Morehouse College is launching its own investigation into allegations that a woman attending neighboring Spelman College was gang-raped by four Morehouse students. This was a direct response to the Twitter Allegations this passed week alleging, Spelhouse silenced victims of rape. View Story here
Dear Men of Morehouse and the entire Morehouse Community:I am deeply troubled by the recent allegations that have been anonymously stated on Twitter alleging that a Spelman student was assaulted by four unidentified Morehouse students. At Morehouse, we take seriously all allegations of sexual assault and we are redoubling our efforts to ensure that our students and students throughout the Atlanta University Center are encouraged to report any such incidents. Both our Office of Campus Safety and the Title IX Office have been activated to fully investigate the allegations with the limited information that we have.
As I have stated before, sexual assault is a critically important issue at Morehouse College and we are committed to working with the entire Morehouse community to examine the cultural norms that underscore and perhaps exacerbate this difficult issue, while also ensuring that our policies, procedures and practices are aligned with the federal law and provide swift and fair outcomes. We are also determined that our approach to addressing this serious matter is informed by the loftiest values of this institution. Sexual assault is a heinous form of violence and it is a stark contradiction to Morehouse College at its best.
The information anonymously shared on Twitter was our very first indication of this incident. Now that we are aware of these allegations, we are determined to pursue the investigation to the fullest extent possible.
I encourage any victim of sexual assault to report the incident to our Title IX office, the Office of Campus Safety, or any other mandatory reporter. Morehouse is determined to create, shape and maintain an environment where victims are supported and feel free to report any incident of sexual assault, trusting that they have Morehouse as an ally. We are determined to change the culture on and around campus, and “get right” a problem that has confounded the industry of higher education and the country. We must all work together to shape an environment and culture where sexual violence committed against our students or by our students is not tolerated.
As most students now prepare to leave our campus for the summer, we ask that you return in the fall fully prepared to join in the fight against a scourge that has traumatized too many for far too long.
For updates on the critical steps we have taken since last fall and will continue to take in the coming months go to www.morehouse.edu/collegestatements, which will include a living document that we will continue to update.
John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. ’79
President
