To the administration of Butler University,
I am frustrated to hear about the resignation of Sara Minor, our current Victim Advocate. Given the minimal information related to these matters that Butler University provides to its students, I am suspicious that this resignation was coerced due to her honest comments to the Collegian regarding how reports of sexual assault are handled on this campus.
Should that be the case, I would like to make it clear that Butler is doing its students a huge disservice by encouraging Sara Minor to leave this university. In my limited experience as a first year, I have seen firsthand how this institution prioritizes its reputation or image above the safety and care of its students; this is especially true for students of color and survivors of sexual assault.
Sara Minor has consistently proven to be a dedicated advocate for these students, so that everyone is supported and listened to in this environment which attempts to conceal shortfalls of campus safety and procedure. Quite astonishingly as just one individual, Minor is able to prioritize every student entering her office while assuming other responsibilities worthy of an increase in staff. That being said, as a female student of color, I am truly questioning whether this institution has the goals or willingness to protect the students whose tuition is making the 2020 plan possible. After personal meetings with administration from Student Affairs, and listening to Butler’s Title IX coordinator speak on multiple occasions, it is quite clear that Sara Minor is one of the few resources that students can actually count on for support and justice on this campus.
To whom these issues may concern, I hope it means something to hear from a current student that due to this school’s actions, particularly the forced resignation of Sara Minor, I am truly afraid of what the future may hold for me at this university. The ill-advised and unjust actions of this institution have not, nor will continue to go unnoticed by its students. Without Sara Minor as a member of Butler’s community, we as a student body are forced to advocate for ourselves and each other. I am concerned that the replacement of Sara Minor will be deterred by prioritizing advocacy for the students in order to please the university and their employers. In other words, they will conform to Butler’s institution, and like the rest of the Butler administration, continue to enact procedures which oppress students and violates our rights and safety.
I expect to hear from the Butler administration to acknowledge you have read this letter and address the concerns I have outlined.
Thank you,
Skylar Jackson ’21
Skylar – As a graduate of Butler (Class of 1995), I share your concerns. The information that has been made public thus far does not reflect positively upon the university. With all the dismissals in Residence Life and other separations, my sense is that the upper echelon is in cover-up panic mode. It appears that there is a lack of leadership at the top and an unwillingness to take responsibility. It is one thing for a person to be terminated for cause, but it is something quite different when people are made to be scapegoats. In my opinion, I think it is time for the Board to dismiss President Danko. As the U.S. President Truman said, “the buck stops here.” The buck stops at the top of the organization, not the bottom. And thus far, I do not see President Danko taking responsibility.
Two years later, and I see little evidence that Butler is putting the people of the community first. It appears, time and again, that the university leadership is only interested in fundraising. It is only interested in devising ways to get checks from donors. It appears reports on the fundraising campaigns are more important than reports on campus sexual assaults. The counting of coins overrides virtually everything at Butler. This saddens me as it wasn’t like this when I attended. Two years on as I see continual chaos in Student Affairs. I see a revolving door of people coming in and then in relatively short order going back out. So I ask, what is the common denominator in all of this? Which individuals have been part of all this chaos all along? James M. Danko since 2011, Claire Konopa Aigotti since 2013, and Frank E. Ross III since 2017. Is the problem really with everyone else? Or, should these three look in the mirror?