Published Sept. 18, 2012

Butler University Police Department refused to release the full incident report of a pellet gun shooting that occurred Sept. 11 at Apartment Village.

FERPA

Officials initially cited the Family Education and Privacy Rights Act as the reason the report could not be released.

The federal law, known as FERPA, is overseen by the U.S. Department of Education. It was created to prevent the release of educational records.

In 1992, Congress added a section to the law that outlines what does and does not constitute an educational record.

The U.S. Department of Education clearly states, “’Law enforcement unit records’ are not ‘education records’ subject to privacy protections of FERPA. As such, the law enforcement unit may…disclose law enforcement unit records to third parties without the eligible student’s prior written consent.”

When asked about the federal department’s definition of a law enforcement document, Ben Hunter, chief of staff and executive director of public safety, told The Collegian in an email that since the case had been turned over to student affairs, it was no longer a law enforcement document and is now a disciplinary issue.

Adam Goldstein, an attorney advocate with the Student Press Law Center based in Virginia, said that if a document is created for any law enforcement purposes, it is not protected by FERPA.

He said anyone using the federal law to keep such information secret was running the risk of violating the law and could be fined.

“Just because it’s moved to a different department doesn’t mean that the incident report doesn’t exist,” Goldstein said. “There’s no reason for the department to say that the report is covered. That’s no excuse.”

POLICE RECORDS

Hunter then told The Collegian that since Butler is a private institution, records kept by the department did not fall under the same public records laws as public institutions.

Since Butler police officers have arresting powers, they can be considered as the functional equivalent of a public agency and must follow open records laws.

“These are not special officers,” a representative with the Indiana State Police Department told The Collegian. “They have to follow the same rules that every other officer in the state has to follow.”

The Butler University Police Department’s website on Monday read, “Officers are appointed under statutes of the State of Indiana with full police powers, sharing concurrent jurisdiction in the boundaries of Marion County with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.”

On Tuesday, this statement had changed. The website now reads, “Our police patrol supervisors and police officers are appointed under the statutes of the State of Indiana with full police power and are available 24 hours a day throughout the year. They are graduates of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.”

When asked about the department’s jurisdiction, Hunter said that the department made no arrests, nor did it send the case to a government prosecutor. Therefore, he said, the case was not public record.

Until the department presents a case to a government agency, Hunter said that the records are private.

STUDENT CONDUCT SYSTEM

Most incidents at Butler are not charged in the criminal court system. Instead, the Office of Student Affairs handles incidents.

As outlined by the residence life guidelines in the 2012-13 student handbook, residents may not possess or store firearms—including pellet guns—in their rooms or in any other place in residence halls or university apartment buildings.

Anyone possessing such items is subject to severe student conduct action, which may include suspension or dismissal.

University rules of conduct state that a student can be subject to sanctions if he or she is involved in behavior that could or does result in the physical injury of another person and if a student possesses firearms.

The university’s conduct system consists of administrative reviews and dispositions, administrative appeals, a student conduct board, a university appeals board and appeals to the president.

While most offenses committed on campus will normally result in student conduct action by the university, the handbook states that students can be accountable to both civil and criminal authorities and to the university for acts that constitute violations of such laws.

CRIME IN INDIANA

Both the redacted incident report and the crime report on the Clery log have the incident listed as “criminal recklessness.”

Under Indiana law, criminal recklessness includes a person who recklessly, knowingly or intentionally inflicts serious bodily injury on another person.

Hunter said the officers who answered the call and filed the report submit what charge should be connected to an incident. Hunter said that he wouldn’t have submitted the report as criminal recklessness, which can result in jail time, fines or community service.

It is unlikely that the incident report from last week’s pellet gun shooting will be released, Hunter said. The case is “victim-driven,” and its release is dependent on if the victim decides to press criminal charges.

As of press time, the victim has decided to not press charges and to keep the suspect’s consequences at the university level.

FERPA states that there are exemptions to the release of an incident report.

The most common exemptions are records that would compromise an ongoing investigation.

Hunter said the victim has roughly a year to decide if she wants to press charges. Until then, he said, the case could remain open.

Sept. 5, 2012
“Butler University is certainly not immune to sexual assault. It happens more than people think.”

Sexual assault often goes unreported, leaving the victim to deal with the effects, the perpetrator free with no repercussions and universities looking to adjust programs and judicial systems to deal with the crime.

Butler University, officials said, is no different.

Each year, organizations work to sponsor Sexual Assault Awareness Week in September.

This year, with the events just two weeks away, they’re looking to further the conversation surrounding sexual assault on campus.

Greek Educators, Advocates and Resources, Peers Advocating Wellness for Students and the Butler University Police Department, among other organizations, have been working together to plan this year’s recognition.

“Butler isn’t immune to sexual assault,” said Sarah Barnes Diaz, health education and outreach programs coordinator. “It happens more than people realize, and it needs to be talked about.”

Sexual Assault Goes Unreported

Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that less than five percent of completed and attempted rapes of college women are reported to law enforcement officials. Off college campuses, that number jumps to about 40 percent.

At Butler, it’s no different.

In 2010, there were four sexual assaults reported to BUPD.

Though 2011’s comprehensive crime data hasn’t been released, at least two sexual assaults were reported in the 2011-12 academic year.

Assistant Chief of Police Andrew Ryan said that the numbers of actual sexual assaults are far higher than that.

“The survivor of the assault can feel like he or she is at fault,” Ryan said. “As hard as we work to try to dispel that feeling, it doesn’t always work.”

When a sexual assault is reported, Diaz said, the primary concern for her is the victim’s well-being.

“For us, it’s about helping to support the victim in identifying what steps to take,” Diaz said. “We tell the victim all of his or her options so he or she can make the right choice.”

A lot of the times, Diaz said, victims don’t want to prosecute the perpetrator. Most of the time, she continued, the victims fear that people will find out.

Sexual misconduct incidents now must be investigated with or without the involvement of a victim, per new policy changes at a national and university level.
The 2012-13 edition of the Butler University student handbook contains updates due to new obligations from the U.S. Department of Education released in April.
The harassment and sexual misconduct parts of the “Rights and Responsibilities” section now have clearer definitions of what those acts involve, as well as how the university should handle them.
Sally Click, dean of student services, worked with the student affairs department over the summer to train and learn how to update these sections under the new regulations.
“We’ve got to think about this differently,” Click said.
Click said the major change came with how the university will handle violations dealing with gender and sex.
These regulations spur from the “Dear Colleague” letter released from the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education.
The department issued the letter to remind schools of their responsibilities after finding that universities all over the country are not able to address issues of sexual assault and uphold the provisions of Title IX, a law passed in 1972 to remedy gender discrimination.
The letter indicated universities need to treat sexual assault more like a civil rights violation, not a code of conduct issue, Click said.
The result is that instead of a student conduct hearing, there will first be a preliminary investigation and then, potentially, an administrative review.
“The ‘Dear Colleague’ letter made it clear that we can not go on with business as usual,” Vice President for Student Affairs Levester Johnson said. “We can’t just rely on the Butler Way.”
Click said in the past, the investigation of sexual misconduct was “victim-centered.” Student affairs let the victim decide how far and how fast to investigate.
Now, if the office becomes aware of an issue, a minimal investigation is required with or without the victim’s involvement.
If it is determined that a code of conduct was violated, the investigation will move to an administrative review, where either Click or Irene Stevens, dean of student life, will question the accused person, any witnesses and the victim.
In the past, the accused person was allowed to question the victim. The new requirements do not allow that to happen.
Click and Stevens will act as “fact finders” and make the ultimate decision if it was “more likely than not” the offense happened.
If the facts are inconclusive, the case will be dismissed, Click said.
If it is determined that a sexual misconduct guideline has been violated, the alleged offender has the right to appeal. But if found guilty, sanctions including suspension and dismissal from the university can be imposed. Alleged offenders may also be prosecuted under local or federal law.
Along with an administrative review, allegations of sexual misconduct are reportable under the Clery Act, a law that requires universities to keep records of crime statistics.
All reported incidents of sexual assault will be investigated in coordination with the Office of Student Affairs, said Ben Hunter, chief of staff and executive director of public safety.
Click said she thinks if more people know an investigation might take off in a way a student is not comfortable with, the new process may work against the desire to address sexual misconduct situations.
“We’re really trying to balance what we need to do to be compliant, what we need to do to support our students and how we help everybody involved in a situation,” Click said.
Students can keep themselves and their friends safe by reading the updated handbook and knowing their rights before a situation happens, Johnson said.
“We all need to step up our game as far as knowing what those rules, policies and compliance issues are,” Johnson said. “If you see something, you need to tell someone.”

The Butler men’s basketball team recorded 117 victories in four seasons prior to the 2011-12 campaign.

But team has given more than just wins to Butler.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the men’s basketball team brought in more than $3.5 million in revenue last year.

The amount made up slightly more than 25 percent of the revenue the Butler athletics department received last year.

According to information submitted in accordance with the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA), the department’s total revenue last year was $13.7 million.

“Football and men’s basketball are providing all the revenue in college athletics,” Tom Crowley, associate athletic director for internal operations, said. “We’re not in a revenue-producing situation in football, so for us, men’s basketball provides the revenue.”

The athletics department’s 2010 filing with the EADA showed a revenue increase of more than $3 million from its 2007 filing.

Likewise, the total revenue brought in by  men’s basketball increased by more than $1.7 million between the 2007 and 2010 EADA filings.

The team is one of two at Butler that drew more than $1 million in revenue last season.

Still, the other team, women’s basketball, drew close to $2.4 million less than men’s basketball in 2010.

Athletic Director Barry Collier said that this money does not all stay with the basketball team though.

“It is used to help run the entire department, all 19 sports, all 360 athletes and all facilities because we value each student-athlete and each team,” Collier said.

That fact could be true in part because the department also spent nearly $13.7 million during the 2010-11 school year.

“We’re not in the money-making making business,” Collier said, “but we do need funds to work.”

The department’s spending has increased at the same rate as its revenue between 2007 and 2010.

The athletics department’s budget includes financial aid, labor and factors considered to be non-labor such as travel, equipment, insurance and other miscellaneous team needs.

The budget is determined based on prior spending as well as the needs of each sport.

“We would desire to have a level playing field with the individual opponents for the individual sports,” Collier said. “It has nothing to do with the sport down the hall. [Athletes] don’t play the sport down the hall. They play the sport they’re in against the other nine schools in our league, and that’s how we try to make our decisions.

“At the end of the day, you always have to come up with priorities.”

The budget includes funds from three sources: athletic revenue, a university allocation and donations.

The three biggest areas of revenue for the athletics department are ticket sales, annual donations and corporate partnerships.

Tickets are sold for six Butler teams, and the majority of this revenue comes from men’s basketball.

In addition to ticket sales, Butler has been able to build more than 70 corporate partnerships that provide a wide range of funds.

Vice President for Finance Bruce Arick said the allocation put aside for the athletics department is about $4.3 million and is earmarked for general operating expenses.

The allocation fluctuates based on changes to the salaries and benefits given to all university employees.

The first major part of the athletic budget is financial aid.

There are 103 NCAA scholarships that total more than $4 million. This leaves 256 student-athletes—who are essentially providing revenue to the university—without athletic financial aid.

The university allocation drives the operating staff expenses including the salaries of two of the four highest-paid university employees in Collier and men’s basketball coach Brad Stevens.

Since it is given by the university, the allocation comes from a variety of sources including tuition and fees, net revenue, room and board fees, fundraisers, endowment draw and general interest income.

“We base the allocation on the needs of the department with the expectation that [the athletes] will be successful in the classroom, but we also want to be competitive in the sports themselves,” Arick said.

Collier said that of this $4.3 million, $45,000 comes from student activity fees.

This averages out to each student having approximately $6 of their activity fee going to the allocation per semester. As a result, students get free admittance to every home game of every sport.

“I would say we are the least supported in the Horizon League by allocation,” Collier said. “It’s not all a bad thing. The last thing we want to do is take away from any aspect of the university and be a negative or a burden.”

The department has to make up the remaining $9.4 million that the university allocation does not account for through their own athletic-generated revenue.

“That budget [for operating needs] has never grown, and here we are 20 years later, and we’re still trying to operate on the same level,” Collier said. “The only way we can add more money to that is to create revenue.”

But one area of the department’s revenue that has seen growth is through donations.

The Bulldog Club had 2,800 members who gave unrestricted donations that can be used at the discretion of the athletic director during the last fiscal year.

“This is used to fill in the holes from the revenue side, and there are certain things you have to do to run an athletic department at this level,”  said Bill Lynch, associate athletic director for development. “Each sport also has its own account that can do its own fundraising to supplement its own budget.”

Approximately 50 to 60 percent of the Bulldog Club’s members are alumni, 25 to 30 percent are basketball season ticket holders and some past student-athletes are also members.

The club’s growth has been attributed to several factors within the athletics department.

“The success of the basketball team is a big part of it,” said Mike Freeman, associate athletic director of external operations.  “But we had things in place over the previous years. You don’t give to a sinking ship, and we’re a safe investment because the kids do it the right way.”

Collier said the Bulldog Club is a lifesaver in terms of making up additional revenue, and Lynch said that the department is not set up to survive without donations.

“There aren’t intercollegiate athletics without student-athletes,” Lynch said. “The overriding thing is to provide an exceptional student-athlete experience for them, and every dollar goes back to the program.”

In the past two years, Butler University has seen many changes in its top leadership.

We’ve seen a change in the presidency, the deans of the Jordan College of Fine Arts and Liberal Arts and Sciences and the beginning of a search for a dean of the new College of Communication.

Most recently came the announcement that Jamie Comstock asked to step down from her role as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the end of the fall semester.

Comstock said in an interview with The Collegian that in the last five years she has seen a change of over 30 percent in the make-up of Butler’s faculty.

It all feels like a lot of change for an institution as close-knit as Butler.

Students, faculty and staff express the legitimate concern that it is difficult for an institution to sustain its spirit and traditions with all of this shuffling of the upper leadership.

Any change is sure to cause a readjustment period, but we at The Butler Collegian believe that change can and will empower and revitalize the university to adapt to the larger, ever-changing world.

It is clear in the current economy that open minds and new approaches to old problems are necessary. The new wave of administrators offer an excellent example to students of what Butler students should become, forces of change and problem solving.

All administrators need to listen to their students and respect the values of the community, but nothing prevents new deans, presidents and provosts from doing this just as well as those already holding the positions.

And some entrenched administrators, regardless of their personal achievement or merit, become divisive figures.

Perhaps because Butler is a small school, changes in the administration seem like a bigger matter than at larger institutions.

In many ways, the small campus forms a community that might be easily disrupted by any changes.

When administrative changes happen, the productive learning environment is distracted by a community of curious, intelligent individuals who are eager to speculate about the future of their beloved institution.

This speculation and curiosity is almost always misplaced as fear of what is to come.

With two top administrative positions still open and more changes on the way, it is fair to say that students, faculty and staff do not know what entirely to expect in the spring 2012 semester.

But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

In President Jim Danko’s short time at Butler, he already has shown remarkable support for the university’s core spirit while also bringing fresh eyes to old obstacles.

He’s working to tackle tough administrative, financial and structural concerns, all of which require the collaboration of the entire university community.

Danko and several other administrators have thus far made communication with students, faculty and organizations as transparent as possible.

At a certain point, the university community should accept that change is usually a good thing, and that the administrators at this institution were hired for a reason: to make changes—some of which may make some waves in a community of intelligent academics and students and always ready to turn the inquisitive and critical eye to any situation.

All of the changes in the administration may be exactly what Butler needs to grow into its next era—hopefully an era of possibilities and new financial and leadership opportunities that catapult Butler to the top of those ranking lists that we all love to hate.

The legacy of any administrator can be positive or negative.

In the last five years, Butler has seen a lot of growth in both class size and national attention, especially from back-to-back NCAA men’s basketball championship appearances.

A lot of that attention has been positive, such as the academic achievement of students and the previously mentioned basketball teams.

However, the university has also faced controversies such as the case of Butler University v. John Doe aka Soodo Nym, and increased scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in the form of a Title IX compliance review.

No one can predict the future, and even the best institutions are bound to face challenges.

But as long as the top level of the university’s leadership works to both preserve Butler’s core values and grow the community in new ways, The Collegian welcomes the leadership changes.