Using emails and online reports, the University of Oregon is communicating its responsibilities to help students stay safe and the resources that are in place to assist them. 

Interim President Scott Coltrane sent a mass email to communicate with faculty and staff about UO and federal Title IX obligations on the same day that the UO’s annual campus safety statistics for the previous calendar year were made available. Both were issued Wednesday, Oct. 1.

The 2014 UO security report includes crime statistics for the previous three calendar years, including for sex offenses, robbery, burglary, arson, drug and alcohol arrests and others.  The information reports a total of 12 incidents of sex offenses, as defined by Clery with specific georgraphic area and definitions of offense.

Earlier this week, survey information from psychology professor Jennifer Freyd and graduate students indicates that these numbers are most likely very low and do not reflect the prevalence of the crime at the UO or at other universities around the country.

Coltrane and other university leaders agree with Freyd and her colleagues about the underreporting of sexual assault and are working to support students who are survivors of crime to feel comfortable coming forward to report incidents.

“Underreporting of sexual assault is a widespread problem that needs immediate attention,” Coltrane said.  “The university has a responsibility to keep students safe and we must do anything we can to create an environment where they are comfortable coming forward with reports of incidents.”

In a message to all faculty and staff, the president emphasized that “UO employees who have information about sexual misconduct by or against a member of our campus community or any visitor have a duty to report that information to their supervisor or to the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity.”

The annual campus safety report meets a federal requirement by the Jeanne Clery Act to report incidents on campus, in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or managed by the UO and on public property within or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.

Fire safety statistics for the previous three calendar years are also included.

Other data includes:

• Decreases in alcohol and drug arrests;
• Increased incidents of arson in residential facilities; and
• For the first time, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking were also included, as mandated by law.

Data and information is provided by the UO Police Department, the Office of the Dean of Students, the Office of Emergency Management and Continuity, the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, University Housing, the Title IX coordinator, the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards and law enforcement agencies that provide services to UO properties within their jurisdictions.

―by Julie Brown, Public Affairs Communications