California State University of Fullerton is not supporting students who have undergone sexual assault and other traumatic events. My story is one no one else should have to experience, but unfortunately sexual assault is one of the most prevalent occurrences on college campuses. 

The link to my full story: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCP1uJIHBut/?igshid=fa8as258y4mx

In December of 2017, I was sexually assaulted by someone who I thought I trusted. I tried to clear it out of my consciousness & deal with it. I was afraid to come forward about it due to retaliation & victim shaming. I was also scared that no one would believe me since there was no reliable evidence, such as a rape kit, etc.

I went through a Title IX investigation at CSUF & the process was more traumatic than the actual event. Fullerton’s PD department found no interest in my case, so my only hope was to go through Title IX. During this process, I was belittled, humiliated, accused as unreliable, and even emotionally unstable. If I had the opportunity to take it all back, I would, no hesitation.

During this time, I had the right to a confidential advocate who supported me throughout my almost one year process with Title IX & my recovery. CSUF only offers one confidential advocate for over their 40,000 student population. The advocate also serves faculty and staff. There were times that my advocate would run late to my Title IX meetings or had to reschedule appointments with me. It wasn’t due to a lack of time management... She had other students in a crisis besides me that she had to help.

The issue is part of the same story... People with power vs. those with none.

I am taking it upon myself to try to fight for all the students who have lost their voice. In May 2019, I wrote a letter to President Virjee and his wife. I managed to hand deliver it to him & I never heard back. When the Fall 2019 semester began, I went to as many school events I possibly could to confront Virjee. I was successful at the convocation, and he told me that he handed down the letter to his dean of students & immediately directed me to his Chief of Staff, Danielle Garcia. She was well aware of my message, and the whole office staff was.

As I had to re-explain myself to her, she told me that despite my efforts to hoping for more mental health resources on campus, I wasn’t going to achieve anything. “You really think people would want to come out? There’s a reason victims don’t speak up. Not everyone is like you & either way. If there were a new resource center established, it would be long after you’re gone so you wouldn’t even get a benefit out of it.” There was more said, but this is the mind behind the administration of CSUF. The administration that cries so hard to care about their students. The administration continues to overcharge students and always has a new form of construction going on campus.

I also met the dean of students, Hallie Hunt. I met her to clear an issue I had, but she automatically assumed I wanted a pity party for being a victim. She took offense and lost her professionalism with me when I told her that she was NOT an open-minded person & labeled me before I even made a point of why I was meeting her.

This is an affront to every student at Cal State Fullerton, and ultimately every other student within the United States education system. For the struggles that regular college students have to go through, the lack of support from the university board, president, his staff, and much more implies that college is a business, not an institution for advancement. If the responses I have been told to my face are this pervasive, change needs to happen. 

My name is Elizabeth Molina, but most importantly, I am Vanessa Guillen, and I am the victims of CSUF.

**This petition has no affiliation with any program**

The following list is a part of what needs to change at CSUF in order to help and prevent others from experiencing what happened to me.

Commitment to the Titan Family List

1. Replace the location of Club 57 as a mental health resource center for students, faculty, and staff.
   a. The majority of CSUF departments have a faculty lounge center already established.
   b. Professors are required to have offices to hold their office hours.
   c. Many locations throughout campus are available for events upon request. The most common are in the TSU or in Pollak Library.
   d. Club 57 offers lunch services exclusively to faculty and staff but there is a variety of dining services provided on campus. The TSU food court, on-campus food trucks, LH Express, Titan Shops, The Gastronome, etc.
   e. The location of Club 57 is in the center of the most populated area in CSUF. It’s neighboring the library, TSU, and the bookstore.
2. Spacing for the construction of the location.
   a. The location is a single story floor but can be expanded toward the right.
   b. The center should include a private event center room, student lounge, and ten offices.
3. Hire seven full-time campus confidential advocates that identify one of the following: Latinx, Asian, Black/African American, White, Pacific Islander or American Indian, LGBTQ+ at CSUF.
   a. Demographics provided by CSUF’s Fall 2019 term listed that 44% of students identify as “Hispanc/Latino.” Therefore there should be two advocates that identify as Latinx
   b. One Asian identified advocate
   c. One Black/African American identified advocate
   d. One White identified advocate
   e. One Pacific Islander or American Indian identified advocate
   f. One LGBTQ+ identified advocate
4. Hire three full time psychologists that specialize in trauma at CSUF.
   a. Although the institution provides counseling and psychological services (CAPS) there is no psychologist specialized specifically in trauma. **Over 1 in 4 women experience a type of sexual assault as a student. A very underwhelming amount do not report due to a lack of infrastructure that can appropriately help and support them, instead leaving them to deal with these events on their own. The same issues plague males who experience sexual assault as well, which all circles back to a lack of an established infrastructure that can assist anyone through life altering events.**
   b. The psychologist that works with the WoMen’s Center/advocate is not of a minority identity while the majority of the students that work with the advocate identify as Latinx or Asian.
   c. CAPS is backed up on appointments and students will usually only have a single appointment per month based on the psychologists availability.
   d. CAPS is in a shared location with the Physical Therapy and Sports Rehabilitation center which provides a lack of privacy and respect to those students who have to sit in the waiting room.
   e. The three full time psychologists should identify as a minority or in the LGBTQ+ community.
   f. The three full time psychologists will work at the new resource center and not be a part of CAPS.
5. Fund the new mental health resource center with an annual $250K, funded by the President’s office.
   a. This annual budget will be used to fund events, activities, and awareness as needed under the discretion of the new center. **A few examples would be student outreach programs hosted by the advocates, supplies and resource kits for students/faculty, events designed to educate and develop others, and various functions supporting those who have been traumatized.**
   b. This fund could also provide scholarship options for students who have experienced trauma as a student in CSUF.
6. Robust trauma/sexual assault training in faculty and staff at CSUF.
   a. Ensure that ALL faculty and staff understand the concept behind Title IX.
   b. Faculty and staff should be aware of the mental health resource center and refer students if applicable.
   c. Current Title IX training does not work effectively for faculty to respond properly, leaving it as another “requirement” to complete to continue employment.
7. Robust resident advisors in campus housing at CSUF.
   a. Require ALL resident advisors to set up a monthly event with an advocate.
   b. This once a month event will include the resident advisor, advocate, and the students living on the assigned floor.
8. A letter from President Framroze Virjee addressing the opening of the new mental health resource center.
   a. In this letter President Virjee will apologize for the delay in opening the resource center and for the lack of empathy any student has experienced by a faculty member.
   b. He will also address everything mentioned on this list and his commitment to the Titan Family.