The evidence presented in court last month show that Dean Sermersheim and VP Rollock are not fit to hold their positions in Purdue's administration. Please join me in a call for their resignation! My full statement is below. I have also linked stories from the Exponent about the trial. 

Trigger Warning: The Exponents work as well as my statement contain language on sexual violence. 

https://www.purdueexponent.org/city_state/article_9e6b6502-d114-51df-8a08-858a7a438a60.html

https://www.purdueexponent.org/city_state/article_4897c866-3b6c-11ed-afba-db2c9357ddef.html

Dear Boilermakers,

I write to you today, to ask you to join me in a call for the resignation of Dean Sermershiem and VP Rollock. I urge you to read the Exponents reporting on the federal trial last month in regards to the actions of these individuals and want to publicly thank the Exponent for their commitment to the community. 

She smiled. When admitting in federal court that she didn't give a rape victim due process before expelling her, she smiled. That’s our Dean: Katie Sermersheim. For those who have not seen the news, a student sued the university and won damages after claiming that Purdue violated the 14th Amendment, and her right to due process. Let's recap the case: a frat brother serves 18 drinks to a 19-year-old woman, she blacks out, he takes her to her dorm, he rapes her, and recorded her without her consent. The victim reports the case, and the predator is found guilty by Purdue of sexual exploitation. You’re probably expecting that he was expelled. Wrong. He had to write a 10-page essay, and she got expelled. Not because of a thorough investigation, but because Dean Sermersheim “made a call.” In court, when pressed if she had seen the medical records of the victim- which showed a potentially lethal blood alcohol level that night- before expelling her, she said, “‘I suppose not …’ with a slight smile across her face.” Dean Katie proceeded to argue “that Roe wasn't incapacitated” after having 18 drinks and was therefore lying to the administration about getting raped. Later, Dean Katie said “Just because you don’t remember something doesn’t mean it’s rape.” Not only is she unambiguously wrong legally, but Roe’s attorney pointed out Sermersheim’s own words violate Purdue’s own sexual harassment guide. In the court's ruling, they didn’t just find that Sermersheim and Alysa Rollock, VP of ethics and compliance, violated due process, but that she acted with “malicious intent or disregard for the plaintiff’s rights.” Those are the people who're supposed to be our advocates in the administration. Our voice. Instead, they have shown that they’re a threat to the health of the student body. Katie Sermersheim and Alysa Rollock must resign their offices, and if they refuse to do so, they need to be terminated. It is up to us to apply the pressure until this is done. For us, for all past victims, and for future boilermaker women.

West Lafayette City Councilor Ted Hardesty