CU Boulder Students March In Protest After 2 Reports Of Sexual Assault At A Fraternity
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)- Students from the University of Colorado Boulder marched through the streets chanting on Friday night. This comes after two alleged sexual assaults within one week at a fraternity.
"No means no! No means no," they yelled.
Their message was loud and clear.
"Rape culture needs to end, sex assault needs to end and it is too big of a problem here at CU," student Izzy Kaman said.
She was among hundreds of students who marched from campus to Greek row where they surrounded the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
That's where students say the most recent allegations of sexual assault occurred.
"I've known two girls who have been sexually assaulted themselves and it pisses me off," Gavin, another student at CU, said.
Boulder police did not identify the fraternity specifically but say they are investigating two reports.
One on Oct. 24 and a second on Oct. 31.
"We know that they were reported close together and generally the same area," Boulder police said.
Students involved in the protest are calling for more action raising concerns about the overall response from the school.
"I've been a little bit angry and frustrated about how everything is handled," student Anna Tomlinson said.
The university did send out a letter to students with information about how they respond to reports, resources and why they are restricted in what information they can share with students.
In a statement to CBS4, the university in part stated, "CU Boulder is deeply committed to continuously improving our prevention and education efforts and ensuring that our response resources meet the needs of our campus community. CU has dedicated resources for confidential support and advocacy, safety measures, and investigative response regardless of whether incidents occur on or off campus."
For the students hitting the pavement, signs in hand, they want to see more.
"They need to address the situation, and make statements and figure out a way to make solutions because it's not going away."
Investigators are asking for anyone with information or possibly other victims to contact the Boulder Police Department.
And the university has provided students with information on resources and advocacy groups.
The Interfraternity Council on the Hill released this statement to CBS4:
The independent Interfraternity Council in Boulder, known as the IFC on the Hill, is the governing council for its 21 member fraternities. The IFC on the Hill is committed to the concept that fraternities are values-based organizations whose members have responsibilities to be gentlemen. The IFC on the Hill understands the gravity of sexual assault and its impact on its survivors. We have been working for months to implement sexual assault and harassment education with the help of women across the Hill.
The IFC on the Hill has and will continue to cooperate with University of Colorado and Boulder police investigations. We deplore inappropriate sexual conduct and when presented with evidence of such conduct we take action with a member chapter within the context of our constitution and bylaws. The IFC on the Hill is also committed to ensuring our member chapters are capable of holding its individual members accountable for their actions.
We encourage anyone with information regarding incidents of sexual assault to contact the University of Colorado's OIEC at (303) 492-2127 or Boulder Police Department's dispatch at (303) 441-3333. We also encourage university community members seeking confidential support to contact the office of victim assistance at (303) 492-8855.
