To the Administrators of Title IX, Residence Life and Housing, Dean of Students, and the Office of the Vice President:

Wake Forest University (WFU) has recently allowed many abusers and sexual offenders to return to campus, taking the safety that the survivors once had away. Due to this safety being stolen from the survivors, many had no other choice but to step away from their education for their own emotional, mental, and physical well-being. 

The administration is enabling the behavior of known assaulters. Due to Wake Forest’s recent actions numerous students safety has been endangered again. The recent readmission of known abusers, Wake Forest University is putting survivors in a position of neglect, disrespect, and retraumatization. Prioritizing these abusers jeopardizes an individual’s livelihood, access to education, and ability to exist on campus.

Each day known assaulters are permitted on campus provides another opportunity for future sexual violence to occur. By enabling these individuals to return, the university is complicit in these traumatic acts. When an act of violence like this occurs, these survivor’s lives are forever changed. Never will they feel comfortable walking alone, night or day, never will they have the same access to safe spaces, and a part of their identity is lost forever. 

 

WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

RESOLUTION DEMANDING ACTION ON BEHALF OF THE OFFICE OF TITLE IX AND DEAN OF STUDENTS TO RECTIFY THEIR DECISION OF JEOPARDIZING THE SAFETY OF THEIR STUDENTS

WHEREAS,  Wake Forest University is now experiencing retaliation from students demanding action in light of recent events; and 

WHEREAS, Title IX has received several reports concerning known abusers’ violent actions that included concrete evidence of their assault against many students, including but not limited to witnesses, card access, and graphic photographs of their abuse; and

 

WHEREAS,  The university has not offered any transparency to students, and most importantly to the survivors; not being informed of abusers being back onto campus is blindsiding survivors, disallowing their ease while being on campus, resulting in an unsafe and uncomfortable environment for all students; and 

 

WHEREAS, Survivors have received no correspondence from the Safety Office following these incidents, bearing in mind that these are the one of the few resources that fall under confidential resources available to students, therefore not allowing for the minimum support needed for survivors; and

WHEREAS,  Survivors are forced to choose between living in an unsafe environment to pursue their education or face potential disruptions to their physical and mental well-being; and 

WHEREAS,  The Safe Office and Dean of Students have shown neglect and disrespect toward their students, and students who identify as survivors, by refusing to offer them the decency of transparency regarding the situation, including but not limited to the readmission of known abusers; and

 

WHEREAS,  Students, specifically students who identify as survivors, have grown tired of their safety concerns being overlooked when it comes to the readmission of abusers and worry about future actions this decision could set a precedent for; and 

 

RESOLVED, That Wake Forest University’s Safe Office and Dean of Students communicate with Survivors when appeals have been made to allow for the readmission of their abusers, especially when there are no contact orders are placed or cases are brought to the attention of Title IX forcing survivors to prolong their experience caused by their abusers, immediately after the office receives the notice;

AND FURTHER RESOLVED, that Wake Forest takes appropriate action that prioritizes and respects the safety of survivors, and not permit known abusers to be readmitted to the University. If the University does not prioritize the safety of their students, specifically those who consider themselves to be survivors, it should not be falsely advertised to their students. Survivors have been blindsided by the arrival of their abusers, and it is deeply unsettling, and a fundamental disrespect for the University to promote this grotesque and abusive behavior. As students, we should not have to choose between our own safety and our education, instead we should feel safe to walk around campus. As students, survivors, and human beings, we demand our safety back and the removal of abusers that threaten and rob us of it.