Pictured Above: Many of the incidents described by female students and alumnae “have to do with fraternities and sororities,” the chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department tells the USF president.
Aya Diab | The Crow’s Nest
By Sophie Ojdanic
USF President Steve Currall has pledged to “take forceful actions to eradicate sexual victimization” at the university.
In a letter to the chair of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies on July 16, Currall said he is “deeply committed” to ending the sexual misconduct that dozens of female students and alumnae have described in social media posts this summer.
Currall said he would convene a meeting of USF’s Coordinated Community Response Team, which was formed in 2018 to address issues of gender-based violence at USF, and key administrators to review the misconduct and “examine the resources necessary” to address it. (See the letter below.)
The president’s letter went to Diane Price Herndl, the professor and department chair who wrote a letter to him on July 10 that was signed by 92 members of the USF faculty and staff.
The letter said USF is “rife” with sexual violence and called on Currall to “fully commit” to addressing it.
Currall’s pledge followed a meeting with Price Herndl on July 13.
Price Herndl, in an email update to the Women’s and Gender Studies faculty, shared these four points, which she said she covered in her meeting with Curall:
** Students need more training on consent and “bystander intervention.”
** The university’s victim advocacy operations and Title IX investigations need to be fully staffed.
** The university needs to work with Greek life, “since so many of the reported problems have to do with fraternities and sororities.”
** The university needs “to address this as a structural and cultural problem, not a problem of there just being a few bad people.”
Currall said in his letter that the Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT) would meet with 11 administrators and one professor — Price Herndl.
The 11 administrators include Danielle McDonald, the dean of students; Michael Kelly, the vice president of athletics; Gerard Solis, the university’s general counsel; and several people responsible for students affairs, diversity and Title IX enforcement. St. Petersburg’s lone representative is Michelle Madden, the campus’ chief diversity officer and director of institutional effectiveness.
The CCRT will examine past cases of sexual misconduct and determine changes necessary for the university’s future.
Since March 2019, the executive committee of the CCRT has been meeting regularly, with larger committee meetings twice a year, according to Chris Ponticelli, associate professor of sociology and one of the leaders of the team.
When it was formed, the Tampa campus’ vice president of student success, Paul Dosal, charged the CCRT with applying “up-to-date research and evidence-based practices related to intervention and prevention of gender-based violence on campus.”
Currall’s new charge for the team sounds essentially the same.
“The purpose of this meeting will be to review past sexual victimization at USF and examine the resources necessary to effectively meet the needs of our current USF students experiencing sexual victimization,” Currall’s letter said.
Price Herndl said she saw sincerity in Currall’s letter.
“I think he genuinely cares about this issue and wants to make sure USF is doing the best we can for our students,” she said.
She also sees Currall as open to working with the CCRT and other members of the USF community.
“I believe that he wants to work with everyone at USF who is involved in trying to solve this problem to come up with our best coordinated response,” she said.
On the St. Petersburg campus, there is a victim advocate position for a staff member whose job is to provide assistance and resources to students who have been victims of sexual misconduct.
Since 2018, however, the campus has gone through three victim advocates, with the latest leaving in December 2019.
According to the Wellness Center’s website, the position is still vacant.
However, victim advocacy is still available through the Wellness Center’s phone number both during and after business hours.
To reach the wellness center, call (727) 873-4422.
‘I am deeply committed…’
This is Currall’s full letter:
Dear Professor Price Herndl,
Thank you for the thoughtful and insightful letter I received from you, faculty and staff of the
Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, and other USF colleagues. I am deeply committed to working with you and the others to take forceful actions to eradicate sexual victimization at USF.
To address the issues outlined in the letter, I propose to convene a meeting with the members of USF’s Coordinated Community Response Team plus the following additional individuals:
- Ruth Atchley
- Haywood Brown
- Paul Dosal
- Cecil Howard
- Michael Kelly
- Danielle McDonald
- Araina Muniz
- Diane Price Herndl
- Joe Puccio
- Gerard Solis
- Michelle Madden
- Corey Posey
The purpose of this meeting will be to review past sexual victimization at USF and examine the resources necessary to effectively meet the needs of our current USF students experiencing sexual victimization.
My executive assistant, Dana Tirrell will reach out to you within the next week to schedule. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Best regards,
Steven C. Currall, Ph.D.
President and Professor
Editor’s Note
This article was edited on July 21 to add comments from Diane Price Herndl.
