How unCatholic and how tragically demeaning! If theyre allowed to kiss in a common area, then if the guy says come up to my room, shes going to say no, because theres nothing she could do in his room that she cant in the common area, except stuff she doesnt want to do. Students are, however, punished for coming back to campus drunk, even if the drinking took place off campus for instance, at The River, a popular drinking spot where even professors are known to visit and socialize. This is not degrading but a call to heroism on both sides. Money should not stand in the way of your dreams, Those looking at Catholic colleges frequentlyask: How can I afford this education? Whenit comes to Christendom College, the realquestion families should be asking is: Howcan I afford not to attend Christendom?. The idea of being torn apart in court by someone with a law degree, and it being in the paper, was too much for me to imagine. Feb 5, 2018 / 15:45 pm. 2) If the college does anything to improve, dont actually describe their efforts in the article. Instaurare Omnia in Christo! Rapists should be tarred and feathered (or worse). Surely, prospective students are aware of the rules at Christendom when they choose to apply and go to the school. Inaccuracies did not have to do with Miss Smiths heartbreaking account. Christendom is very diligent in making sure that it provides a safe campus for the education of our students.. The school does not accept federal funding. He told me he was often bothered by the question about the purpose of satan's existence as a specifically troubling version of the problem of evil. They must have some political sway, as they probably provide a great deal of the towns revenue. I eventually burned out on the whole experience around senior year, though it took me until after I graduated to actually question the foundations of the faith I'd spent the last four years pounding into my head (and even longer to finally LEAVE it, but that's another story). Sure, maybe. A complete careful investigation, in their own words. The girls would get baked goods and candy, and the guys would come into the dorm and take a tour. Thats not how it works in any of the college towns Ive lived in, and I live in one now, where we also have a military base, and the base police dont have jurisdiction outside the base, for the most part. In this period, members of the Christian clergy wield political authority. Simchas husband, Damien, proceeded to imply that she was lying and has contented multiple times that her quote was not taken out of context. Please read above reply concerning accountability. Our on-campus nurse and counselor are available at no cost and can help with trauma and recovery. This article smacks of a smear job, and there are so many lies and misrepresentations in this article, I dont even know where to begin. But their response was not a legal cease and desist, or demand of retraction. Im sad to hear about his victim, especially since I had a similar experience with a non-Catholic pastor. She said, Im not comfortable with that, and he said, Okay.. This article is a libel suit waiting to happen. Feminist =Baal worshipper. duplicitous. The reporting alleges/implies that young women arent safe at Christendom, that the university has an ongoing culture of assault and harassment toward women which is accepted by the community, and that the University doesnt help women who have been raped. The people from Christendom would be considered heretics by hard core traditional Catholics, and by the letter of the law they would be right (at least in my view). Let your no mean no and your yes mean yes. It makes it hard for a young woman to keep herself safe if *all* the places where a date might happen are private. Overview Christendom College is a Comprehensive institution located in Front Royal, VA, in a rural setting. I marched in the March for Life and protested a DC abortion clinic; for anyone whose lives I made worse by pushing anti-abortion propaganda, I am truly sorry. If we want to read that sort of thing, well buy cheap romance novels. in austria i was still unhappy, decided to leave early with an Associates degree. It creates an unhealthy culture. Karl Petrick Assistant Director of Advancement Services This is part of the problem: college kids are not children but adults with agency to make decisions for their life. The school restraining order, if properly enforced(which I suppose to the authors credit, could very rationally be called into question), should at least be acknowledged as an attempt to guarantee her safety. From its founding, Christendom College has rejected federal funding. This article sound like the argument for legalization of abortion: if abortion had been legal, coat-hangar abortions never would have happened. Not because they are animals, but because our culture is hyper-sexualized in a way that has been hitherto unseen. Im glad you ran this story, and I hope it will help schools be more accountable. The spirituality they relentlessly pushed never really clicked for me, though I always told myself it was my fault for not Jesusing harder, for not totally surrendering myself to a God Who wasn't really interested in talking back. Most of the responses have been supportive. Now, 10 years later, she popped on my fb board, so I checkes her up. Christendom is NOT in the Arctic Circle. No means no. Discouraged, Smith hesitated, then eventually called law enforcement rangers and met with them at Shenandoah National Park. Consent is only nebulous when you refuse to take responsibility for yourself. Not as well as I would have liked, but it was punished. If you think about it for half a second, youd realize youre asking more of Christendom than literally any institution could ever do, at least when it comes to prevention. the men of tis campus are filled with a joy in being a gentleman to every girl. (frankly, my dear, i would stay clear of all of those guys. The whole narrative actually seems quite dependent on that, as they pretty much did everything shy of that. As a campus dedicated to following the teachings of the Catholic Church, we strive to foster an environment where every student feels safe and respected and where the dignity of the human person is upheld and honored. She was at a party hosted by her theology teacher, Eric Jenislawski, after a meeting of the Chester-Belloc Debate Society. That being noted, it would actually makes MORE sense, and would seem MORE effective, to refuse students the option of leaving, than to allow them make out spots. [14] The school has also broken enrollment goals and records numerous years in a row, defying declining higher education enrollment trends across the United States. I've got complicated memories of the place. I went there for one semester (spring 2014). It only works with Weinstein and Cosby because there were like 30+ allegations. She had no objection, as they had kissed before. How can young people be prepared to succeed and keep the Faith in such a world? The young woman went to the police, and due to the lack of evidence, they could not press charges. absent more data (im just going off of what Ive read here so far) how exactly is a school supposed to punish someone for a violent felony for which they have Z-E-R-O evidence for? It can, however, cost people their livelihoods and smear the reputation of people and universities. Supposedly that sentence should stop this from happening again. Im sorry, but your logic is misconstrued here. People will actually believe this ludicrous drivel. Anyway, while on a work call I found a mattress and sheets in the back room surrounded by rose petals and candles. Why? The lack of process in place is about the same for most schools that size and design. The school does not accept federal funding. Gross means the opposite of minor. My legs were tightly closed. According to records of the minutes taken at two local school board meetings, one of which was held on July 15, 2021 and another on August 5, 2021, multiple public employees at Riverside Unified . It seems to me that men who lure women into back seats of cars in secluded places would have an even easier time saying Hey, come up to my room to watch a movie. With the roommate being already asked to give them privacy. I would posit that when a woman is ovulating her sex drive out strips a mans, I think womens sex drives tend to be ignored because men are more sexual which isnt the case. What if anyone found out? It seems to me that thats why they hit him with that. The students arent punished for drinking off campus, they are punished for being drunk ON campus. After graduation, she went to a catholic high school that was run by nuns. And boy, you are right. The problems with rape at Christendom are the problems with rape anywhere. So we expect sexual intimacy to be all nice and clearly delineated? I was at Saint Marys in South Bend and we had a student body of about 1,500, tops. Contact Leslie Mathews by email at lmathews@christendom.edu or by phone by calling 540.551.9300. Heroic. 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. however CC is thriving on a 50s mentality that supports men as always being the bad guys and/ or the immaculate prince and responsible for the assaults and women (not girls) women as meek little things who just go along. CC seems to be a very dangerous place for all. Are you a woman (or AFAB)? Congrats for finding a better life path. The college has since updated the apology with a Sexual Misconduct FAQs page that outlines the steps the college takes when cases of sexual misconduct are brought to its attention.[31]. Having said that, I have fallen away from the Church now and whenever I look back I have a sense of bitterness to temper the sweetness of the memories. Protected: Ill See Myself Out, Episode 62: Episodic! Our time-tested integrated liberal arts education is the ideal education for the future. I agree with you, they need to recognize the issue and address it more head on. Despite those inaccuracies, the hearts and prayers of our entire Christendom College community go out to all involved in the incidents described and to anyone who may be a victim of sexual harassment or assault. Instead, youre put into remote, isolated areas where things can get out of hand.. This is such a difficult and upsetting situation it is helpful to read your perspective. hope youve finally found happiness as well. 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. LEARN MORE. Rape is always absolutely horrific and of course a criminal offense. [T]he alleged assault of Adele did not take place on campus. If they do, their efforts to grow as a Catholic college will surely be blessed by greater growth in virtue. Its not just about getting justice for victims or punishing perpetrators, its about HOW the institution responds to allegations and the environment the institution fosters to start with. 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. Hes obviously prideful and arrogant. Their response was a poor excuse for an apology. I was working maintenance as a student between the times of these incidents. Thats America. An RA friend, Elizabeth Foeckler, also encouraged her to go to the administration. Imply that there is a pattern and that the pattern is indicative of the current campus environment. We care if you drink off campus, but not if you rape off campus, she said. Simcha, Im honestly curious what your objective is in publishing something like this? During his tenure, the college increased the number of buildings on campus to over 20, including St. Lawrence Commons, St. Francis, St. Benedict, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Clare Hall, St. Louis the Crusader Gymnasium, and St. John the Evangelist Library. It is a call to be honest about their mistakes, so they can address them in a properly Christian manner. We are in this as a team and pointing fingers at the other sex gets us nowhere. That is a philosophical question where I think people can legitimately disagree. I have to wonder why people entrust a liberal arts school board to be able to fairly assess rape allegations, when law enforcement werent able to.. It was a moral failure that took the form of an administrative failure. This would be a situation in which shed be even less safe as the university would literally have no leverage over him. It was up to me to avoid him, she said. [38], Christendom College has two schools offering graduate and undergraduate degrees. Her point is that they did not do their best. Men should feel degraded by this way of thought. We trusted each other and believed ourselves to be a self-selecting group of the Good Guys. And if the woman involved was going to say yes anyway to whatever he suggested in terms of where they were going, as she said in the article, how would this have been any different even if there were different or no PDA rules? The young man was charismatic, well-known, and well-liked on campus. The hollow piety I encountered there was so devastating, I expected everyone to be devout, not just going through the motions. I remember loving the lushness of the area. I dont wish to discredit those who are appalled by the rape epidemic and Adele Smiths case, as it is horrific matter; but there are campuses where this stuff is much more frequent, and its not because they arent Catholic in a nominal sense, nor is it because they endorse rape, but its because theres not always a clear procedure as to how to address it. A school can also have clearly defined sexual assault policies on the books, and discuss these policies with their students. Is hearing both sides unreasonable? And your describing it as such in the comments on a piece about rape is insulting and denigrating. Smith and her family were floored. Rather, the incident apparently occurred in a national park several miles away from Christendoms campus, ODonnell wrote in his letter to Scott Smith. It was usually fairly evident who those people were and if you didnt want trouble, you stayed out of their circle. It was the same with the guys open house, except theyd have TVs and video games. Out of curiosity, why did they choose to single out Christendom of all places? Is it worse to let a rapist remain on campus or expel an innocent student? Fedoryka, through his contacts in the Vatican, brought the college into contact with then-Pope John Paul II, who later told Carroll that Christendom "was doing a great work for the Church. 50% thrill?!!! But there were many inaccuracies about the school: we never had to get outfits approved for dates, you are allowed to sit next to each other, and we didnt have to wear skirts all the time. 238: Deep in the heart of New Hampshire, Whats for supper? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. It was not reported to the police for YEARS. Never, under any circumstances, admit that it was a complicated process that involved implementing a parallel judicial system. Of course they are not but I find the fact that each version of catholic thinks they are right well it is partly why I lost my faith. You dont like the sense it makes, you disagree with it, but your disagreement does not make it illogical. Deciding to proceed with creating a parallel court system over allegations as serious and difficult to determine as rape is a momentous decision fraught with difficulties both legal and practical. Returning later, I was surprised how much more town there was than I was familiar with. It should do better. When she told a few of her friends that something had happened between them, he began circulating the story that she had seduced him and then regretted it. College disciplinary boards, however, can set whatever standards they want, especially a completely independent institution like Christendom. Hes taken enough from me; hes not gonna take this.. Thats certainly not Christendoms fault. You may not have read porn, but what you wrote is beyond appropriate. THANK YOU! Um, no. I say, if you rape off campus, when you come back to campus, youre still a rapist.. Thats just scratching the surface. All the fancy theology was useless for anything except further torturing myself for not being a good enough Catholic, not following the rules enough, and not being spiritual enough. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. That's no coincidence. No is no is no. Yes, the prosecutor has to prove BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT the guilt of the accused. Im aware that Cdom extends this into private life as well, but its not a stretch that adults would all around be able to practice self control. Throughout the letter, ODonnell refers to the young man by his last name, but refers to Adele Smith by her first name. I went to an elite secular college and had a pretty bad experience. Christendom College admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. I think people in leadership positions, especially those who are tasked with ensuring the safety of communities, have to man up and make difficult decisions sometimes, even at the risk of being regarded as unfair. I went to a small all-womens college, and we had an excellent campus security force; if you were feeling unsure about walking to your car at night you could call them for an escort. 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. Vol. I had been waiting for marriage. She said she realized she could not stop the man. Maybe that needs to be spoken about more openly among students. This also means there is no publicly available data about sexual assaults or other crimes taking place on campus, as is required of Title IX schools. I believe Miss Smiths story too, but I cant verify it. He didnt have a license, so, at his suggestion, they borrowed a friends car and she drove them up to a scenic point overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. Racism among white Christians is higher than among the nonreligious. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

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