Hundreds of University of Oregon students, faculty, staff and alumni filled Johnson Hall May 8 asking a question.
“Why did the UO bring a basketball player who had been suspended from another school to the university?”
Students demanded answers from the UO administration in a rally organized by the UO Coalition to End Sexual Violence, Safe Ride, the Women’s Center and other campus groups in response to the rape allegations implicating UO basketball players Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin.
Austin came to the UO from Providence College after receiving a suspension from its basketball team due to a violation of its student conduct code.
Members of the administration came out and released their statement.
“We want to say that we heard your questions,” Robin Holmes, vice president of student affairs told the crowd on behalf of the administration. “You want to know information about how we could let a student come to this campus. We’re going to definitely look into that and get back to you as soon as we can. Right now that’s all we can say. We understand your question. It’s a good question. We know why you’re asking it and we need to come up with those answers.”
Participants in the rally voiced outrage for the university’s response and prior knowledge of the allegations.
“I feel like if we don’t sit here and scream what’s going on it’ll just get hidden behind everything else. If we’re not here nothing will happen,” Brennan Duffy, UO junior said.
Protestors also stood together to support survivors of sexual assault.
“A lot of my friends and myself have experienced sexual violence before, while being at the UO and it needs to end,” Liisa Anderson, UO sophomore said.
The rally began at noon in the lawn behind Hendricks Hall. After listening to speakers like Jennifer Freyd, UO psychology professor, the UO Coalition to End Sexual Violence and Ashley Needham, UO senior and member of Safe Ride, the crowd participated in a silent march to Johnson Hall.
Protesters filled Johnson Hall and spilled onto the front steps voicing chants like “Survivors over sports,” and “We want answers.”
Rally leader Carol Stabile, PR coordinator for the ASUO’s Women’s Center Claire Aubin and Freyd met with three administrators to try and get answers.
Aubin was dissatisfied with the response.
“It is a great way to explain what institutional betrayal feels like,” Aubin said. “I was literally sitting with the administrators of our school and I still felt like I was getting lip service when being talked to face-to-face.”
Protestors were not pleased with the statement given by Holmes and the administration.
“I find it profoundly disappointing,” David Craig, philosophy GTF said. “Everyone on campus seems to be taking this very seriously except the administration.”
Stabile shared the sentiment.
“The administrative response today has been typical of the administrative response to sexual violence for a long long time. We don’t get questions answered,” Stabile said.
“It’s great that student activism is striking up again even though it is such a said issue,” Tran Dinh, newly elected ASUO vice president, said.”I think the community that has come out of this is very powerful.”
Another rally is planned for May 9 at Johnson Hall at noon.