At approximately 5 pm on Saturday, October 22nd, 2022, my 19-year-old son, a Junior at UNC Chapel Hill was sexually assaulted by a stranger in his dorm room at Carmichael.  By the time I had arrived on campus, he was being questioned by detectives in his dorm suite.  It was then suggested that we go to the UNC Emergency Room, where we sat for the next 6 hours.  Unfortunately, my son did not get a good look at the person responsible for the assault and could only offer a vague description to detectives.  I was shocked when asking detectives if they had at least been able to retrieve any camera footage, only to hear that there were no cameras outside the front of the dorm.  In a later conversation with the UNC Campus Chief of Police, he acknowledged that not having cameras impeded their ability to identify a suspect.

My son is now home.  He does not feel safe being physically present at the UNC Chapel Hill Campus.  My family has had to jump through hoops just to allow my son the ability to complete his coursework and exams remotely.

On so many levels, I feel as though UNC has failed him. 

The “parent community” of UNC Chapel Hill has been a saving grace.  Within hours of this happening, I posted a petition asking for improved safety measures on campus on the University of Chapel Hill Parents Facebook page.  It was an urgent request from a desperate mother.  Over the days that followed, that very petition received almost 4,000 signatures from UNC Chapel Hill parents and concerned community members.  Local FOX5 and CBS news stations reached out to me and aired reports regarding the sexual assault of my son.

The only individuals who have asked “how they can help” are the parents of UNC Chapel Hill students. Their support and the deep courage of my son who has agreed to be so transparent about his assault have been saving graces.  But, where is the administration in any of this?  Where is the “humanity” from the university?  If this had happened to their child, what would their expectations be from the university?

After talking with parents and students, we have unearthed several areas in need of address in terms of the campus safety. Collectively, we are asking that the university address the following:

1.       Review of procedures:  At the very least, the UNC Chapel Hill campus should be compelled to have a third-party review and assess the safety of the campus and make recommendations for change.  I am not an expert in security, however, the lack of cameras and ease of access into dorms on campus for anyone is of grave and immediate concern and needs to be addressed.

2.       Exterior Dorm Doors that Aren’t Secure:  UNC Students have reported that there are exterior dorm doors that don’t close securely on a regular basis or are regularly propped open.  We request that fixing these doors be an immediate priority.

3.       Cameras Monitoring Dorm Entrances: After the assault, it has come to light that UNC dorms are not monitored by any kind of camera to capture comings and goings.  Without a camera, catching the assailant is hard.  UNC has no cameras at the entrances to dorms to monitor activity.  This is not the case at other UNC school systems. As a reference point, UNC-Charlotte has professional staff who live in each dorm hallway, security guards in the dorms and security cameras.  That information can be found here.  Appalachian State University also has video cameras installed at each entrance and exit to every residence hall on their campus. That information can be found here.  If those campus can invest in security cameras, why can’t UNC?

4.       Multiple Dorm Entry Points: UNC Dorms often have more than one main point of entry, making monitoring who is coming and going very challenging. That doesn’t make sense and again, other schools have resolved this problem by ensuring there is only one main door for each dorm. Other doors would be for emergency exits only. This is a common sense solution to safety issues that can be immediately implemented.

5.       Timely Communication about Safety Issues: The school is required to notify students of any alleged crime that has occurred on campus within a reasonable time frame.  But, in this case, UNC Chapel Hill students were not alerted until almost 5 hours after the incident.  It was noted that the university has discretion as to when to send if they deem “this person not to be an imminent threat to others.”  My question is how did one make that determination?  This individual had not been identified, never mind arrested.  Someone that sexually assaults someone in the daytime when people are around is not a first offender, and this is likely not to be their last.  Is it a student?  Is it just a random predator?  We will likely never know.

This doesn’t need to be a litigious confrontation. The sexual assault of my son on the UNC Chapel Hill campus allows for an “opportunity” for improvement and change.  Let that be the image that UNC Chapel Hill promotes. My son has courageously agreed to speak out about his assault to keep others from being harmed in the same way. Please, don’t let his courage go unmatched. We must have the courage to honestly address these shortcomings and make the necessary changes to ensure to the best of our ability that UNC students are safe.