University failed to uphold students’ right to know

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.

At The Volante, we have the responsibility to exercise those freedoms to inform our readers about what is happening on their campus — their home.

This week, The Volante published an article regarding a former student who was charged with videotaping females in the fourth floor Mickelson residence hall showers and was charged for an off-campus rape just days later.

In its reaction and response to these events, the University of South Dakota failed its students in one major way.

Twelve days. That is how long it took the university to inform students in North Complex about the incident taking place in their homes.  Their reason — there was no immediate threat.

You have a right to know when your safety is in danger. He was, after all, arrested for rape just days later.

While we understand the need to ask students to report to officials when they feel something inappropriate is happening, you can’t rely on bystanders to enforce the criminal justice system.

With all the national attention on sexual assault on college campuses, there has been a call to action for universities to be more responsible in the way these cases are handled. This should be a major discussion point at our university.

More students than those in North Complex should have been warned of the incidents, especially when the student charged moved off campus.

As for those who do live in North Complex, particularly those on fourth floor Mickelson, they should have been told exactly what happened as soon as the university heard about it.

Student reports indicate they weren’t even told if he was taking pictures or filming — just that he had been caught in the women’s bathroom.

Not only were they not notified of exactly what happened, but now these students have no idea if these photos or videos were shared. The university has a responsibility to look into this.

There is potential to do the right thing here. Changes need to be made to campus security, and communication needs to be enhanced by our university officials. Let’s take advantage of this teaching moment.