Keene State College is buzzing with news about three former employees: Eugene “Gino” Vallante, Charlie Beach and Peter Thomas.
According to an article recently published in the Keene Sentinel, “these three reports portray a pattern of alleged inappropriateness by authority figures to students — sexual harassment in two of the cases — spanning two college campuses and well over a decade. They chronicle communication breakdowns, warning bells heard yet not heeded and mistakes and failures both systematic and individual.”
The Equinox as a student organization feels very strongly about this matter. We believe the “look the other way” culture is an epidemic on college campuses all over the globe and is now hitting close to home. This is a dangerous culture, and its establishment at this college has been brought to light by the recent McLane investigation and reports. We believe the athletic department and administration needs to own the mistakes that have been made and assure that they will never be made again. As college-aged students, whether in the classroom, at work or in sports, authority figures such as teachers, bosses, and coaches have a lot of influence on our lives.
We realize the importance of respecting authorities, but we also believe that authorities must respect students. We cannot minimize the severity of Vallante, Beach and Thomas’ behavior, nor can we overlook the negative impact this behavior has had on students. We cannot be afraid to investigate reports of sexual misconduct. We cannot sweep them under the rug. We want to stress that we have zero tolerance for the oversight. The McLane reports detail times when victims have gone for help and were ignored. We believe no voice should be hushed when it comes to an issue of this magnitude. When students came forward with their complaints, they should have been able to trust the schools ability to take action right away. Sexual harassment is not something that should be taken lightly or shrugged off. Any signs of sexual misconduct should have been handled much more efficiently and professionally by those in charge at this college.
The reports stated Keene State’s administration offices, athletic programs and academic schools “contributed to a lack of communication and failure to share important information at key moments that would have made a difference.” This type of failure cannot happen. We encourage the Keene State College student body to take a stand and help establish a culture of responsibility and accountability. There is strength in numbers and if the student body comes together and raises our voices we can fuel change for the overall well-being of our school. Every student is a valuable member of this community, and each should be valued and protected.
Photo illustration / Administrative Executive Editor jAKE cOUGHLIN
It is important to note President Huot, since her arrival in April 2014, has been the driving force behind completing the investigation. It is also worth noting that the college is looking to hire a full-time Title IX coordinator, who would be responsible for the oversight of any misconduct and making sure it is properly taken care of.
While we acknowledge this to be a step in the right direction, we believe this position should have been established long ago. Current Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Kemal Atkins has previous experience as a Title IX coordinator. His biography on keene.edu states, “For the past four years, Mr. Atkins served as vice president for student affairs and Title IX coordinator at Delaware State University. In this role, Mr. Atkins provided leadership in the areas of student learning and outcomes, student recruitment and retention, staff development, crisis management and Title IX compliance, among many others.” Why aren’t Mr. Atkins’ Title IX skills and experience being utilized? How can we expect the college to handle these types of cases properly when we don’t even have a specific person in the position yet? This certainly raises red flags about how the administration is doing the bare minimum in relation to Title IX protocol. Vallante, Beach and Thomas held their coaching positions for long periods of time. It is possible then, that they had been conducting things a certain way for many years and that this behavior may have become accepted as “normal” by athletes and students. But students should realize that just because someone has been doing something a certain way for years, does not mean it’s right. We want any student or athlete who feels like they have been violated by a coach or professor to feel comfortable with coming forward.
The McLane report includes a great detail of information about all three men and their alleged inappropriate behaviors. Every situation differs in nature. It is important to note that not everyone is in agreement about the guilt of these coaches. However, that is not the point. The point is that student concerns are finally being brought to the forefront — where they belong. They have belonged in the forefront all along instead of sneakily ignored.
When any suspicion is raised about inappropriate behavior between a coach, faculty, or staff member and a student, we need to be confident in the school and its ability to investigate the problem in a timely manner.
Any administration that had an idea about what was going on and didn’t immediately act upon the issue has failed to properly handle these situations. These men are being investigated years later instead of having been dealt with when the alleged misconducts actually took place. The Equinox would like to reiterate the notion that this college needs to treat the students with the care and concern that they say we deserved to be treated with.
The safety of students should be a primary concern of the college. The last thing they should be doing is hiding things for the sake of our reputation as a school. Reality is not always a glamorous thing.
Students need to be educated about where they can go when they need to report an incident. They need to know that they will be heard and that action will be taken. Students should not be afraid to seek help, nor should coaches, faculty, or staff fear doing the right thing. There is no shame in being a whistleblower.