It has been hard to process that and it is hard to look back without having suspicions towards many of even the "well-meaning and reasonable" authorities on campus. This gives women more of an opportunity to share a concern or incident with a staff member they trust. It has nothing to do with thinking that drinking is worse than sexual assault. As Uncle Ben says in Spiderman with great power comes great responsibility. Lets wake up, embrace our responsibility, and as Jordan Peterson would say sort ourselves out. None of this is said to let young men of the hook. You described lust and difficulty mastering it. The molestation permanently altered the course of my life, most of all because I thought it was my fault, because coercion and sexual violation was always portrayed as something that happened from creepy men to women, and my experience didnt fit that template. I dont think beyond reasonable doubt is a necessary criterion in such a situation. The problems with rape at Christendom are the problems with rape anywhere. And Im sure you also understand our need to be loved an accepted. This encourages privacy and some better behavior. Tweets. Karen, Like the stuff sang at the FOPs. FORTIFYING A COLLEGE THAT PROUDLY REJECTS FEDERAL AID. 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.. Podcast #57: And then the internet took off. Teresa, if the school is a place to strengthen ones faith, but they have a history of taking rape and assault lightly, then what does that example say about the Catholic institutions ability to accurately guard and present the faith to these students? They had a legal responsibility to investigate throughly, and a moral responsibility to respond appropriately, which they did not do. I am so sorry for this woman, rape is a horrible crime on so many levels, maybe one of the worst aspects is the lack prosecution. When the schools response is to prevent the rapist from living on campus for a semester, and a professor welcomes him into his home while smearing the student who was raped in class, without serious consequences, its fair to criticize the school. I did experience the misogyny. I sympathize with the people who want a man to be expelled based on one womans testimony (such as in the above article), but we have to admit that is at the expense of innocent men getting expelled as well. But then into your mind jumps the thought no, I wanted to be married. Her point is absolutely credible and relevant. And they need to get rid of those moldy carpets! It was the same with the guys open house, except theyd have TVs and video games. It was very much like a museum, like an exhibit. The man was not charged, let alone convicted of rape. What exactly did you expect to happen, or could have happened? 2023 Christendom College. in Theological Studies degrees online. Im only speaking from experience to illustrate what I see as a very nebulous scenario for both parties. So, you are saying that because other colleges deal with it badly, that therefore it isnt a scandal that Christendom handled it badly? New student orientation includes a session that covers sexual harassment and assault, reporting, and on-campus resources for support. A handbook that has to be revised and reviewed by the colleges legal team I assume? I am very sorry to hear of any sexual assault and it can happen in Front Royal. Error thrives in darkness. Never tell a rape or assault victim that consent is nebulous. Fixing a problem and addressing a problem are two different things. Vol. Accustomed to a large, sociable, extended family, she knew Christendom would be conservative, but was bemused by the strict segregation of males and females. Its just a natural human need to connect with someone youre in a relationship with, Smith said. Men should feel degraded by this way of thought. 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. They brought the skills of their craft to shining a light on the dark underbelly of this college. Christendom doesnt have anything like that. Students are prohibited from doing something reasonable on campus. P.S. They were in a confined space; the young man was around six feet tall, and Smith is five feet tall. A current professor (Dr. McGuire) who was actually involved in the Adele alleged rape case has come forward in the comments and stated things that were done to help Adele that the Fishers never reported on. The town has over 14,000 people, so the college isnt a large part of it. The students arent punished for drinking off campus, they are punished for being drunk ON campus. An authentically Catholic college that prepares you for the future The cultural revolution of the twentieth century continues to take its toll on the world and on Catholic higher education. It only works with Weinstein and Cosby because there were like 30+ allegations. [13], Since 1992, student enrollment has grown from 144 undergraduates to nearly 550 students, not including graduate school students. Funding for the creation of this archive was generously provided by Christendom College. In the letter, ODonnell tells Smiths father that the school understands the anguish the Smith family is feeling as they wait for a judgment against the young man, and that the college will make a complete and careful investigation of [Smiths] allegations before rendering a decision that will impact both the life of the accused and the accuser.. Would you like to explain, please, what you mean by inaccuracies? And I still have some fond memories of the place, even today. It was a good conversation, to this day he is one of the only people I've spoken with in real life who I think truly understood the problem and its implications. Purity more and more asks for a heroic virtue. Huh. Burning at the stake fits the witch-hunt analogy, because thats what this article amounts to. Tag: racism National Congress on the Word of God: A Two-Edged Sword. It was very competitive, I constantly felt like I didn't have my shit together enough to keep up with my peers, felt threatened by the overwhelmingly progressive social atmosphere. She had no objection, as they had kissed before. Protected: Podcast 36: She googled THIS on a Friday night and what she saw made her lose her mind! One of a half-dozen links at the bottom of the article. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. While not commenting on this particular scenario, it got me musing (once again) on the whole problem of sexual assault and the current #metoo movement. He pushed my arms apart with his hands. People were mostly really nice, and there was this kind of lovely cocoon of ideological sameness that I'd never experienced before. From its founding, Christendom College has rejected federal funding. That's no coincidence. Oh, and I also had the 'privilege' of meeting Dr. William Luckey, a blathering self-important moron who was somehow capable of being an ancap and an anti-French-Revolution conservative Catholic at the same time, despite both stances contradicting each other and observable reality. In addition: Christendom is welcome, indeed it would be very good, if they could give an accurate list of the inaccuracies and mistakes in this article. You described an inability or unwillingness to use your words to say, this is hard, but Im saying no! It took all of her strength not to drive off the mountain. Here it seems that the expectation was not only that she be believed(fathoming), but that immediate action be taken(aka solving). Los Angeles City Councilmember resigns after leaked racist remarks. Simchas husband, Damien, proceeded to imply that she was lying and has contented multiple times that her quote was not taken out of context. I went there for one semester (spring 2014). Does the handbook have to repeat the entire criminal code? Or are you saying that governmental control might make this sinful/violent act not happen. The clear goal of the piece is to call the school on to a more truly Catholic approach to handling this topic, and it does so effectively. The school decided to implement internal juridical means for determining the truthfulness of rape allegations outside of the civil process. But what jumps out at me is that this happened not because of following the colleges policies, but because of disregarding them. The cost of the chapel is estimated to run approximately $13.5 million, with an additional $13.5 million allocated to the endowment and the remaining $13 million going to the annual fund. These are very serious accusations, and the reporting does not match the seriousness of those charges. You are very brave. Because what you have doesnt pass the smell test. In 1997, the Institute was merged with Christendom College and became the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, now the Graduate School of Theology. Omigosh. What if anyone found out? Only when my self destructive nonsense lead to the police being called did the administrators step in and not to fix my problems but to put me back in line. Are women safe in Christendoms bubble? Protected: Podcast #20: GET THAT ALLIGATOR AWAY FROM ME! Higher rates of rape, according to USNews&World Report. In 1992, Dr. Timothy O'Donnell, who had been a professor at Christendom since 1985, was named as the college's third president. [27], On January 16, 2018, Catholic blogger Simcha Fisher broke the story of three rape and sexual harassment allegations by students of the college. i grew up Novus Ordo and so did all my friends at Christendom. We Dare to be Great. In retrospect, the College may not have served these victims as well as we could have, and for this hurt we are truly sorry for any additional pain that this may have caused. That bothers me as well. the Administration could and should have done better here. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. There is no statute of limitations for rape in Virginia (https://www.rainn.org/pdf-files-and-other-documents/Public-Policy/Legal-resources/2009-Statutes/09VirginiaStatutes.pdf). For example, the articke states that Prof. Marshner no longer works at the school, as if he left due to this scenario. Same; I also feel like I wasted my college years on Catholic garbage, but I also broke free and am living much more healthily than I was back there. You dont like the sense it makes, you disagree with it, but your disagreement does not make it illogical. That wasnt their gig. Im sorry, but your logic is misconstrued here. If they had to leave public areas to show affection, then they might as well go to the prettiest. All I can say is, be happy the shackles are gone. Imply that there is a pattern and that the pattern is indicative of the current campus environment. Sure, they could get threatened by the student with a lawsuit, but accusations of rape could then be brought up in court, and such accusations are much easier to prove in a civil suit, so there would be protection for the college. I dont know what transpired during their internal investigation, but the college could have called both accused and accuser (separately) to give testimony in the presence of an attorney. There is a moral failing when a founders son is a perpetrator and this is covered up continually over the years, Andrew, you said: I still live in Front Royal, and until very recently our police have been a joke when it comes to stuff like this. I still have very fond memories of my time there and still actively keep in touch with my classmates and friends there, despite living across the country from most of them. In addition, the article didnt clarify that the college has gotten rid of many of the policies and rules that are being blamed in this article for the assaults (e.g., the no-holding hands rule was jettisoned a while ago). His punishment: He could not live on campus for one semester, and he could not contact Adele Smith. When I went back to visit a few years later it was hard for me because I felt bereaved in a waylike this safe space full of spiritual fantasies and security had been permanently denied to me. Front Royal, Virginia christendom.edu Born September 14 Joined September 2009. This sexualization makes things particularly difficult for men because on men simply of the way men are wired. I still have fond memories of a bunch of them. It still deserves to be addressed adequately by the Admins, but we were much safer than most campuses. You shooting in the dark hoping to hit a target, isnt helping. The more men have to be heroic, the more women do as well. There is a french expression a la folie; when you love someone a la folie, it means you love them to the point of madness. 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. Why do we have to wait for the guy to respond? In many cases, I doubt it. The whole In loco parentis thing was alive and well and enforced. hope youve finally found happiness as well. "[29][30] This statement has since been removed from the college website. Not everything that the school chooses to ban has to be a sin. And it is these serious issues which led the Fishers to dedicate a great deal of time and energy into researching and writing this article. [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. Supposedly that sentence should stop this from happening again. Starting in September 2016, Christendom College launched an ambitious project called the "A Call To Greatness Campaign" to raise $40 million for the college's endowment, the annual fund, and a construction project to build a new 750-seat medieval gothic chapel featuring a 130-foot tower and eight prayer altars. I considered Christendom, but that seemed a bit too much for me at the time. These are some of the difficult questions the college should have asked itself. We are committed in our policies, our procedures, and in our on-campus culture to uphold and promote the dignity of women and men. It seems to be a bigger problem now that the sexually charged culture doesnt help young men and women relate to each other without sexual overtones in every encounter. Christendom College, a small, Catholic, liberal arts school in Front Royal Virginia, celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. I must charitably assume (another term I learned there) this must have been chaste, but it still looked extremely odd. 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. They know they are not as upstanding as they would like. The colleges response is a legal response to an alleged crime. Smith says the school claimed it takes a long time to implement changes in school policy. Good job trying to romanticize rape, but your writing would be more appropriate in a pornographic novel, where creeps actually try to convince themselves women enjoy being raped. The teachers provide a well rounded education of philosophy, history, theology, literature and political science. Why not the new policy? Best of luck! Absolutely, but leaders have to weigh the pros and cons, of which there are many, and seek the greater good. Kissing allowed. Real piece of work. Second, I havent seen any evidence in this article or in Christendoms response that the accused was placed before college authorities and questioned regarding the incident. Then, one day during her senior year, her friend texted her that Marshner was talking about her in his moral theology class, using thinly veiled language. And did in fact say no with her body language with arms crossed and legs locked tight? As far as I can see, either your outrage should be with park police and the legal system that did nothing, as opposed to the school which actually did something(albeit minor), or you should be mad at yourselves for not hiring a bounty hunter to mutilate the guy. It is an extremely difficult crime to convict someone of, and unfortunately, without proof or conviction, legally not much can be done. This is an event that took place off campus, with literally one witness. 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. I used to argue with the Dominicans at St. Mary's in New Haven (close to campus). 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. And your describing it as such in the comments on a piece about rape is insulting and denigrating. While the classes and Catholic culture are unique, the college administration struggles with some modernization of the buildings . Should rapists be burned at the stake without incontrovertible evidence? ' into the handbook. Christendom is an excellent college with a delightfully wholesome atmosphere. Smiths criticisms of the university are reported on at length, while nowhere is the universitys current policy on sexual assault quoted or described. People are fallible and improvements can always be made but Im sorry, how would anyone miss that rape falls into the category of mortal sin .and yes Moral Theology is covered freshman year.
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