September 2009. Congrats for finding a better life path. Is it supported by super-strength body language? RAs are now trained in responding to and reporting sexual harassment or assault. How come more worldly girls get raped too?Even from your writing it seems that Christendom did stand up from inside when Miss Smith felt comfortable telling her Theology! ), Protected: Podcast #48: Accidentally unnamed, Protected: Podcast #46: Mamas little snakey loves bananofee pie, Protected: Podcast #45: Sharples and cocaine, Protected: Podcast 44: Some degree of martyrdom, One long dad joke: My interview with EOTTs S.C. Naoum. She didnt want to accept that something so ugly had happened to her. jlhyacintha wrote: A school can also take rape allegations seriously, and remove the accused person from campus. I used to argue with the Dominicans at St. Mary's in New Haven (close to campus). Could it be because the policy might show the school in a favorable light? Same sex dorms is considered strict segregation? Deep Roots: Radicalism and the University - Intellectual Takeout . You are taking down the good name of a college because two students left campus in a car and a rape occurred. Adele Smith, class of 2012, experienced some culture shock when she arrived at Christendom. Protected: Podcast 40: Naked purple capybaras of the world, unite! She had no objection, as they had kissed before. Most likely she was in a Trad house and that is why they considered it beneath them to discuss sex at all with their daughter and how to protect herself from seedy guys. She said, Im not comfortable with that, and he said, Okay.. I know I do. The New Christ the King Chapel at Christendom College The incident does not seem too unlike the OJ trial in that OJ killed someone and was trialed for something far less severe later on. Christendom is praised as a safe haven where young students can focus on their studies, grow in their faith, and breathe the Catholic air. But several former and current students say the schools sheltered, highly structured campus culture actually facilitates sexual assault and that the administration works harder to protect its reputation than it does to protect its students. Ya got me! I could go on, but my point is that we MUST see sexual assault as a bigger issue than something that men perpetrate upon women. This whole story made me so sad, especially reading it as a Christendom graduate and now mother who is raising sons and daughters in this confused and fallen world. Carroll was the founder of Seton School, which gave birth in the 1980s to Seton Home Study School, a home-school program that now has more than 12,000 students enrolled. We clearly received the impression that Mr. Dorman wasnt going to do anything . A private institution that is not subject to federal collegiate regulations has such flexibility. Mr. Dorman showed no apparent interest in pursuing any sort of investigation, Scott Smith wrote. But in that year, 2012, a year after she reported her rape, the school still had not added a policy against sexual assault to their student handbook. Students are prohibited from doing something reasonable on campus. The facts state otherwise. The hollow piety I encountered there was so devastating, I expected everyone to be devout, not just going through the motions. Maybe you didnt mean to imply this to be the case for her, but using her name in the example makes it seem so. There is no thrill in rape. Hurt by Catholics? First, Christendom College could have made their own report to the police. They say your views are dangerous, hateful, fearful, or racist . Her point is that they did not do their best. It was still seen that women should be revered for other reasons by these men. Christendom is praised as a safe haven where young students can focus on their studies, grow in their faith, and "breathe the Catholic air." Christendom College, a small, Catholic, liberal arts school in Front Royal Virginia, celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. we have reports that indicate that you have violated the Code of Student Conduct by harassing another student Another student instructed you to leave her alone but you continued. How insulting is this point of view: all men will rape given the right kind of no.. And, of course, they could have gone for a walk down the road if all they wanted was to hold hands. I left at the end of my freshman year (wouldve been class of 17 if I stayed). I am astounded that the article says rapist rather than alleged rapist. Never tell a rape or assault victim that consent is nebulous. And no. )Total Undergraduates: 544 (from 45 States and 6 foreign countries)Male/Female Ratio:45:55, Freshman Standardized Test Scores:Average SAT score (out of 1600): 1270Average ACT score (out of 36): 27Average CLT score (out of 120): 89, Tuition: $28,500Room & Board:$12,150Required Fees: $1,020, Freshman Retention Rate: 85%Graduation Rate: 69% 4 years (2018-2022 average)% Courses with fewer than 20 students: 59%Student/Faculty Ratio:15:1% Courses Taught by Teaching Assistants:03 Most Popular Majors:History, Philosophy, Political Science% Students Living on Campus: 90%% Students receiving need-based financial aid:55%% Students receiving need-based or merit-based aid: 80%Acceptance Rate: 77%Yield Rate: 50%. Is it worse to let a rapist remain on campus or expel an innocent student? It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College and has been characterized as a conservative Catholic liberal arts college. For the unfamiliar, Christendom is a small conservative-Catholic liberal arts college in Front Royal, VA. Its intended mission is to equip Catholic students to 'restore all things in Christ' (though you can guess how well that turned out with me). No wonder Christendom is so embarrassed that they havent put their apology on their website yet. Thats seriously twisted to put your struggles onto a rape victim. I do think it unfair and infuriating that in the modern world where young people are wandering in a culture without any norms or mores, women are less protected and offer suffer much more than the men do. Every Novus Ordo girl I know knows better than to get in the backseat of a parked car with a guy unless they are willing to risk rape. The school does not accept federal funding. Yup, I sure did do it! Reading the few witnessed sentences we have from the perp, the man sounds like a TRUE sociopath. How law enforcement and colleges respond to sexual harassment and rape allegations is a different matter, and I agree that does need to be addressed. The only thing that will stop him is a clear splash of water in the face, a no different that all the others, or getting out of the car and running away. Christendom College admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. But I am saying, and I think Simcha is saying too, that the accuser was not treated properly. What policy would you advocate? But consent is not usually nebulous. Christendom is not perfect, as far as I can tell, they are doing the best they can to foster an environment of spiritual and educational growth. I dont consider Cdoms PDA policy unreasonable. I say, if you rape off campus, when you come back to campus, youre still a rapist.. What is to blame there?? Case in point, when I started going off the rails I would have expected my fellow Catholics to guide me back, especially the older more experienced upper classman I tried to lean on. For the record, my first year of university was spent at a secular institution in mixed accommodation with no regulations on behaviour between the sexes. It makes it hard for a young woman to keep herself safe if *all* the places where a date might happen are private. Gross means the opposite of minor. Each day she is persuaded that the college has no intention of supporting her. The school apparently based its response on two facts: First, there was, in 2011, no clause in the student handbook prohibiting sexual assault. I still have a lot of tenderness for those guys, deep down, even if my larger experience with the church has made me hostile toward Catholicism generally, and deeply cynical about the priesthood. [3] In 2002, Fr. She remembers standing outside the car, smoking a cigarette and shaking, and her boyfriend saying he didnt know why she was making such a big deal out of it. We should demand it be better. states that have laws saying Dont rape people. We cant be legal positivists and simply assume anyone 18 or older is an adult. We need to be realists and recognize that being an adult has objective meaning. I am grateful to each woman who has come forward with her story. God bless you and keep you. It felt like a never ending guilt trip. Luckey also has no prior criminal record, the judge added. It doesnt make sense to me. The administration handled a tough situation, that had no evidence supporting the claims of the girl, as best as can be expected. What in this story is inaccurate? Because these issues are so very serious, and it would be negligent to look the other way. Well, yes and no. The irony is not lost on me that the one institution that offered any solution, band aid solutions they may be, is also the one institution least responsible for the event, and the one thats being blamed the most. We cant! Another no escapes your lips and you make another feeble effort to turn away or push his hands away. If you think writing dont rape people would solve anything it should be noted that most universities dont have a dont commit mass genocide policy either. Think of roofies, frat parties, binge drinking..Im not going to go on, except to say that these dont exist here and if thats the bubble then Hallelujah. And the sexist views of some professors didnt help us stay safe. Smith continued to call the school after graduation to see if they had changed the policy. This is not degrading but a call to heroism on both sides. . This is garbage, not because there isnt a problem at Christendom, but because your article contains obvious errors in judgment, is clearly slanted with the intent to make Christendom look bad, and doesnt address the actual problems that make these things happen. We Dare to be Great. Thats certainly not Christendoms fault. Returning later, I was surprised how much more town there was than I was familiar with. I felt safe there. Rape is always absolutely horrific and of course a criminal offense. Never, under any circumstances, admit that it was a complicated process that involved implementing a parallel judicial system. There are a few spots they frequent, but as an undergrad I didnt realize there was much more than the Martins parking lot, where the campus van drops you off. I know even as a young adult my guard was down, and I was vulnerable, as are so many others, especially when we have no reason not to be trusting. Id hate to echo that ridiculous article from the Remnant, that accuses Fisher of being in league with Satan, but he was spot on with that point. I believe Miss Smiths story too, but I cant verify it. But I dont think we can fully judge any of these stories without hearing the other side. I've got. Men should feel degraded by this way of thought. And flexed/hid behind his AUTHORITY at the slightest hint of challenge. Casting aspersions on the Fisherss motivations reveals much about the commenter. A Catholic institution should have taken an accusation of serious sin much more seriously, and should have treated an accuser with far more charity. Hes obviously prideful and arrogant. Youve pushed the boundaries so far that the man is no longer in control. Home - Christendom College Anyway, campus police are a whole different bear. Which is probably why you hide behind your anon screenname. In the 1990s, Reverend William Saunders became president of the Institute and moved it to its present location in Alexandria, Virginia, in addition to leading it to full accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. You described an inability or unwillingness to use your words to say, this is hard, but Im saying no! How unromantic! People might think they are trying to help women, and that is an unacceptable conclusion. You described lust and difficulty mastering it. She implored [her brother] Peter to continue to live in Front Royal and to visit the campus often because she felt so unsafe., Scott Smith states in his letter that he left messages for nearly a week before he was able to arrange to speak to the dean, and that the telephone conference was disquieting.. There are so many other choices that dont have these rules. I distinctly remember going back and forth with a friar who had a terminal degree in theology about whether the immaculate conception implies hard determinism and thus refutes the notion of moral responsibility and therefore Catholicism in general. I still live in Front Royal, and until very recently our police have been a joke when it comes to stuff like this. You may not have read porn, but what you wrote is beyond appropriate. You should realize how awful it is to give the impression that the woman who was raped merely only implied 50% no. Assuming the research you have done here is all reported accurately (which the college disputes), it doesnt exactly make the place a hot-bed of sexual assaults and sexual harassment issues. I have to wonder why people entrust a liberal arts school board to be able to fairly assess rape allegations, when law enforcement werent able to. And if the woman involved was going to say yes anyway to whatever he suggested in terms of where they were going, as she said in the article, how would this have been any different even if there were different or no PDA rules? The way I see it, and many may disagree with this, but the failure was not a moral failure, but an administerial one(if that).. higher education Discover more about Christendom College Others Named Mark Fusco Mark Fusco Account Executive at Black Kite Mark Fusco Protected: Podcast #20: GET THAT ALLIGATOR AWAY FROM ME! It is beyond belief that the man has not ever been punished. Deciding to proceed with creating a parallel court system over allegations as serious and difficult to determine as rape is a momentous decision fraught with difficulties both legal and practical. I remember this clearly from my own dating daysin your head your thinking I dont want to have sex, but gosh, Im attracted to him right now and I dont want to stop! I was absolutely torn in two. Amanda Graf, the current Director of Student Affairs at Christendom, confirms that student handbook did not include a policy against sexual assault until 2013, two years after Smith reported her rape. Small, comfy (by Catholic standards), friendly, followed Church rules, Catholic-focused academics (theology classes, everything oriented toward Europe and Church history, etc.). I mainly left because they wouldnt give tenure to the head of the sacred music department because he refused to teach the history of contemporary Christian music. Not everyone can be brought to justice so easily, but if you make no effort to even recognize an issue as an institution then that can become something serious. absent more data (im just going off of what Ive read here so far) how exactly is a school supposed to punish someone for a violent felony for which they have Z-E-R-O evidence for? So this rape would not have occurred if the dorms were mixed gender? however CC is thriving on a 50s mentality that supports men as always being the bad guys and/ or the immaculate prince and responsible for the assaults and women (not girls) women as meek little things who just go along. CC seems to be a very dangerous place for all. Today, we remain among the fewer than 1% of Catholic universities in the United States that reject all federal government aid. DOH! Im a current female student at Christendom, class of 2020, and I feel safe on campus. Undergraduate students combine a liberal arts core-curriculum with eventual upper-level courses in their major field (or fields) of study. Most didnt know what was going on or how to handle me but at least they tried to hold out their hand. I am having trouble understanding how policies against public displays of affection and against men & women being in each others dorms contributes to rape. People were mostly really nice, and there was this kind of lovely cocoon of ideological sameness that I'd never experienced before. they arent normal. That would have at least been SOMETHING besides heresay. Karen wrote, reads as if composed by a hypnotized 5 year old.. Im not saying that the accused should have been expelled. The cultural revolution of the twentieth century continues to take its toll on the world and on Catholic higher education. Dr. Timothy T. ODonnell Podcast #57: And then the internet took off. Glad to hear everyone still hates those fountains. LOL, the chastity policy was a joke when I went there. Its not completely new to me, since Gasp! 2) The schools which do not have PDA rules, or whose rules are less strict still have rape. I believe Adeles story 100%. It wasnt until the beginning of her junior year that she heard the word rape applied to her ordeal. Just like all men who overpower women should, personally Id like to know if he grew up in a Novus Ordo mass if we are going to start taking these types of potshots.and if his parents did too.. These are Catholic seminarians. Take a second to support simchajfisher on Patreon! It isnt Christendoms fault this happened they can only learn as fast as the culture encroaches..that young man should have kept his hands to himself period. That isnt acceptable, even in secular workplaces, and is a breathtaking accusation. Christendom College was founded by Warren H. Carroll in 1977 with $50,000. Im aware that Cdom extends this into private life as well, but its not a stretch that adults would all around be able to practice self control. 238: Deep in the heart of New Hampshire, Whats for supper? I could leave my laptop lying out anywhere on campus, with no password, and be confident I could come back and find it un-stolen. She returned the car to her friend, went back to her dorm, sat down in the shower fully clothed, and cried. Sounds great. That bothers me as well. [8], During Fedoryka's seven-year tenure as president, Blessed Margaret and St. Joseph's Halls were constructed, and the college became fully accredited in 1987. I didnt know about consent because, in my world, good Christian girls and boys were supposed to never have anything bad happen to them that was what happened to so-called sinful, unChristian people. Thats pretty horrific behavior in Catholic men at a Catholic institution. In the example, they decide to fornicate, but then the young woman regrets her choice, and decides to claim the young man attacked her.