To the reporters and editors of the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network:
Student safety, sexual assaults in college environments and the laws that impact both are all important subjects, and the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network is to be applauded for tackling these subjects in their series published this week. However, the stories that resulted from this commitment contained a number of inaccuracies, that require setting the record straight.
In the first paragraph of the story “Sexual Assault on College Campuses: Is Secrecy Putting Students At Risk,” the headline launches a series of unbalanced and unchallenged assumptions that permeate the story.
The use of the word “secrecy” is deceptive and inaccurate.
A “secret” is a voluntary compact of silence between two people, often to no good end. “Confidentiality” is a legally imposed requirement for counselors that protects victims. The story equates one with the other in a misleading comparison.
In the first paragraph of the story, it is falsely asserted that “officials” at the University of Colorado “know about a pattern of alleged date-rape drug use at a fraternity in Boulder, but say the law prevents them from naming the fraternity to police.”
No CU “officials” knew or know any such thing. Allegations of a possible drugging at a fraternity were shared with counselors in CU-Boulder’s Office of Victim’s Assistance. Counselors are not “officials” (they have no decision-making power). Second, they are not “withholding” information: they are prevented from sharing information arising from counseling sessions by both Colorado law and by the ethical guidelines that govern counselor-client confidentiality. When ‘officials’ do become aware of potential predatory drugging, law enforcement is informed and provided with as much information as is available.
The story also fails to note all the measures the University has taken to encourage a culture of reporting sexual assaults – measures that clearly result in CU’s having a higher number of reported sexual assaults compared to the other schools listed in the story. Those measures include our counseling professionals advising all victims of assault or any other crime of the options to pursue cases through both the criminal justice system and CU’s Office of Judicial Affairs. This information was shared with your reporters, but does not appear anywhere in RMINN’s reports.
The piece also sets up a false dichotomy of opposition between law enforcement and counselors at CU-Boulder on the issue of reporting sexual assaults. Counselors are required to observe confidentiality to encourage victims of violence and trauma to come forward and seek healing in an atmosphere of trust. Again, this is not “secrecy.” Law enforcement officials understand this confidentiality as a baseline fact in investigating and adjudicating the crimes, and they continue to applaud our efforts to aid them in other ways.
Victims of sexual assault, who have been traumatized in the worst way a person can be, are given by current Colorado law a measure of control in their ability to release information for counselors to talk with authorities. CU-Boulder is, at all points, following the law, while our counselors follow the ethical provisions of client confidentiality that form the basis of the counseling and therapy relationship.
And yet, this is the first time any of us can remember that following the law landed us in an investigative news story.
Even on this difficult subject, the RMINN could have enlightened readers on the complexity of the issues – and had a great story in its own right – without the headlines and selective reporting that make the university and its employees appear to be willfully obstructing justice.
We are not obstructing justice, we are following the law. We would hope for better reporting and fact managing in the future from RMINN.
Sincerely,
Deb Coffin, dean of students
Mary Friedrichs, director of Office of Victim Assistance and counselor
Davian Gagne, gender violence prevention coordinator
Joe Roy, chief of police
Jamal Ward, director, office of Judicial Affairs
Bronson Hilliard, director of media relations and spokesperson
John Sleeman, managing senior associate counsel
# 28 February 2010 at 10:26 am
Laura Frank, I-News director said:
Fostering conversation about issues of public concern is a big part of I-News’ mission. So we are pleased to publish the University of Colorado’s response to the I-News investigation of sexual assault on college campuses, and open additional conversation about this important topic.
But first, while CU points to no factual inaccuracies in I-News’ coverage of this issue, it raises several issues about wording used in the report, which we want to address.
CU takes issue with I-News’ use of the word “secrecy” instead of “confidentiality” when describing how CU therapists can’t reveal anything their clients tell them without permission. Webster’s New World Dictionary shows that the first definition of confidential is “secret.” In common parlance, information deemed confidential is understood and routinely referred to as secret.
Moreover, I-News used the word confidential – or some form of it – seven times. The word “secret” never appears in the main story. It’s used five times in the entire package: Once in a headline, twice in the overview, once in the video and once in a sidebar story, which explains that state law would allow lawyers to tell police confidential information if it might prevent a serious crime, but has different standards for therapists.
CU also says that I-News “falsely asserted” that university “officials” were aware of alleged date-rape drugging at a fraternity in Boulder. CU says the director of CU’s Office of Victim Assistance is not an “official” of the university. Again, consulting Webster’s dictionary, the definition of “official” is “of or holding an office or position of authority.”
Both the Victim Assistance director and CU’s Gender Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator told I-News they were aware of a potential “pattern” or “trend” of date-rape druggings associated with a fraternity in Boulder.
Additionally, Victim Assistance director Mary Friedrichs told I-News that she reported a “trend” of “predatory drugging” to the school’s Critical Incidents Response Network, which includes Deb Coffin, CU’s Dean of Students. Representatives of 10 university offices make up this network, which was created to trigger quick response to serious problems facing students. Friedrichs said she did not mention anything about a fraternity to the dean or the rest of the network because of therapist confidentiality restraints.
CU says its therapists are not “withholding” information about which fraternity is named in the alleged date-rape druggings, but instead are prevented from telling police anything “arising from counseling sessions by both Colorado law and by the ethical guidelines that govern counselor-client confidentiality.”
I-News was very clear that the CU Office of Victim Assistance is not revealing (i.e. is “withholding”) the information it had about alleged date-rape drugging because of the state law and ethics code.
Indeed, CU’s description in its letter is quite similar to what I-News reported at the top of its main story:
“Friedrichs said state law, and the therapists’ code of ethics, prevent her from giving police or the public the details of the alleged crimes. And the university has no jurisdiction over the fraternities because they are not officially part of the school.? The law and the ethics code say all licensed therapists must keep what clients tell them confidential, unless the client wants that information shared. If therapists had to disclose details of a sexual assault to police, Friedrichs said, then victims might never come forward.”
CU says the I-News report “fails to note all the measures the University has taken to encourage a culture of reporting sexual assaults – measures that clearly result in CU’s having a higher number of reported sexual assaults compared to the other schools listed in the story.”
I-News reported that victims themselves can report a sexual assault, and can do so anonymously. And CU does publicly disclose (through its federally required Clery Act report) more sexual assaults than other top four-year universities in Colorado. However, when the schools’ enrollment sizes are considered, CU’s reporting rate is lower than most others as a percentage of student population. Furthermore, as I-News notes, CU’s Office of Victim Assistance is aware of some two dozen more sexual assaults that were not reported publicly. (Though the director could not say how many of those occurred on or adjacent to campus, which is one criteria for reporting in the Clery Act.) And while CU is not alone in its interpretation of the law, it’s also in contrast to some other universities in Colorado, which report all sexual assaults that fit Clery Act definitions.
In this letter, CU says I-News had created a “false dichotomy of opposition between law enforcement and counselors at CU-Boulder on the issue of reporting sexual assaults.”
Boulder district attorney Stan Garnett told I-News that the issue of confidentiality has been the ongoing subject of conversation – and frustration – between CU and law enforcement, including his office. Garnett says in the I-News video that the two sides must figure out a way to protect victims and prosecute criminals. “It’s an issue that we need to sort out,” he said. In the same video, Mary Friedrichs, director of CU’s Office of Victim Assistance, refers directly to “frustration” over the confidentiality issue.
In closing, the CU letter says “We are not obstructing justice, we are following the law.”
At no time does the I-News report suggest that CU is not following the law. In fact, I-News highlights the comments from CU senior associate general counsel John Sleeman that the law governing confidentiality for therapists in Colorado is more restrictive than that for attorneys, and that the state legislature is the only body that could change the law.
I-News appreciates the public discourse this investigative report fosters and looks forward to more conversation on this matter of public concern.
You tell us: What issues are important to the Rocky Mountain region and need more coverage. Reach us on here.
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To the reporters and editors of the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network:
Student safety, sexual assaults in college environments and the laws that impact both are all important subjects, and the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network is to be applauded for tackling these subjects in their series published this week. However, the stories that resulted from this commitment contained a number of inaccuracies, that require setting the record straight.
In the first paragraph of the story “Sexual Assault on College Campuses: Is Secrecy Putting Students At Risk,” the headline launches a series of unbalanced and unchallenged assumptions that permeate the story.
The use of the word “secrecy” is deceptive and inaccurate.
A “secret” is a voluntary compact of silence between two people, often to no good end. “Confidentiality” is a legally imposed requirement for counselors that protects victims. The story equates one with the other in a misleading comparison.
In the first paragraph of the story, it is falsely asserted that “officials” at the University of Colorado “know about a pattern of alleged date-rape drug use at a fraternity in Boulder, but say the law prevents them from naming the fraternity to police.”
No CU “officials” knew or know any such thing. Allegations of a possible drugging at a fraternity were shared with counselors in CU-Boulder’s Office of Victim’s Assistance. Counselors are not “officials” (they have no decision-making power). Second, they are not “withholding” information: they are prevented from sharing information arising from counseling sessions by both Colorado law and by the ethical guidelines that govern counselor-client confidentiality. When ‘officials’ do become aware of potential predatory drugging, law enforcement is informed and provided with as much information as is available.
The story also fails to note all the measures the University has taken to encourage a culture of reporting sexual assaults – measures that clearly result in CU’s having a higher number of reported sexual assaults compared to the other schools listed in the story. Those measures include our counseling professionals advising all victims of assault or any other crime of the options to pursue cases through both the criminal justice system and CU’s Office of Judicial Affairs. This information was shared with your reporters, but does not appear anywhere in RMINN’s reports.
The piece also sets up a false dichotomy of opposition between law enforcement and counselors at CU-Boulder on the issue of reporting sexual assaults. Counselors are required to observe confidentiality to encourage victims of violence and trauma to come forward and seek healing in an atmosphere of trust. Again, this is not “secrecy.” Law enforcement officials understand this confidentiality as a baseline fact in investigating and adjudicating the crimes, and they continue to applaud our efforts to aid them in other ways.
Victims of sexual assault, who have been traumatized in the worst way a person can be, are given by current Colorado law a measure of control in their ability to release information for counselors to talk with authorities. CU-Boulder is, at all points, following the law, while our counselors follow the ethical provisions of client confidentiality that form the basis of the counseling and therapy relationship.
And yet, this is the first time any of us can remember that following the law landed us in an investigative news story.
Even on this difficult subject, the RMINN could have enlightened readers on the complexity of the issues – and had a great story in its own right – without the headlines and selective reporting that make the university and its employees appear to be willfully obstructing justice.
We are not obstructing justice, we are following the law. We would hope for better reporting and fact managing in the future from RMINN.
Sincerely,
Deb Coffin, dean of students
Mary Friedrichs, director of Office of Victim Assistance and counselor
Davian Gagne, gender violence prevention coordinator
Joe Roy, chief of police
Jamal Ward, director, office of Judicial Affairs
Bronson Hilliard, director of media relations and spokesperson
John Sleeman, managing senior associate counsel
Fostering conversation about issues of public concern is a big part of I-News’ mission. So we are pleased to publish the University of Colorado’s response to the I-News investigation of sexual assault on college campuses, and open additional conversation about this important topic.
But first, while CU points to no factual inaccuracies in I-News’ coverage of this issue, it raises several issues about wording used in the report, which we want to address.
CU takes issue with I-News’ use of the word “secrecy” instead of “confidentiality” when describing how CU therapists can’t reveal anything their clients tell them without permission. Webster’s New World Dictionary shows that the first definition of confidential is “secret.” In common parlance, information deemed confidential is understood and routinely referred to as secret.
Moreover, I-News used the word confidential – or some form of it – seven times. The word “secret” never appears in the main story. It’s used five times in the entire package: Once in a headline, twice in the overview, once in the video and once in a sidebar story, which explains that state law would allow lawyers to tell police confidential information if it might prevent a serious crime, but has different standards for therapists.
CU also says that I-News “falsely asserted” that university “officials” were aware of alleged date-rape drugging at a fraternity in Boulder. CU says the director of CU’s Office of Victim Assistance is not an “official” of the university. Again, consulting Webster’s dictionary, the definition of “official” is “of or holding an office or position of authority.”
Both the Victim Assistance director and CU’s Gender Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator told I-News they were aware of a potential “pattern” or “trend” of date-rape druggings associated with a fraternity in Boulder.
Additionally, Victim Assistance director Mary Friedrichs told I-News that she reported a “trend” of “predatory drugging” to the school’s Critical Incidents Response Network, which includes Deb Coffin, CU’s Dean of Students. Representatives of 10 university offices make up this network, which was created to trigger quick response to serious problems facing students. Friedrichs said she did not mention anything about a fraternity to the dean or the rest of the network because of therapist confidentiality restraints.
CU says its therapists are not “withholding” information about which fraternity is named in the alleged date-rape druggings, but instead are prevented from telling police anything “arising from counseling sessions by both Colorado law and by the ethical guidelines that govern counselor-client confidentiality.”
I-News was very clear that the CU Office of Victim Assistance is not revealing (i.e. is “withholding”) the information it had about alleged date-rape drugging because of the state law and ethics code.
Indeed, CU’s description in its letter is quite similar to what I-News reported at the top of its main story:
“Friedrichs said state law, and the therapists’ code of ethics, prevent her from giving police or the public the details of the alleged crimes. And the university has no jurisdiction over the fraternities because they are not officially part of the school.? The law and the ethics code say all licensed therapists must keep what clients tell them confidential, unless the client wants that information shared. If therapists had to disclose details of a sexual assault to police, Friedrichs said, then victims might never come forward.”
CU says the I-News report “fails to note all the measures the University has taken to encourage a culture of reporting sexual assaults – measures that clearly result in CU’s having a higher number of reported sexual assaults compared to the other schools listed in the story.”
I-News reported that victims themselves can report a sexual assault, and can do so anonymously. And CU does publicly disclose (through its federally required Clery Act report) more sexual assaults than other top four-year universities in Colorado. However, when the schools’ enrollment sizes are considered, CU’s reporting rate is lower than most others as a percentage of student population. Furthermore, as I-News notes, CU’s Office of Victim Assistance is aware of some two dozen more sexual assaults that were not reported publicly. (Though the director could not say how many of those occurred on or adjacent to campus, which is one criteria for reporting in the Clery Act.) And while CU is not alone in its interpretation of the law, it’s also in contrast to some other universities in Colorado, which report all sexual assaults that fit Clery Act definitions.
In this letter, CU says I-News had created a “false dichotomy of opposition between law enforcement and counselors at CU-Boulder on the issue of reporting sexual assaults.”
Boulder district attorney Stan Garnett told I-News that the issue of confidentiality has been the ongoing subject of conversation – and frustration – between CU and law enforcement, including his office. Garnett says in the I-News video that the two sides must figure out a way to protect victims and prosecute criminals. “It’s an issue that we need to sort out,” he said. In the same video, Mary Friedrichs, director of CU’s Office of Victim Assistance, refers directly to “frustration” over the confidentiality issue.
In closing, the CU letter says “We are not obstructing justice, we are following the law.”
At no time does the I-News report suggest that CU is not following the law. In fact, I-News highlights the comments from CU senior associate general counsel John Sleeman that the law governing confidentiality for therapists in Colorado is more restrictive than that for attorneys, and that the state legislature is the only body that could change the law.
I-News appreciates the public discourse this investigative report fosters and looks forward to more conversation on this matter of public concern.
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Rocky Mountain PBS features the I-News Network report about campus sexual assault on "Colorado State of Mind".
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I-News is a partner with the University of Colorado Digital Test Kitchen, where journalists, technologists, business and other experts are joining to stir the digital soup and serve up the future of news.
News to Go
Express Yourself
Add you voice to the interactive discussion on matters of public importance to Colorado. Visit this page "Open Thread" to begin a discussion or use the commenting tools below each story to focus on one issue.
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