Crime & Safety

Students Concerned With Delayed Sexual Assault Notifications

Four assaults on campus prompted leaders at Framingham State University to hold a meeting with the student body.

Framingham State University students spoke up today at a meeting about the four sexual assaults on campus: “Why weren’t we notified.”

The meeting was lead by FSU President Timothy Flanagan, Campus Police Chief Brad Medeiros and Dean of Students Melinda Stoops. “We want to answer questions and hear feedback from the students,” Flanagan said.

Campus leaders sent out an email to students after but many students said they had already heard about the incidents and noticed the news crews on campus.

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“I was on Facebook when I heard about the first incident,” freshman Samantha Odell said. “It wasn’t until a few hours later that we were notified by the university.”

According to Medeiros, the campus has a text alert system that is used when there is an “immediate threat” and that in this situation there was no threat at the time of the reports.

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“In both incidents we had removed the suspected aggressor from campus within an hour of receiving the reports,” Medeiros said.

“I didn’t feel unsafe when I heard about the assaults,” sophomore Rachel O’Malley said. “I just wish they had told us earlier so we were aware of the incidents.”

“We did not have someone lurking around campus waiting to jump out of the bushes,” Medeiros said.

One of the reasons Medeiros gave for not sending an alert was that both of the incidents occurred between people with familiarity.

“These incidents, like the majority of personal crimes in the United States, were acquaintance offenses,” Flanagan said.

“This doesn’t make me feel any less safe on campus,” Odell said. “It just makes me more aware of who I’m hanging out with.”


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