Campus resources disappoint survivors of dating-based violence

Survivors are continuously left in the shadows. Graphic by Anna Gritzenbach.

OLLIE FITZGERALD | ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR | ofitzgerald@butler.edu

Content warning: Explicit mentions of sexual assault and dating-based violence

From January 2020 to Nov. 10, 2025, the Butler crime logs reported 36 rapes, 16 sexual assaults, 25 cases of domestic violence, nine of dating violence, 25 of sexual battery, nine of domestic battery, 30 cases of fondling, 73 of stalking, 76 of harassment, 10 criminal confinements, 12 of aggravated battery, six strangulations, three cases of public nudity, four reports of various voyeurism, two child exploitation and child pornography cases, 46 simple battery, four invasions of privacy, and counting.

These reports only account for the crimes that have been reported to the Butler University Police Department (BUPD) in the last five years.

Survivors of sexual assault on campus have cited reasons not to trust Title IX with their cases and may not be aware of the process to file police reports against their perpetrators.

‘Timely Warning’

On Sept. 8, BUPD issued a “Timely Warning” regarding a sexual assault that took place in an on-campus residence hall. The warning explained that the parties involved are known to each other, but the perpetrator is not a Butler student. Since Fall 2023, 10 official “Timely Warnings” have been issued, with six relating to dating-based or sexual violence. Only one occurred off-campus and there were several instances where the perpetrator was not a Butler student.

“Timely Warning” emails do not exhibit a majority of the crimes reported on campus. As part of the Jeanne Clery Act, universities are legally required to publicly report campus crime data. Alongside the daily crime logs that detail reports, BUPD issues a yearly safety report.

The warning related to the Sept. 8 incident referenced sexual assault, but according to the crime log — which shows location and indicates the event took place at Fairview House — there was actually intimidation, harassment, sexual battery, fondling and rape included in the report.

On Aug. 29, the crime log details that there was a report of intimidation, stalking, harassment and domestic violence at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Those crimes did not garner a warning email.

John Conley, chief of public safety and BUPD’s chief of police, emphasized that “Timely Warning” emails are typically sent out when there is the potential for the perpetrator to come back and reoffend.

“Sometimes [during] a domestic disturbance — usually [in a] relationship between two people — that incident, chances are, is not going to affect someone else on campus,” Conley said. “Usually, that doesn’t rise to the level of a ‘Timely Warning.’ If the circumstances are such that we feel that there’s too much unknown, [and] that this could come back and affect another person on our campus, we’ll send the ‘Timely Warning’ to try to protect our campus community.”

Conley clarified that a “Timely Warning” is only sent out once a survivor is notified that the warning will be released, and after they have received BUPD’s Rights and Options booklet, which is available online and as a physical copy.

“I would hope that [the emails] wouldn’t trigger anybody, but it’s the well-being of the rest of the community that we have to keep safe,” Conley said. “I [don’t] sit back and say, ‘I can’t send this ‘Timely Warning’ out because I’m afraid that it might upset a person,’ and then all of a sudden, the rest of the community is at risk. We would hope that we don’t ever have a victim who is victimized and then left alone. I don’t ever want a victim to feel like they have nowhere to go and have no help.”

Breanna Wilson, a senior history major and PR chair of Butler’s Survivors Alliance (BSA), is one of several students who feel as if the warnings cause more harm than good.

“[The ‘Timely Warning’ system] is very similar to a thoughts and prayers system,” Wilson said. “In my opinion, they’re kind of just like, ‘This happened; it sucks.’”

Wilson also emphasized that, regardless of whether students may have a legal case or not, they oftentimes are unwilling to go to Title IX and BUPD with them due to a lack of due process and previous lack of outcomes for survivors. She explained that if the warning emails explained that the culprit has been caught and legal action is being taken, they would feel more substantial and purposeful.

Title IX troubles

In general, with the large amounts of Title IX turnover, some survivors have been unable to find a Title IX coordinator to turn to during their time of need, as there have been several gaps when the university was looking to fill the position.

In an email to The Butler Collegian, Title IX coordinator Rhyan Smith stated, “At this time, the Office of Institutional Equity does not have any comment outside of what was shared in my interview with the newspaper. Our efforts to support, uplift, protect and educate our community are ongoing.”

The article that Smith referenced was initially intended to be a Q&A, which had been previously communicated to her. Smith declined to have the interview audio recorded for transcription purposes, and the story had to pivot to include more sources.

Wilson emphasized her distrust of Title IX at Butler, citing last year’s article, national turnover rates and inconsistencies with Title IX and the legal system.

“I know personally [and] firsthand, nothing gets done [when students seek help from Title IX],” Wilson said. “Victims are blamed [and] assaulters walk free. It’s a very undoing process for the victim, like reliving that trauma and not getting that justice, [which] is like a double whammy on top of being assaulted.”

Dismissive disregard

Haley Lance, a junior creative media and entertainment major, was randomly placed in a group project with her assaulter during the last month of the 2024-25 school year. The project would have required them to be in close contact, leading Lance to discuss her concerns with peers, where she found out the perpetrator was already facing Title IX allegations unrelated to her.

Lance expressed that the person was “a threat” to her other group members, and they agreed to meet with the professor. She emphasized that the professor’s initial reaction was not what she had hoped, but perhaps was due to miseducation.

“I love this professor and he still is one of my favorite professors on campus,” Lance said. “I just think the training for these instances was not done properly. I was crying in his office for an hour during this meeting because he was just so convinced that, ‘if somebody was a real threat on campus to student safety, they would not be allowed on campus [still].’”

Lance explained to him that she had personally been impacted by the perpetrator and left the meeting upset. That night, The Butler Collegian published an article expressing student discontent with Title IX turnover, leading her to highlight sections that explained perpetrators still being on campus and email the professor her annotated copy.

The professor later sent Lance an apology via email and offered to meet once again with a solution to the problem. The project requirements ended up being changed so that students could choose to split off from the group if they wanted, and the perpetrator ended up leaving once it became an option.

However, on the last day of classes, Lance received an email from the Associate Dean of Students, Kelly Freiberger, stating that she needed to meet with the rest of their group members regarding something that had happened in their class.

Preemptively, Lance emailed Freiberger, asking her to come in a half hour earlier than the rest of the group, expecting Freiberger to ask her to submit a Title IX report.

“I sat down at this table, and she was like, ‘I feel like you might have an idea about what this is about,’” Lance said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I think I do,’ and she said [something along the lines of], ‘I called you in here because somebody in your class is not being afforded the same educational opportunities, and you are discriminating against a student in your class.’”

Lance expressed her frustration with the statement, as the group had worked with the professor to find an adequate solution, the perpetrator left the group on their own accord and class was over for the year.

“[She said] that I, quote, unquote, ‘bullied my professor into changing the course load,’” Lance said.

Lance explained that the person who left the group had assaulted her and asked Freiberger if she expected Lance to remain in a group with her assaulter. At that point, Freiberger told Lance that she was a mandated reporter and would be letting Title IX know.

This further frustrated Lance, as she had purposefully not gone to Title IX with her case.

“I was like, ‘Okay, great, [I wish you] had let me know that beforehand,’” Lance said. “I don’t want to go through a case, because I know [Title IX] won’t do shit about it. I talked to another girl who was assaulted by the same person, [and] something very similar happened to her.”

Lance explained that Freiberger told her that she did not go about the process the right way, and instead of talking to the professor, she should have still spoken to the Title IX office about feeling unsafe.

Lance expressed particular frustration with the timeline of her meeting with Freiberger, especially as it took place significantly after the project had ended.

“If this meeting is to get this person afforded the right educational opportunities, why are we having this discussion during finals week?” Lance said. “At this point, it’s been a whole month of trying not to be in a group with my assaulter. Now I have to tell you why they’re not the victim.”

At the end of their meeting, Freiberger said that Lance should hear from Title IX within a week or two about potentially opening a case — which Lance had no intention of doing — but Lance did not receive an email for two months.

“There’s not a lot of thought and support for survivors on this campus,” Lance said.

Lance attributes part of the issue to the “Timely Warning” emails and how they are not necessarily consistent.

“It’s like everyone knows that assault happens on this campus,” Lance said. “I think the ‘Timely Warnings’ [are] just disheartening. This is one of the hundreds of sexual assaults that have happened, but [Butler] is not even warning about a specific person, place [or] time. You’re just saying that there was an assault and everyone knows that assault happens on campus.”

Lance emphasized that Freiberger was more understanding after she had explained that the group member had assaulted her, and that she was then pointed towards the director of student advocacy, Jules Grable.

“[Grable] was probably one of the only staff members who I felt was actually taking the time to understand the situation, and not just say ‘I understand,’” Lance said.

In an email to The Butler Collegian, Freiberger declined the request for an interview, citing that in her role, she is “not directly involved in the process for dating-based violence on campus.”

Protecting perpetrators

Both Lance and Wilson expressed that the topic of assault on campus is often brought up casually, as if it is normal to be happening frequently.

“There are a lot of predators on this campus who are known by name,” Lance said. “They’re known to be threats to safety, and people still choose to date them. People still know them and choose to identify as their friend.”

Wilson separately brought up similar topics, addressing that many students — such as Lance — have to attend class with the people who assaulted them, and have been met with unsatisfactory responses when trying to solve the problem.

“Butler needs to stop protecting violent aggressors,” Wilson said. “Victims need their education as well, and don’t choose to be in the position [where they have class with perpetrators].”

Fear and repercussions

Lance recalled that, as a person who does not normally skip classes, she missed five or six in the first month of the semester due to stress related to sharing a class with her perpetrator.

“I just didn’t know what else to do,” Lance said.

She did not end up going through with a Title IX case against the perpetrator.

Title IX is typically the office that handles general investigations and the disciplinary actions in the reported cases of dating-based violence.

However, Conley explained that BUPD has the resources as a state-certified police department to handle dating-based violence cases criminally, if that is what a survivor wants, but that they have no involvement with the decision for perpetrators to remain on campus or not.

“We always protect an investigation, so should a victim ever come back later and decide they want to prosecute, then we have already captured all that information,” Conley said. “[However], we have to leave it up to the victim on what they want to do, because in the end, it’s not us [who] has to live with it, it’s our victim. If our victim feels that it’s better for them to pursue it their way, then we respect that.”

If a perpetrator is removed from campus, BUPD holds a record, so that if they are reported to be back on campus, officers can take action.

“We have to protect our kids,” Conley said. “We, [as BUPD], want to be that resource and for people not to be afraid to come to us. We’re not going to do anything they don’t want us to do, like turn around and force prosecution. It’s not going to happen. We’re here for our victims and to make sure they get what they need moving forward.”

Student advocacy

Lance and Wilson’s consensus remains that if students must report an assault, they should go to BUPD, as the department has been more welcoming to their cases.

“From [talking to] people I know, BUPD has had a lot better [of a response],” Wilson said. “Again, people have been violently, violently assaulted on this campus, and Title IX has said, ‘Take self-defense classes’ or ‘There’s nothing we can do.’”

While many student affairs offices are mandated reporters, an option that many survivors take is talking to Jules Grable. While Grable is technically a student advocate for many situations — such as food insecurity — she is the confidential resource for survivors.

“[I] help survivors navigate their healing journey, get them connected to resources that maybe they didn’t know existed, provide some crisis support if they are in crisis and just somebody to talk to and hold space for them and help talk them through the different reporting options,” Grable said. “If reporting is something they want to do, [I] help guide them along their journey.”

Grable also works closely with Butler’s Counseling and Consultation Services (CCS), if long-term care is a more sustainable option for survivors.

She also discussed the impact of dating-based violence nationally, and how the different forms can be more “invisible” and harder to speak out about.

“I think [dating-based violence] is under-reported everywhere,” Grable said. “Not just at Butler, but across the country, especially when it comes to the more invisible forms, [such as] emotional violence or verbal abuse.”

Grable used to run Green Dot training — bystander intervention training that is available to all of campus — and recommends that staff and students attend it.

“The Green Dot training takes a lot of time to talk through what the signs are to look out for,” Grable said. “A lot of the signs are invisible and can be really hard to see, so having that training and having that background to know what to look for, and then what are the steps that we can take, is incredibly powerful.”

She also discussed how part of the training, as well as encouraged overall response, is to understand why it is difficult for many people to leave abusive relationships — highlighting continued patience and support as people work through their situations. It is most important that people are ready and safe to leave.

Amanda Nelson, Mindful College Connections’ mental health and wellness educator and Butler’s prevention education liaison, took over the Green Dot training in March. She described the training as a violence prevention and bystander intervention program that is meant to help keep the campus as a whole safe.

Any groups on campus — including staff, clubs and other student organizations — are able to book various workshops with Nelson to receive prevention education.

“[We have workshops with] different topics, like talking about what dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, awareness, consent, healthy masculinity, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and how consent, healthy relationships, boundaries and bystander intervention relate to them,” Nelson said.

Nelson is a mandated reporter and would suggest talking to CCS or Grable instead, but encourages students to reach out to her with questions, as her role is to help students become more educated and aware.

Make a change

Without education and response, dating-based violence will continue to be a problem on Butler’s campus and nationally.

“It’s important to keep that conversation about domestic violence open, because people [can] die [from it],” Wilson said. “… The larger student body, as well as the administration, needs to wake up and realize that this isn’t something that’s just gonna go away overnight, [and that] we have to actually work and make an effort to change things.”

Step one: believe survivors.

“It doesn’t matter [if] you think the world of [the survivor’s] partner,” Grable said. “If somebody says that they are being abused, it’s important to believe them and then get them connected to the appropriate resources.”

LOCAL RESOURCES

Butler Survivor’s Alliance

BUPD – 317-940-9999

Coburn Place – 317-917-9620

Damien Center – 317-632-0123

Firefly Children’s and Family Alliance – 317-264-2700

Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence – 317-917-3685

Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault – 317-624-2370

Indiana Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program – 317-247-3172

Jules Grable – jearthur@butler.edu

The Julian Center – 317-941-2200

Legacy House Program – 317-800-7666