Students will meet with OU President David Boren Oct. 12 to discuss rape culture following a protest in Evans Hall today.
The protest, which was held against rape culture at OU, was fueled by Boren's comments on sexual assault in an Oct. 3 Daily article. It began at 1:45 p.m. at the Unity Garden in the South Oval .
Kelsey Morris, a sociology sophomore and the protest's organizer, read a list of demands for Boren that the group had posted to Facebook. The demands included a public apology to sexual assault victims that contains the phrases "I believe you," "it’s not your fault" and "I'm sorry" and a written commitment to the issue, among others.
The protesters then walked to Evans Hall, with more joining along the way, including Student Government Association President Daniel Pae. Students held signs that read: "Rape is not human nature" and "apologize or resign."
OU tribal liaison Warren Queton and Kristen Partridge, associate vice president for student affairs, met the protesters at the Unity Garden and walked with them.
When the group arrived at Evans Hall, they were met by Jabar Shumate, the vice president for the university community, and Kathy Fahl, the director of the Gender + Equality Center, along with other administrators.
The administrators handed out a letter from Boren to protesters and asked if they would like to meet with him at 10 a.m., Oct. 12, to which they agreed. In the letter, Boren apologized for being out of the office, stating that he was visiting Clinton, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma City to campaign for his proposed penny sales tax.
In the letter, Boren recognized the seriousness of the situation surrounding campus sexual assault and highlighted his efforts to help. He also acknowledged that there is more to do to combat sexual assault.
"I believe you; the faculty and staff here at the university believe you are right about the seriousness of the problem, and we are committed to helping you," Boren said in the statement.
After meeting and speaking briefly with present administrators, the protesters walked from the Evans Hall offices into its hallway. Morris then announced that everyone was invited to attend the meeting with Boren the next day.
Morris said while the protest was anticlimactic, she is grateful Boren read the demands and is willing to meet with them. The protest and administrative response was a step in the right direction, she said.
"I’m not under any delusions that this is going to be an overnight change or that suddenly administration is going to become unproblematic, or that suddenly rapists are suddenly going to be expelled, because that’s not going to happen overnight," Morris said. "But I think we’ve made a small amount of measurable progress."
Shumate said he thought the meeting with the protesters went well and that he believes a meeting with Boren is important.
"I know the president is open-minded," he said. "I have really good feelings about the opportunity for them to dialogue with the president and us to make our university better."
Madison Lovell, an engineering, physics and environmental sustainability freshman, helped Morris organize the protest. She said it went well but feels there is still progress to be made.
Lovell said the short-term goal of an apology was accomplished, but the long-term goals of changing rape culture will need work. At tomorrow's meeting with Boren, the next step is him recognizing his role as a university leader, Lovell said.
"We need to make sure Boren realizes that because he is the president of the university, he is being held to an extremely high standard ... (And) he needs to recognize when he is at fault," Lovell said.
Lovell said she does not think the current sexual assault training for freshmen is enough, and hopes new programs can be put in place.
"(Boren) said that finances are going to be a problem in getting new programs, but if this problem is truly as important to him as he makes it out to be, he will make resources available," Lovell said.
Read Boren's full letter below.
