On Saturday, the Chicago Tribune reported that the University settled a sexual assault case with a former student for more than $77,000. In the lawsuit, the student accused the University of improperly handling a situation that occurred on campus in 2011. The woman involved in the suit accused officials of improperly addressing her sexual assault and harassment complaints. 

This is highly problematic, especially when considering that photos and videos of what transpired were circulated around a fraternity house. 

We feel that the University, which, according to the article, admitted to “no wrongdoing,” has some explaining to do. The silence over the situation is unacceptable. The University did not explicitly address the student’s claims and paid her instead, and we think this is a cop-out by the University. 

If the University felt it did nothing wrong, why did it agree to give a former student $77,000? If the settlement was merely to avoid court fees, the University should explain that. Even if it wanted to avoid bad press, University students still deserve an explanation. 

Additionally, if everything was handled as it should have been, why did the University feel it necessary to change how it trained staff to handle sexual assault complaints and how it approached the disciplinary process? 

Clearly, if the University felt this was a situation that required larger changes, then it was something serious enough that required direct attention to the affected student and her claims.

We’re all for improving both of the aforementioned systems of staff training and the disciplinary process, but the timing of the changes seem to contradict the University’s claims of innocence.

Most importantly, were the University’s actions in line with the White House’s recently launched “It’s On Us” campaign, which attempts to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses? Because it hasn’t commented on the issue, we don’t think they were.

When discussing the campaign in April, Vice President Joe Biden said “Colleges and universities can no longer turn a blind eye or pretend rape and sexual assault doesn’t occur on their campuses.” The University didn’t live up to Biden’s words. It blundered, which is a problem because sexual assault isn’t something that deals only with thoughts and ideas, like other controversies. 

It’s an issue regarding the safety of students on campus and how they’re treated after their safety has been breached.

We don’t expect the University to be perfect, but we do expect it to acknowledge its mistakes. We expect an explanation and an apology.