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Most likely she was in a Trad house and that is why they considered it beneath them to discuss sex at all with their daughter and how to protect herself from seedy guys. And yet, with your ability to judge her soul, you dont know why That is mysterious indeed. Today, we remain among the fewer than 1% of Catholic universities in the United States that reject all federal government aid. Wow, I just cant even! I had been waiting for marriage. We clearly received the impression that Mr. Dorman wasnt going to do anything . As part of this commitment, the College undertakes to educate the student body about sexual harassment and assault. Im sorry, but your logic is misconstrued here. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Yes! Catholic or nonCatholic, If one interprets this as a endorsement of rape, the fault is on them. The message delivered was clear, according to Smith. If these girls arent worldly and thats why this happened then there really is no safety left anywhere. Christendom College will continue to do everything it can to understand how to best respond to these very difficult and tragic situations. He has a bachelor's in history and master's in teaching from the University of Virginia and a master's in theology from Christendom College. But is it really fair to expect men to navigate all the mixed signals? Statute of limitations on many crimes, among others. #4. do we know/ do you know who is funding CC??? Its not just about getting justice for victims or punishing perpetrators, its about HOW the institution responds to allegations and the environment the institution fosters to start with. So, you are saying that because other colleges deal with it badly, that therefore it isnt a scandal that Christendom handled it badly? I had my arms pushed together, my elbows to my hands pushed together in front of my chest, trying to keep myself covered. Mark Fusco - Priest in Residence - Christendom College | Business Christendom College does not receive federal funding, and so is not subject to Title IX regulations, which would legally require it to respond to and remedy hostile educational environments. I think people in leadership positions, especially those who are tasked with ensuring the safety of communities, have to man up and make difficult decisions sometimes, even at the risk of being regarded as unfair. They must have some political sway, as they probably provide a great deal of the towns revenue. The cultural revolution of the twentieth century continues to take its toll on the world and on Catholic higher education. In the late 1970s, Christendom College . How unCatholic and how tragically demeaning! There were witnesses there that confirmed that. The only time that happens is when the entire story is based on a provable lie that they should have known about. This was really well-written. You cant tell a Catholic girl to be suspicious of her fellow (male) students because that would make her a man-hating feminazi. While the classes and Catholic culture are unique, the college administration struggles with some modernization of the buildings . ok, but what evidence did the college have that he did? I havent given it a lot of thought. Through it, you will gain the communication and critical thinking skills necessary to refine and elevate your intellect and enable you to pursue your profession and personal vocation. complicated memories of the place. I know even as a young adult my guard was down, and I was vulnerable, as are so many others, especially when we have no reason not to be trusting. Exactly. Open your eyes; the inward and the outward ones, Simcha, and realize that the secular law will never be more then a band-aid for these types of crimes with a festering wound underneath. Whats for supper? Not a Christendom problem. While Ill admit Im not sure management dealt with the matter as well as they could have, I have zero doubt a great deal of these complaints are from people that want to exploit Christendom as a hypocritical Catholic institution. Required fields are marked *. Another tangential point: I dont understand the outrage communicated by so many that the standards for women are so much higher than the one for men, and that a great amount of responsibility rests on our shoulders to keep men chaste. She felt frozen and could not reply. Having said that, I have fallen away from the Church now and whenever I look back I have a sense of bitterness to temper the sweetness of the memories. Dont even get me going on how Steubenville is just a fusion of vineyard Pentecostalism with JP2 Catholicism. THANK YOU! In this period, members of the Christian clergy wield political authority. Smith and her family were floored. Good. Protected: Podcast #19: Parking meters, mixed greens, and other UNBEARABLE SCOURGES. If theyre allowed to kiss in a common area, then if the guy says come up to my room, shes going to say no, because theres nothing she could do in his room that she cant in the common area, except stuff she doesnt want to do. The woman interviewed described what she remembered from the time she was there. Smiths grades continued to slide, and her mental and physical health suffered as students and even outsiders, people she didnt know, would approach her in the dining hall to talk about the ordeal. Im sad to hear about his victim, especially since I had a similar experience with a non-Catholic pastor. Christendom College - Wikipedia Probably liability reasons. Casting aspersions on the Fisherss motivations reveals much about the commenter. There is a french expression a la folie; when you love someone a la folie, it means you love them to the point of madness. What is to blame there?? Smith says that the administration cracked down on professors hosting off-campus parties, because they involved drinking. Luckey also has no prior criminal record, the judge added. It seems to be a bigger problem now that the sexually charged culture doesnt help young men and women relate to each other without sexual overtones in every encounter. She had been diagnosed with depression and an anxiety disorder after graduating high school, and her anxiety kicked in at this point. That is a philosophical question where I think people can legitimately disagree. The article linked directly to the current handbook. Holy crap, anonymous. . Accustomed to a large, sociable, extended family, she knew Christendom would be conservative, but was bemused by the strict segregation of males and females. Former professor and Professor Emeritus William Raymond Luckey was arrested on June 25, 2021 on charges of solicitation of a minor younger than 16 years old and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. Podcast #57: And then the internet took off. A handbook that is not going to stop a rape. Hes not going to fall for that. Christendom College | Flickr Where would be a better Catholic college to send your daughter, Simcha? It may be that the whole thing wasnt handled as it should have been, but then, how should it have been handled? Sounds great. Not a one that I knew. He pushed my arms apart with his hands. I can tell you personally when I read the hand holding policy I thought it was a paper rule, I had no idea the lengths of its enforcement. I say, if you rape off campus, when you come back to campus, youre still a rapist.. Not even subtle, in my experience. Her phrasing seems to imply that there was no second year at this secular college. In addition: Christendom is welcome, indeed it would be very good, if they could give an accurate list of the inaccuracies and mistakes in this article. you are correct about the implications. It is genuinely baffling to methough perhaps it should not bethat so many people read an article about a Catholic university so badly bungling its response to the sexual assault of its students and when they get to the end can ask with a straight face what was your goal in writing this? Or worse, claim that the writing of it was badly motivated or will have deleterious effects that outweigh the good done by shedding light on wrongdoing. It is this women have to hold men accountable standard that fails the college. i ended up choosing Franciscan University instead because it was my parents choice. Christendom College was founded in response to this cultural revolution, providing a fully integrated liberal arts education in fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church. That would have at least been SOMETHING besides heresay. Are you a woman (or AFAB)? When I was at Christendom, it bothered me that the standard setting for dates was the backseat of a car or a lonely bench in the middle of the woods, but . The school does not accept federal funding. Next came many months of frustration for the Smith family. It creates an unhealthy culture. Lol there was the one time I said I was suicidal youll go to hell he replied I dont care I responded your psychotic he said. I mean, if men are more rational and authoritative and have more of the image of God in them, why would I be afraid to be alone with this superior being? The faculty at this school is one of the most remarkable aspects of Christendom. Heroic. This sounds like a solution I would expect from a small school, where something major is placed on them. As a campus dedicated to following the teachings of the Catholic Church, we strive to foster an environment where every student feels safe and respected and where the dignity of the human person is upheld and honored. Imagine for a second if he was expelled, but decided to stay in Front Royal anyway. The fact that you view consent as nebulous is a personal problem. This article smacks of a smear job, and there are so many lies and misrepresentations in this article, I dont even know where to begin. Imply that all it involved was inserting a phrase, Do not rape. In essence, the earliest vision of Christendom was a vision of a Christian theocracy, a government founded upon and upholding Christian values, whose institutions are spread through and over with Christian doctrine. The alleged assault did not occur on campus. [8], During Fedoryka's seven-year tenure as president, Blessed Margaret and St. Joseph's Halls were constructed, and the college became fully accredited in 1987. I understand that everyone has a different experience at college. As Uncle Ben says in Spiderman with great power comes great responsibility. Lets wake up, embrace our responsibility, and as Jordan Peterson would say sort ourselves out. None of this is said to let young men of the hook. She sought psychological help from Dr. Patrick Divietri. Its a campus so safe, that rapist actually have to convince their victims to leave in order to rape them. [2] Carroll, who was a contributor at L. Brent Bozell Jr.'s Triumph magazine, decided to found Christendom in the aftermath of the Land O' Lakes conference in 1967. If that happens, hopefully the young lady will have a CRKT S.P.E.W. Each day she is persuaded that the college has no intention of supporting her. Smith herself says these rules drive couples off campus. This would be a situation in which shed be even less safe as the university would literally have no leverage over him. In addition, the article didnt clarify that the college has gotten rid of many of the policies and rules that are being blamed in this article for the assaults (e.g., the no-holding hands rule was jettisoned a while ago). I dont understand the logic of protecting the identity of the alleged rapist and meanwhile running the names of college faculty through the mud for not somehow preventing a rape that occurred on a mountain and for not expelling a student for a rape that went unreported for a year and a half with no evidence. Every Novus Ordo girl I know knows better than to get in the backseat of a parked car with a guy unless they are willing to risk rape. Is it worse to let a rapist remain on campus or expel an innocent student? She said she realized she could not stop the man. they arent normal. These are Catholic seminarians. Mary Statue By AgnosticPreachersKid (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (. Take a second to support simchajfisher on Patreon! Its not about gender expectations as much as it is about power and CONSENT, period, from anyone to anyone. Clearly, both the young man and the young woman had people on their side who believed one person over the other in this he-said-she-said situation. [3] The college also retired nearly $600,000 in debt without disrupting the growth of the college.[8]. The River and the drinking that occurs there is an open secret that the administration is aware of. 3) Reinforce this impression with nebulous allegations of serious problems in the current environment. To think that anyone could do that to such a young child is eye-opening indeed, and helpful to know for those of us raising kids to know what to beware of. I still live in Front Royal, and until very recently our police have been a joke when it comes to stuff like this. It is difficult seeing as how the incident was years old before she brought it to Admins attention and it happened without witnesses, like the on campus stuff, to determine one way or the other. But actual campus police on a campus of 400? An authentically Catholic college that prepares you for the future. He also told some students that she pulled a knife and forced him into sexual acts. It wasnt until the beginning of her junior year that she heard the word rape applied to her ordeal. Mr. Dorman showed no apparent interest in pursuing any sort of investigation, Scott Smith wrote. Supposedly that sentence should stop this from happening again. So printing, rape is not tolerated or whatever they expected to be printed in the handbook sounds a little naive. His punishment: He could not live on campus for one semester, and he could not contact Adele Smith. And on the outside, this torture of wanting to stay chaste yet wanting to see that a man loves you and wanting to fully embrace him comes across in very vague and misleading body language. Because Christendom is in a rural, isolated spot with few restaurants, clubs, museums or theaters, going off campus generally means going into the woods or into a field. I can tell you as someone whos had to deal with rape incidents associated with schools hes worked for, that Christendom is not a school that gives off a dangerous vibe. We have a new sexual harassment and assault policy published in the Student Handbook with instructions on how to report sexual harassment and assault and how to receive resources for recovery (page 29 of the student handbook). And certainty this is a universal problem, but Christendom was the first place I ever had to sit at a desk and be talked about in terms like less rational,secondary and obedient. I would go down the road to the convenience store, and hed be sitting outside, and I couldnt walk in. They should be paying me for the therapy I need, not the other way around. Graduates can choose from three theological concentrations: Systematic Theology, Moral Theology, and Catechetics. A complete careful investigation, in their own words. This really sucks because it probably means hes going to get away with it. 2,933 Followers. I always find it interesting they always try to punish students for drinking off campus, if you come back to campus drunk, Smith said. You could have discussed it without illustrating it so clearly. Do this by bringing up older, isolated issues and make it sound like the college has done next to nothing to improve. She says that the rules against romantic public displays of affection were so restrictive, it drove couples off campus. Racist remarks by Los Angeles City Councilmembers overshadow years of Therefore I found you responsible for the violation of Harassment.. I dont doubt that injustices have been done in the past and will be done in the future: this is a fallen world. You should realize how awful it is to give the impression that the woman who was raped merely only implied 50% no. Lol, they arent bound by such conventions! I left the church partially because of this problem (and several other more severe issues). Im no longer Catholic, and I think the disillusionment I developed there is part of why or at least sped up the timeline of me leaving. What Adele says about not allowing PDAs on campus may seem like an interesting topic for discussion but dragging Christendom down the road of shame because they dont have coed dorms is really not the answer. I think theres definitely room for improvement in the colleges dealings, but as DCLM already made clear, the school was being asked to provide a parallel court, which is not easy. I was in grad school at Yale during the first part of my deconversion. [42], In 2017, Christendom's rugby team won the NSCRO 7's Collegiate Rugby National Championship in its first year of contention. No wonder Christendom is so embarrassed that they havent put their apology on their website yet. Protected: Podcast 51: the Grift of the Magi, Protected: Podcast #50: The Five Stages of Revenge, Podcast 49: Not trying to hurry you (FREE PODCAST! Surely, prospective students are aware of the rules at Christendom when they choose to apply and go to the school. As a Catholic, I would imagine you agree that there are actions that are not criminal but that are still wrong. Simchas husband, Damien, proceeded to imply that she was lying and has contented multiple times that her quote was not taken out of context. Ive told him three times not to. Basically, Christendom University has set up a parallel court system to try these cases and determine guilt outside of the civil court system. Right. Before I went to Christendom I was the head of my diocesan youth council, so to say I was active in my faith was an understatement. They explained to her that a prosecutor would take her case, but that the chances of going to trial, much less of the young man being prosecuted, were very low. Around 540 undergraduate students are enrolled at the university. The fact that every situation is different, makes it a matter of prudential judgment, and this seems completely lost on the author who partially blames the PDA policy, which I find insulting to college students and drastically counter intuitive to challenging the prospects of rape. She remembers standing outside the car, smoking a cigarette and shaking, and her boyfriend saying he didnt know why she was making such a big deal out of it. There was no announcement or notification given to students to be cautious or to keep an eye out for strangers on campus. Miriel. I was raised in a conservative evangelical household and converted to Catholicism my junior year. I think maybe it lies in the fact that, because interactions between the sexes are so tightly regulated, couples are far more likely to ensure they are completely out of sight of anyone else, thus providing more opportunities for those with less than pure intentions. I feel so freaked out right now. BUT. I understand the VP actually said Title IX prevented them from speaking out. There was no mention of her accusation of rape, either in the charge letter or in the sanction letter. Judge William W. Sharp accepted the agreement and Luckeys guilty pleas. First, Christendom College could have made their own report to the police. Fixing a problem and addressing a problem are two different things. It still deserves to be addressed adequately by the Admins, but we were much safer than most campuses. I eventually burned out on the whole experience around senior year, though it took me until after I graduated to actually question the foundations of the faith I'd spent the last four years pounding into my head (and even longer to finally LEAVE it, but that's another story). Students live near the Vatican during the fall and spring, taking classes in St. Peter's Square and traveling across Europe during their time abroad. And then we blame schools that are actually making efforts to establish some social mores to help guide young people? I dont know what the contents of the interview between the college and the perp are. Christendom College admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. I sympathize with the people who want a man to be expelled based on one womans testimony (such as in the above article), but we have to admit that is at the expense of innocent men getting expelled as well. Is Christendom even trying to address this problem with town government? Um, no. The people from Christendom would be considered heretics by hard core traditional Catholics, and by the letter of the law they would be right (at least in my view). Religious Affiliation:Roman CatholicYear Founded:1977Degrees:Associate of Arts (A.A.), Bachelor of Arts (B.A. The Churchs teaching on this, particularly Pope John Paul II really upholds a woman in her own right and this was taught quite clearly at Christendom. Adele has no bad girl reputation on campus. LA City Council Latinos' racism undercut political, racial progress Christendoms 86-hour core curriculum of carefully selected subjects required for all of its undergraduate students prepares its students for their role as lay apostles. Its something I can share with bubble parents. Openly. But in that year, 2012, a year after she reported her rape, the school still had not added a policy against sexual assault to their student handbook. Her article makes plenty of sense. Simchas piece was very specific. His punishment: He could not live on campus for one semester, and he could not contact Adele Smith. While maybe thats small in comparison to rape, its not a small step for a school to take. Not that simple. [18] The Chapel will officially be dedicated and opened to the public in the spring of 2023. Additionally, throwing out names of administrators and teachers as part of this story (good or bad) without their permission taints their reputation. A private institution that is not subject to federal collegiate regulations has such flexibility. So you know how safe it felt and looked. If some believe that our efforts and policies have failed to bring justice to their particular situations, please understand that despite being fallen human beings, the faculty and staff do their very best every day to provide a just and safe environment. At first she didnt want to allow that word, and grew defensive, blaming herself for the assault. Justice, and not just criminal secular justice, but justice from our institutions, is a part of Catholic moral theology. They have further to go to create safe environments for women. Are you comfortable with men being expelled if there is no convincing evidence either way, a he-said, she-said situation? Some of those rapists are in places like Christendom, places you would think would be safe, you know, like the company of priests when you are an altar boy. Amanda Graf, the current Director of Student Affairs at Christendom, confirms that student handbook did not include a policy against sexual assault until 2013, two years after Smith reported her rape. The school decided to implement internal juridical means for determining the truthfulness of rape allegations outside of the civil process.