Assault Results in Two Arrests
by Chris Anton

Around 2 a.m. last Saturday, a student was allegedly sexually assaulted in a campus dorm. A special alert issued by the Safety and Security office the following day declared that “it was perpetrated by two individuals, one of whom was an acquaintance of the survivor.”
Since that time, two Oberlin College students have been arrested, charged and arraigned. First year Bosko Tomasevic of South Hall and junior Djordje Eremic of Langston Hall appeared in Oberlin Municipal Court Wednesday and were remanded to custody under a $50,000 bond. A preliminary hearing for the two has been set for October 10 at 3 p.m. in Oberlin Municipal Court.
Pending city judicial proceedings and the concurrent college investigation, Dean of Students Peter Goldsmith suspended both students.
The Dean of Students and the President are empowered to temporarily suspend students prior to any judicial hearing if it is determined that their continuing presence on campus could compromise the safety of others, Goldsmith said when asked if it was standard procedure to suspend students following an arrest.
While the adjudication of specific cases proceeds, many questions of treatment and prevention are being raised by members of the community.
“We need much more understanding among students. Specifically, consent needs to be defined and education on what it means to be consensual needs to happen. We have a good policy, it could always be improved, but it more speaks to what happens after the fact. We need to educate before it happens,” College President Nancy Dye said.
This event marks the fourth sexual offense reported at Oberlin in 2001, and the third this month. In a typical year, only two or three sexual assaults are reported to the Office of Safety and Security. At this time the school year’s first reported sexual assault, allegedly occurring on Saturday Sept.15, remains under investigation, with no suspects yet charged.
“It’s hard to say if the growing number of incidents is a question of more incidents or more people coming forward. That explanation would imply a greater comfortabilty with the school’s resources,” Goldsmith said.
Though specific details of the investigation are unavailable due to the confidential nature of the charges, an incident report obtained from the Oberlin Police Department notes that the police were contacted by a representative from the Nord Center in reference to a female who was undergoing a sexual assault exam. At the time of the police report, the victim was “refusing to offer any information or cooperate with any police investigation.”
“It’s protocol to contact the police whenever a survivor comes to the unit seeking support following an attack,” Clare Cygan, Executive Director of the Rape Crisis Program at the Nord Center said. She emphasized that the role of the Rape Crisis Unit is to support decisions made by the survivor. “Because of the nature of the violation, we constantly seek the consent of the survivor at each step in the process...when we give an exam...or release evidence,” she said.

Many incidents of sexual assault are never formally reported.
The Nord Facility offers an alternative to the traditional medical attention given following sexual assaults. In the past, assault victims would simply visit an emergency room where they would undergo a pelvic exam. Because rape is not always vaginal, the Nord Center utilizes an Ohio State standardized rape kit to collect evidence — things like clothing, photos, debris from underneath fingernails, and swabs or hair clippings. Such exams can even be given as late as 72 to 96 hours after the assault.
Though it is unclear whether or not alcohol played a role in the alleged attack, the increased occurrence of such incidents has in part brought additional scrutiny to the College’s alcohol policy. It has also brought attention to students’ lack of familiarity with the college’s sexual offense policy.
“We need to continue our efforts to acquaint all members of our community with...the College’s Sexual Offense Policy, as well as with ways in which we are responsible for one another’s safety,” Goldsmith said in the latest bulletin.

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