To Kenyon College, for failing my little sister:
by Michael Hayes
Every Kenyon student who knows either one of us almost certainly knows that Chelsie and I grew up in Gambier. We grew up around thousands of Kenyon students—students who tutored my sister at Wiggin Street Elementary School, for example, and students who helped coach our YMCA soccer teams at the fields by the Community Center from where we watched the KAC being built over the course of almost three years. On those muddy fields, Chelsie dreamed of playing soccer as a Kenyon student, even as a young girl. In those days, there was still a tall wooden castle for us to play in and shelves stuffed with Beanie Babies on sale in the bookstore. Tradition still dictated that nobody could use their cellphones on Middle Path without confrontation and social repercussions, market dogs were still 50 cents and Middle Ground was still Middle Ground. We went to a cappella concerts together, watched plays and sporting events. Kenyon has been our home for so much of our lives, and we loved it so much that we chose to stay for college. We felt like we were exactly where we should be. Hearing the friends who I became an adult with at Kenyon College, who I will know and love for the rest of my life, call Kenyon “home” for the first time was one of the best feelings of my life—every time it happened.
When I learned that Chelsie was accepted to Kenyon and would be playing soccer there, it made me cry. Being a student at Kenyon set my life on a path that nobody in my family had ever been down before—I’m the first in my family to go to college—and I couldn’t wait for her to have those moments where an entire class becomes silent after a professor changes the way the world looks and feels to everyone in an instant—everyone quiet during the professor’s pause in mutual acknowledgment of having grown a little more together. Not only that, either, because I remembered Chelsie as a little Wiggin Street student watching the KAC being built and dreaming of playing soccer like the girls whose games we would watch next to the Kenyon students of over a decade ago. Her dream had come true. And I imagined how my mother must have felt knowing that she—a single mother by the age of 19—had raised two children who were accepted to Ohio’s oldest private college with full scholarships. I graduated from Kenyon in 2014, and months later, Chelsie scored a goal during her first exhibition game as a member of the Kenyon College Women’s Soccer team. Against all odds, we made it—a Kenyon family through and through.
But on Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 5:14 PM, Kenyon College—my hometown and alma mater—became unfamiliar to me for the first time in my life:
“Katie is taking Chelsie to the hospital. She was raped last night.”
My mother followed up with handfuls of messages about how it didn’t feel real yet, how everything in our lives had changed while I was so far away and how we had to remain strong for Chelsie with the knowledge that she showered the morning after debating whether or not she wanted to commit suicide. I found strength in the faith I had that Kenyon would see that justice was done for a girl who spent so much of her life wanting to be there—a Wiggin Street kid whose dream had come true, and the little sister of a Kenyon graduate who loved that place with his whole heart.
Kenyon’s Title IX and Violence Against Women Act policy begins with these words: “The College is committed to fostering a climate free from sexual and gender-based discrimination, harassment and violence, intimate partner violence and stalking through clear and effective policies, a coordinated education and prevention program, and prompt and equitable procedures for resolution of reports of conduct prohibited under this policy.” In November, I trusted that those words were true.
As the administrative process ran its course, though, that trust was tested at every stage along the way. And now, at the end of April, the process has officially concluded with the rejection of an appeal by a 19-year-old young woman who was sexually assaulted in her dorm room—in and out of consciousness—after drinking a bottle of wine, a couple of beers at the Cove, taking her three prescribed medications, and falling asleep in a residence hall that I, too, had lived in when I was her age, by a boy who insisted to her and to others that she was “too cute to be a lesbian.” Despite her documented injuries, a bed stained with her own blood, her sexual orientation, and the combination of that much alcohol and prescription medication in her body, the college concluded—both initially and on appeal—that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that it was more likely than not that the college’s policy on sexual assault had been broken at all.
Kenyon has betrayed my trust—a trust with the strength of 23 years. Kenyon failed my little sister in a way that I, with her permission, refuse to be silent about.
We used to walk around campus when we were younger, both separately and together, because it is the most beautiful and relaxing place I know. It feels so safe. In my teens, Aaron Lynn and I would walk down Middle Path during Send-Off to see what college parties really looked like. More than once, I crashed graduation just to see a famous speaker (John Kerry!) or to try to spot a celebrity parent in the audience (Sharon Stone! Jamie Lee Curtis!). I noticed that there were some graduates who had their hoods affixed to their robes by a family member just before they walked across the stage, and I learned eventually that it was a tradition and privilege for family members who had also graduated from Kenyon to do so. When I learned that Chelsie was going to attend Kenyon, I thought with the proudest anticipation of what an incredible feeling it would be to stand there with her right before she went on stage to get the diploma that I also have.
But that will never happen, because now my little sister is leaving Kenyon. And it feels as though we have both lost one of our oldest and closest friends.
So it is with the broken heart of our little Kenyon family that I offer these most familiar words:
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.
Michael Hayes
Class of 2014
I am so sorry, Michael, and my heart breaks for Chelsie. I, too, grew up in Gambier and I love the village. With all my heart. But I also experienced what Chelsie did. In a very similar way. It has taken me 30 years to give it a name, call it out and, eventually, forgive. I did not speak up at the time because I was afraid. There was no way to speak the truth and be heard without repercussion. I know now it was one person, not the entirety of the community, but I had so hoped things would have changed. But, sadly and apparently, not so much. I very much hoped things would be different now. I pray she can find a place to love her home town again, and all the wonderful People who call it home, for a lifetime or just a few years. This was not her fault and I will send positive energy that she can get past this. My heart and prayers are with you all. Please let her know she is not alone.
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I’m 63. I have been a survivor for decades, and you will be too, Chelsie! I am sorry Kenyon failed you so egregiously and our community will be all the poorer for your loss! All this will one day become merely a small part of who you are, not your entire identity although that’s how it may feel right now.
One day at a time, one hour at a time, or one minute at a time – keep breathing, take it slow and be gentle with yourself. You are precious! Try to remember that and be good to yourself and expect to be treasured by any who call you friend.
Accept less, and the bastards win!
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Reblogged this on Poetry By The Sea.
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Am very sorry to have read this article. It must be very hard on everyone involved. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
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Shame on Kenyon and shame on a society that continues to protect the wrong people based on the wrong criteria. I hope Chelsie will feel and understand that her experience does NOT reflect on her although it has injured her, and that so many of us whom she will never meet stand with her and are sending love and healing to her.
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I wish I could hug Chelsie and you…take some of this pain and burden from your hearts and souls. This betrayal is survivable–I endured Kenyon’s process 14 years ago with a similar outcome as Chelsie–and knowing your family is resilient doesn’t lessen the hurt. I am so so sorry. I pray for peace.
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You and Chelsie are not alone as far as family outrage. My daughter Marion, above, suffered through this double victimizing process. I went to the press and they uncovered a pattern. Kenyon wants this to go away. Fight.I am with you.
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It is sad that this is the response more than not. Michael you are a good brother. Shame on Kenyon college. Chin up Chelsie. You did nothing wrong and the boy will eventually be made to pay. Please remember that. Don’t let him take your life away. Go on and be successful. Show Kenyon you will get big enough to make them change their policy on this. I believe in you. Just like I believe in my daughter who was raped at 9 at home in her own bed. Your life is precious.
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We are with you, Chelsie and Michael.
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This makes me so angry. I have known Chelsie for years — she was my neighbor — and also have for years been worried about rape at the College and our inadequate responses to it. Chelsie and Michael, please know that we support and love you. And let us know how we can help.
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Michael (and Chelsea), I second what Steve said, only I’d use really, really bad language to express how I feel. It’s so vile every single time it happens, but to rape a lesbian first gen student you’ve mocked, and to do it while she’s unconscious really takes a supreme fuckwad dregs-of-the-earth asshat.
Victims should avoid in-house investigations and go to the police, IMHO. -Michelle Mood
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Michelle, unfortunately, the police and the healthcare workers in Mount Vernon and Gambier are in on the cover-up act, too. My daughter survived a very similar attack in 2012, and the police discouraged her from pressing charges, telling her she wouldn’t be successful. And the hospital ‘lost’ all of the rape kit evidence. I am so heartbroken that my daughter didn’t get to experience the Kenyon that Michael did. While she chose to stay and graduate (an extraordinary feat, given the mental anguish she has endured) she will never look back on those years as the best of her life. Shame on the Kenyon administration and community for continuing to deny that this problem exists. And may they all rot in hell for actively covering it up.
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Michael, I’m beyond words at this point. I have none to express my support and concern adequately. Many in our Kenyon community would like to know if the KCSO has an investigation going on and if any charges are filed. Your sister is not alone in two ways. She is not the first victim but I pray that she is the last. Secondly, you both have support and love streaming purple light on you right now. We aren’t afraid. We aren’t silent, and you will not be processed and forgotten by anyone. Blessings and peace for standing up and shouting out on behalf of your family.
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Thank you for sharing this with us Michael and to Chelsea for her courage in seeing the flawed college process through and allowing her story to go forward. As someone who works on Title IX issues I think there are clear grounds here for a complaint to be made to the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. Your sister clearly experienced both a rape and a hate crime as her sexual orientation may have been a motivating factor for the perpetrator. If you would like any help in exploring the option of making a federal complaint I am happy to help. The process is a long one once put in motion but your sister’s involvement is limited and Kenyon could be sanctioned and forced to change education, training, policies, and protocols if found responsible. It’s high time our college got it right on this issue. Clara
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Love and support to Chelsie and you from a fellow Kenyonite.
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As hard as it is, separating the people you’ve cared about and the comfort you feel being in Gambier from the goals held by the school and those who fund it would help you criticize this system more fully. Because even as someone with no personal attachment to Kenyon, this essay makes me long for Kenyon as much as it makes me disgusted with its agenda. These decisions show that people at Kenyon are only important to the administration in so far as they help further Kenyon’s goal of being powerful, and I want us to see it for what it is. Even though it really structures itself to be romanticized.
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My heart goes out to Chelsie and to you and your family. I grew up around Kenyon and always felt it was a magical place. I had a similar situation at my “All Girls College” many years ago and it was determined, it was my fault. I have forgiven, but never forgotten how my college hurt me. Try to stay positive and know that justice will be serve in some way. Chelsie, I know you are strong and will get through the emotional challenges and suffering. Bless you all…..stay strong! And do not give up the fight.
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Many alums likely received a fundraising email from the school yesterday. Let them know that you won’t donate until Kenyon has publicly responded to this post and made actions to right the situation.
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Would you be comfortable with me reposting your idea on Facebook?
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Public response so relevant as well as prevention and education
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Reblogged this on Puella Aeterna: The Eternal Girl and commented:
A necessary read
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I never reported and my rapist ended up becoming an SMA. When I learned this from a counselor at the health center, I was floored. She actually defended him. She had met him, he was a nice boy, surely he must have learned from the experience? I stopped going to talk to her after that.
I chose to stay at Kenyon and get what I could out of the experience, but I sometimes regret that. It was the place where I first made real, lifelong friends and connected with people on a deeper level. But it also is the place where I let my pain overwhelm me, made bad decisions, and struggled in classes as a result. It was not the college experience I’d planned on having. Kenyon will always be complicated place and memory for me. I am sad to know that this continues to be the case for more and more young women.
I wish Chelsie all the best in moving forward from this, and I ache for her that it’s something she has to move forward from.
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I wish I was more shocked by the horrible response of this counselor! I really relate to what you say about Kenyon being a place with complicated memories. Even tho I met a group of women who I will love dearly for the rest of my life, fulfilled my dream of playing college sports, and was supported through an amazing education by my caring and dedicated professors, every memory is also tainted. Every time I get a class letter I have to worry about reading news about my perpetrator that might leave feeling depressed for the next week. I wish when I thought of my alma mater it didn’t mean having to think about being sexually assaulted and feeling resentment for my alma mater for providing no education about what was being done to me or about my rights! I am also saddened to hear Kenyon hasn’t gotten with the program. Many colleges and universities are taking this opportunity to publicly apologize, bring in educated staff, and make changes. I hope Kenyon quickly realizes that continuing to not believe their students when they come forward, sweep the issue under the rug and pretend that sexual assault doesn’t happen at Kenyon is a grave mistake and injustice. This will only serve to communicate to those wishing to continue to perpetrate this crime that Kenyon college is a place where you can get away with rape. I agree with Evan Weiss completely and would be interested to talk with others interested in making a more concerted effort to voice the need for change at Kenyon. I have long been noting when I make donations that I’d like the money to go towards prevention and education about consent and sexual assault. I don’t know what if anything would have stopped what happened to me but I wish I’d have known then that what happened was sexual assault and intimate partner violence and that it hadn’t taken a second rape to finally face these facts and begin to heal.
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I am so sorry for what has happened to your whole family. I work in the dinning hall and it blows my mind that I hadn’t even heard about or that anything like this had happened.
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Thank you, Michael, for your post. Our family’s collective heart goes out to your brave sister.
Our daughter had an unwanted sexual experience as a first year at Kenyon. The college response was ostensibly supportive; but in the end unhelpful as those to whom she turned for advice used her fragile state to manipulate the story into one where she was solely responsible. Kenyon became toxic and she left during her second year. Although she is successfully completing her education elsewhere leaving Kenyon was a terrible loss of a long-held dream – she had worked hard to gain admission & an academic scholarship to The Hill.
Your post is important in so many ways not the least of which is to publicly call attention to Kenyon’s culture, which thus far has been curiously out of news stories we’ve seen about other elite colleges and universities. Be well.
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That is so wrong in so many ways. I’m so sorry for your daughter. -Michelle Mood
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Shame on Kenyon for this and all the other times they have protected the wrong, privileged person!
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No young woman should have to suffer in any way at the hands of others, no matter her state or orientation. If this had been the daughter of the aforementioned Sharon Stone or Jamie Lee Curtis, would the college’s decision and the outcome have been the same?
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You are so very correct! If sexual assault happens to anyone, anywhere the sufferer is sickeningly more-often-than-not labeled “the one responsible” and typically scrutinized harshly & stigmatized by not only local officials, but much of society as a whole. The actual occurrence of the act already makes the sufferer feel betrayed, used, tainted, dirty, and the list goes on & on. Then, while undergoing the process of attempting to persecute their perpetrator(s), often is faced with blame in every-/anyway(s) possible by the defendant, “officials” of the law, the court, the school &/or family members also (depending on where/when the sexual assault took place & by whom, for example), as well as medical “professionals” and even both state & federal personnel. Many sufferers then must wrestle with everything going on around them, plus the war going on in their own minds, which can leave her/him feeling not only as a worthless person, but with constant thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, etc that replay the experience over & over… and very sadly frequently leads to a host of mental health issues (e.g., PTSD, severe depression, crippling anxiety) which can lead to so many other extremely difficult struggles, such as substance abuse, self-injury, eating disorders, and suicide as well. Even those, IF of whom are finally able
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Continued: …to forgive, and learn to love themselves & realize they are not a “victim,” but as a SURVIVOR, will *NEVER* forget what happened to her-/himselves. It changes one’s life forever, as well as those who love/support/stand alongside them through it all.
Michael, I applaud & highly commend you for speaking out for your sister & other survivors, and bringing attention to this outrageous problem. You are an incredible brother, and one hell of a man. Chelsie, I want to just hug you & remind you what a strong & courageous young woman you are. And also tell you, you’re not alone. I believe you can & will continue life with such amazing fortitude and succeed in all of your goals & aspirations.
This is disgustingly not only a huge issue occurring at Kenyon, but is rampantly on the rise on several other college campuses & in society, as a whole, also. It is beyond time legislation be changed to be there to educate students (of all ages) & their parents, to have unconditionally supportive”professionals” & “officials” by the sufferers side as long as needed, to put perpetrators behind bars FOR LIFE & completely rid of any/all “statute of limitations” re: sexual assault of type (just as is the case with murderers, who — even decades after committing the crime — can be prosecuted), and which will [hopefully] begin to dissipate the stigma too many place on not only the act of sexual assault itself but towards the sufferers too. Sexual assault is a heinous crime against ANY individual & it’s high time things change.
Stay strong all my fellow warriors!
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Silence = Death. Thank you for speaking out. It takes a great deal of courage. It’s heartbreaking that so little has changed in the thirty years or so since I attended Kenyon. The college continues to fail in its duty to educate and dissuade students from committing sexual violence. It could really do a lot if it cared to.
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Reblogged this on Columbia Girl at Heart and commented:
I just cried during rehearsal while reading this. This is such a moving piece and it is devastating what has happened to both this girl and her family.
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Praise for you Michael for being a great brother and defender of your sister! So sorry that Chelsie had this terrible life experience in a place she should have been safe and protected. Praying she can move past this experience to be the successful woman that she is meant to be. May her attacker rot in hell!
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Thank you for sharing! My heart breaks for all involved. I find it devastating that Kenyon allows these tragedies to continue.
If they had taken a stronger stance against just one the previous perpetrators (as mentioned above) this horriblely devastating crime might not have happened!
Sadly, it’s overwhelming apparent that Kenyon’s administration (and all others involved) will not commit to community safety until forced to do so.
Although nothing can make up for what she has endured, I hope the bravery you have displayed (by sharing this horrible experience) will be enough to prevent Kenyon’s administration from covering up the issue (once again), and I further pray it gives your family the courage needed to begin to heal. Very respectfully,
God Bless you and yours…
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Michael, Chelsie: I taught you both and I care a lot for both of you. This is appalling. There’s no use saying this, but I wish for you, Chelsie ,that wherever you go from now on proves to be a good place for you. And I grieve that the Kenyon you loved proved such a disappointment.
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Michael and Chelsie,
I’m so sorry for your experience. I pray that you will find peace. God bless you for bringing awareness to a problem that shouldn’t be prevelant on a college campus.
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I’m so sorry to hear that this happened. It’s really sad that this happened to you guys and the fact that it happens at universities all over the country sickens me. To protect a predator instead of a victim just shows that there needs to be a change in the system.
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I believe you, Chelsie. Your assailant should be the one who has to leave Kenyon, not you–and that is 100% Kenyon’s shame. Shame on you, Kenyon. Class of ’02–and disgusted nothing has changed.
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First of all, my heart goes out to your sister for all she has endured. Also, to all of the commenters who have gone through this as well. There are so many victims of rape ar Kenyon who have commented on this, I think you could put together a class action lawsuit against Kenyon for all the cover ups! I think it is the only way you will see a real change take place, sadly.
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While I was never a student at Kenyon, I couldn’t agree more. I believe as Clara mentioned above, that because not only Kenyon staff is blatantly at fault in far too many instances but as are local “officials” covering up the crimes as well, that first filing a “class action” complaint to The Dept of Education and then pursue on as class action lawsuit against Kenyon too.
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I was assaulted at Kenyon too, eight years ago now. I never came forward. I was absolutely as afraid of the social crucifixion as I was of the judicial one. I had a “hooks up too much” reputation. (Don’t even get me started on the fuckedness of that aspect of Kenyon’s community.) I’m pretty sure coming forward would have had atrocious consequences and I would be the one to bear them. To this day, I regret it…and yet if I could go back in time right now, I doubt I would choose differently.
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Any chance the offender was a tuition paying student?😡
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I lied to the campus physician after being assaulted by two DKEs I counted as friends–I said a condom broke and could I please have the morning-after pill. He said, “sex is not a kiss goodnight.” Finally coming forward (months later) DID have horrible social/emotional consequences and I dropped out. I’m sorry you suffered in silence.
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Michael: I am so very sorry to hear this. Thank you and your sister for being so bravely sharing your story. The comments on this thread are likewise upsetting to me.
For those who are interested, some Kenyon alumni have set up a closed Facebook group to continue the discussion and do something together to create a positive change at Kenyon. The group is not set up by the administration and we are hoping it’s a safe space to talk, share notes and perhaps take action together. Follow this link to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/600709716742702/
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I wish I could say that I were surprised. But I am quite definitely saddened. I hope for healing for you, your sister, your mom, and the others who love you.
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I’m so sorry, and so ferociously angry that this has happened. I’m hurting for all those who have looked up to and trusted their assailants and their institutional protectors, and had to reformulate those feelings after such a base violation.
I’ve been raped, assaulted, and harassed countless times at Harvard and the school won’t lift a finger. It’s a scary thing to go to college when you know that 1/5 of the women who attend will be raped in the next four years. I remember telling my mom before leaving for college that the next time she’d see me, I would have been assaulted. I wasn’t by Thanksgiving, but I sure was by my freshman winter break.
Our culture celebrates and protects rape, and so its individuals and institutions follow. We need to change that culture
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Drunk sex is not consensual sex, it’s rape. As the mother of a Kenyon boy, I have told him this repeatedly. This is no different from what Bill Cosby is accused of doing, repeatedly. Drinking too much alcohol makes us vulnerable–both as victims and as perpetrators.
Please, young women don’t put yourself in such a vulnerable position. As a tight-knit community, I hope you start taking care of each other.
Friends take care of friends, both boys and girls. “Dude, time to
switch to water. Dude, gimme the keys. Louise, come on, we’re going home, and having a large glass of Gatorade. You’ll thank me in the morning…”
All colleges are wrestling with this problem, and they are probably ill- prepared to do so. Certainly the legal system grapples with the same issues: how to believe the victim, yet be fair to the accused perpetrator. Who knows what happened, we weren’t there.
It makes me so sad that this young woman feels she has to leave school.
I hope she knows that her peers are a wreck about it. I know my son is.
It could have happened to anyone. Maybe a system of trained peer counselors would help. Kids listen to kids.
Good luck, Kenyon. I hope you use this sad incident as a starting point for
discussion about how to become a model for dealing with sexual assault on campus.
Leila Schueler, MD
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Check out the civil suits against other colleges in your conference. Perhaps it is time for Kenyon to face the truth, but it will take a village.
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In ’69-’73, in the first class of women, when classmates were raped, not a word was breathed of it by the administration. Those classmates just disappeared. Only through a grapevine of hushed and wide-eyed murmuring did we hear any bad news.
I cannot applaud you enough for writing this. Kenyon’s college-sponsored romance blinds every generation to the reality that exists on campuses everywhere. Gambier is a magical place in our hearts. But it is a real part of the national culture in a real rural county, with real students that no degree of selectivity will protect from criminality—inevitably admitted with each high-achieving class.
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Michael, thank you for sharing this story. I’m sending lots of love to your sister and your whole family. I’m a Kenyon alum who was also raped on campus in 1999 and had a similarly awful experience with school officials. Along with my father who is an attorney, I came up with a plan that was an alternative to Kenyon’s sexual misconduct protocols, which of course they had no interest in. I went on to a successful career in domestic and sexual assault prevention. If you’re open to it, I’d like to talk to you more about addressing this collectively with the college. You can email me at hrbenjamin at gmail.
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I’m a Kenyon alum, class of 2002, and learning things like this about Kenyon makes me both ashamed of my alma mater and of myself for being so clueless as to not notice these things. I hope you can find justice, or at least some peace, and I commend you for being brave enough to post this.
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So very, VERY sad to read about all the young women whose lives were sorely damaged by sexual assault at Kenyon. My daughter & son-in-law were 2011 grads – both now struggling with conflicting feelings about Kenyon. From my vantage point of having lived 61 years, I see an institution focused more on itself, & not on what is best for each individual that makes up the College community. In many of the comments I see that recurring theme: sweep it under the rug, minimize the publicity & the damage. I fear it’s deeply embedded in the Admin. culture. . . Seen it many times before.
Hang in there, Chelsie! Your life will have value, & I pray you know peace very soon.
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For alumns, you may consider signing this letter to President Decatur:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f8BLgoL5VUJL86mlkgDRMEAviVS62lhUAlgxcJon83Y/edit#gid=0
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Hi Michael, I’m the Online Organizing Strategist at Care2.com, an online petition site. We would like to support you and your sister in any way we can. We have worked with sexual assault survivors at BYU (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/503/967/285/) and American University (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/174/988/703/) to get the schools’ sexual assault policy changed. We actually just had a victory at AU. If you or your sister are interested in working with us on a petition to demand changes to Kenyon’s sexual assault policy, please contact me at LaceyK@care2team.com.
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Michael–thank you for writing this and making sure Kenyon is held accountable for how it has failed Chelsie. We alumni stand with Chelsie.
There is very little I can do, but I graduated from Kenyon in 2001 (and possibly ran into you and your sister when I was a student) and got a Master’s degree from OSU in 2006. If Chelsie would like to be in touch with/get advice from someone who is familiar with both schools, please feel free to have her contact me. emilyguybirken at gmail
Thank you
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Like others, I am sad to hear of this situation. Unlike others, however, I am not so ready to jump on board the “blame the college” bandwagon. I suspect that this recounting contains only a partial picture (from a protective big brother, it’s understandable). Life is complicated and Kenyon College cannot make it simple. My prayers and best wishes go out to all involved.
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If you read this letter from the 1999 alumni, you may not be so reserved in your judgement.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f8BLgoL5VUJL86mlkgDRMEAviVS62lhUAlgxcJon83Y/edit#gid=0
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Can’t access the Google doc it says I need permission. I sent a request for access but not confortable sharing email on here
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I think this whole situation is sad. It makes me sick that even with clear evidence consent didn’t happen or couldn’t they did nothing
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Finally, someone had the courage to say this. I swear someone got sexually assaulted once a month while I was there (1998-2001) and no one was ever turned in to the police (as far as I know) or prosecuted, and most weren’t even expelled. A rapist even got up at Take Back the Night (which the DKE fraternity purposely boycotted) and apologized for raping my friend. No consequences there either. It was all disgusting. Good for you for standing up for your sister and calling out the college for doing jack shit about a campus-wide epidemic of rape.
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Thank you for saying something. I swear someone was sexually assaulted once a month when I was there (1998-2001). Most victims didn’t report the attacks except anonymously at Take Back the Night. One rapist got on stage during that event and apologized for raping my friend. No consequences there. Those who did report got mixed results, but to my knowledge no rapist was ever turned over to the police ….. The local police regularly went hunting with one of the fraternities whose members perpetrated some of the rapes. We tried to talk to the College about it in 1999. Nothing. Thank you for standing up for your sister and calling out the rape culture that exists there. One rapist is now a husband and father ….. Another is a Christian minister. No expulsion, no arrest, no jail time. One reason why I give no money to my alma mater.
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My sister went to school with this girl, and like her, I grew up here as well. Gambier is my home, and my heart breaks for this gut and her family. As if it’s not hard enough to go through sexual assault (I also have been through sexual assault) for a college she trusted to have failed her so horribly is heartbreaking. And seeing this I am sure many other students who’ve been assaulted are hurting too. If Chelsea reads this: stay strong. You are so brave for speaking out and standing up to Kenyon for their failure to protect you and others. By doing this you’re giving a voice to people too scared to speak out or who can’t. Thank you, and best of luck to you and your family.
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*girl. Sorry for the spelling error
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As a current parent I am sickened to hear of this and plan to post this link on every college search site I can find. We did so much research ourselves and never heard a word of this. People must find out that beneath the pretty face of Kenyon lies a largely detached, self-serving administration that does not protect its students but engages in cover ups and empty promises. This is evident not only from the experience of Chelsie but from the string of comments that follow as well as from our own experience as a first year family. I hope to help prevent others from making the mistake of choosing Kenyon without full information. God bless your family and thank you for bringing this into the light. I hope the glare remains focused until change is brought about.
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Dear Michael,
I am so deeply sorry and I am so thankful for your words. Please keep telling your sister’s story! Please let her know there are many people on her side.
Just a few weeks into my freshman year at Kenyon, I too was a victim of assault. Luckily for me, I escaped my attacker and was not raped but I did press charges through the college in the hopes of protecting other women.
Turns out, the person who assaulted and harassed me also attacked another student on the very same night. We both pressed charges through the college. No one advised us to take matters to the police. The aggressor was given academic probation for one semester. He continued to harass me afterwards, which I reported. I was told that “nothing could be done.” He then escalated to rape. He raped many students during the time I was at Kenyon. I know, because I was a volunteer sexual assault counselor and I listened to these horrible stories and encouraged students to press charges.
Our class finally organized ourselves to protest graduation. We were told by the college president that the student had been expelled.
Today I found out, sparked by a conversation about your sister’s traumatic rape, that the school lied and participated in a cover-up for a known rapist. Not only is the man who terrorized the campus free in the world today, he actually earned his degree!
I think you have brought to light a rape culture which continues to exist. I had hoped that things had really evolved for your generation and that victims of sexual assault were supported and protected by the institution, but they are not. What a terrible betrayal for your sister, your mother and you.
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I have spent the months since this was published talking with college administrators and students and alumni and faculty in the hopes of improving any aspect of policy. I have learned that the college had spent months preparing a new policy that allowed Kenyon investigation instead of a “hearing.” An investigation allows information to be gathered and evaluated over time. Since trauma impairs memory, having time to prepare and collect and evaluate what happened is an improvement over the system that all alumni had to deal with. There are legal requirements I believe as to how long the process can take. Reading and thinking so many months about what happened to Chelsie makes me think of a few areas of improvement. I will be submitting them for consideration.
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