Update on Campus Sexual Assault Response/Prevention

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:17:52 -0400

Dear Members of the UMBC Community,

We are writing to update you on the specific actions our university community is taking to better prevent and respond to sexual assault and keep our campus safe, through the collaborative work of the accountability team, student organizations, academic colleges, and faculty and staff groups. We have already received quite a bit of feedback and recommendations and we will continue to meet with students, faculty, and staff.

We invite you to continue to support this work by sharing your thoughts and ideas. The input and expertise of our community, along with external resources, will help us move forward.

We have developed a scope of work for an outside expert or firm to review all aspects of our sexual misconduct prevention and response policies and training and awareness programs to help determine where we can learn from other institutions’ best practices and evidence-based research. We are also reaching out to national experts to identify potential consultants. Student, faculty, and staff advisory committees will guide this work.

Student leaders led a two-hour tour through UMBC’s main campus with President Hrabowski, members of the accountability team, and representatives from Facilities Management and UMBC Police to see where lighting needs to be improved. The Facilities Management team and police have repaired over 50 fixtures in areas of concern to students. Facilities Management will also add lighting around the Performing Arts and Humanities Building (PAHB), and from the PAHB to the main campus entrance circle, with construction due to begin in January and completion expected by June.

UMBC will issue new campus ID cards that include emergency contact information for quick access by students, faculty, and staff. We anticipate the new cards will be available in the spring.

Mandatory Title IX and sexual misconduct training and education will be required of all faculty, staff, and students, to expand on training efforts already underway. The resources required have been allocated for face-to-face training to complement online education, and we are working with faculty, staff and students to ensure that the training focuses not only on Title IX, but also more broadly on how each of us can support and appropriately care for our fellow community members.

UMBC Police are working with the Division of Information Technology to develop a safety feature on myUMBC that will allow students, faculty, and staff to quickly access emergency contacts and alert Facilities Management about campus lighting or building security problems.

New student resource guides are now posted in residence halls, and we are working with the community to develop additional posters, signs, and other resources for all areas of campus.

Like all U.S. universities, we are also waiting to hear what changes the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights will make concerning how institutions address Title IX issues. We want to be clear that we will continue to take active measures to prevent and address all forms of sex- and gender-related discrimination and violence. We will update the community as more information becomes available.

The safety and wellbeing of our students and our entire community must remain our priority in the long term. This is just the beginning. We will continue to challenge ourselves to do better, and broader and far-reaching improvements must be made. We are deeply humbled to hear the stories and experiences of survivors on our campus and those who care about them. Through your stories and concerns we are learning how we can be better as a campus, which has helped us begin to move forward.

October is Relationship Violence Awareness Month, and we ask members of our university community to consider attending one or more of the trainings and informative workshops available.

We encourage those who have observed or experienced sexual misconduct to seek support as needed at any time. There are many resources available on campus and in the community that offer confidential medical support, confidential psychological/emotional support, and interim protective measures (e.g., no-contact orders, housing adjustments, academic concerns). For emergency situations, contact campus police via 410-455-5555 or local police via 911.

Thank you for your commitment to this work. We will continue to share updates, progress, and ways to stay engaged.

UMBC Accountability Team
We Believe You
Student Government Association
Graduate Student Association