Content Warning: This article contains content related to sexual assault and other topics that may be triggering.
Originally posted: 4/14/2023
A New York law firm filed suit against St. Lawrence University and Ernesto Moralez, an assistant professor and co-chair of the university’s Public Health Department, last Wednesday.
Wigdor LLP represents a faculty member identified as Jane Doe, who alleges that Moralez sexually assaulted her in April of 2022. Doe also claims that SLU did not correctly investigate the incident while continuing to employ Moralez.
On the day the firm filed the lawsuit Wigdor LLP partner Jeanne Christensen said she wants to hold SLU responsible for the claims made by her client. “No female employee should be forced to work for an employer who fails to protect her from sexual violence” she said. “SLU now has the opportunity to set the standard for other institutions.”
The Hill News reached out to Christensen, who provided exclusive comments over the phone.
Christensen said she believes that SLU’s lawyers are too close to the school to remain impartial. “SLU hired outside lawyers to serve as the ‘investigators’ of Ms. Doe’s claims, but who pays the outside investigators? St. Lawrence pays them,” stated Christensen. “Did Ms. Doe participate in the selection of the outside law firm? No. Did Ms. Doe pay the outside law firm? Law firms, through lucrative fees, are incentivized to perform work for the colleges and universities that hire them.”
To maintain a neutral position on the matter, we also reached out to Kim Zimmer, who represents professor Moralez. Originally, she agreed to grant us a phone interview, however, over the following week we received no communication.
On April 6, a day after the lawsuit was filed, SLU President Kathryn Morris issued a statement about the suit to the students, faculty, and staff via a campus-wide email. “We trust that members of our community will understand the importance of due process for all parties involved as the case proceeds through the legal process,” she wrote. “The University will respond to the complaint in court, sexual misconduct is unacceptable, both on our campus and everywhere.”
Morris, who began her presidency in Fall 2021, issued a similar statement more than a year ago related to a previous instance of sexual assault at SLU. In an October 13, 2021, email to students, faculty, and staff, Morris echoed the April email. “We must and we will do better.” she wrote.
In August of 2022, in the wake of the sexual assault case in October, SLU hired Lindsey Cohen as its full-time Title IX coordinator and Sexual Wellness Educator. “I recognize the weight of this on campus. I hope if anybody needs emotional support they will reach out to counseling or the Advocates,” she said. “Sexual misconduct impacts many students and employees, directly and indirectly, and sexual misconduct wherever it takes place is never ok.”
Cohen plans on expanding Title IX training for professional staff and students alike. “Starting next year, all student organizations that receive Thelmo funding, athletes, and Greek Life members will receive Title IX/Sexual Wellness training each year,” she said.
However, student frustration with the university’s responses to this, and previous instances of sexual misconduct, was apparent over the weekend. On Easter Sunday, SLU students organized a protest march starting outside of the Sullivan Student Center and ending at the MacAllaster House, President Morris’s residence.
An Instagram post by The Nine Coalition, a group dedicated to ensuring that victims of sexual assault are heard and supported, encouraged students to bring posters and signs, some of which read, “Hold rapists accountable” and “We believe survivors.”
At the protest students voiced concerns, one of which questioned Morris’s reasoning for not sharing more information with students during her April 6 email. Morris apologized to the student. She said, “This is a learning community, and we all learn, and I learn as well, and I have most definitely learned from you all this week. It would have been better to [give] more information about what we did back then to protect the student community. I regret that I did not do that.”
“The more you talk to students, the less disinformation will spread,” suggested another student to the administration. The lawsuit was publicized two days before a group of admitted students and their parents visited campus. The protesting student added, “It’s important to have communication with incoming students, they should know about the situation.”
Morris was not sure whether the incoming class should be regularly updated on the situation, saying, “I do not know where things will be in August and whether it will even be relevant to them. We have to use our judgment at that point and time” she said. “They’re joining a community with a history, and [that] history has deeply affected all of the students who are currently here.”
The protest lasted just over an hour and a half, and the video recording can be viewed in full on “The Hill News’” website. Towards its conclusion, President Morris and SLU staff made it clear that they will not be defending any claims made against Professor Moralez, only those that were filed against the University itself.
While walking back to campus after the protest, several students mentioned parallels with the rally that took place in October 2021. They also referenced similar responses from university administration, both in person and over email.
3 days later, SLU hosted a Title IX forum in the Winston room. This event lasted just over two and a half hours and sought to give students an elevated voice regarding the campus climate post-lawsuit. The full video recording, like the Sunday protest, can also be viewed on “The Hill News” website.
President Morris opened the forum by once again expressing regret regarding her initial email response to the lawsuit. “I admitted it on Sunday, and I admit today, my response Wednesday morning was not as good as it could’ve or should’ve been,” she said.
Throughout the forum, several students cited personal experiences where they felt that SLU had mishandled Title IX related cases, but the case regarding Jane Doe and Professor Moralez was predominantly discussed. One student accused the university administrators of using the phrase “due process” to dodge questions, claiming “it felt like they kept using due process as an excuse. The administrative panel kept explaining what it was as a response to questions about their conduct.”
Another student questioned the event in its totality. “I just wanted to comment about the forum in general,” they announced. “There have been times during this forum where questions have been asked and the responses were breezed over, [they have] been replaced by what seems to be scripted responses. There were important questions about victim blaming and one about actions to be taken that got glossed over.”
Morris responded to this statement by admitting that part of her response was in fact scripted. “Just speaking for myself, I did have a script for my opening response, [but] otherwise I want to be straightforward and speak for myself.” Morris then reassured the student that notes were being taken during the event, and that those questions would be revisited at a later time.
The forum and protest both highlighted the discontent the students have regarding SLU’s response to past and present incidents related to sexual misconduct. However, there was a general sense that both parties recognize that this is no time for division.
Students said they were encouraged to see so many of their peers come together for a common cause. While the protest and forum may have been focused on the administration’s involvement in the perceived issue, they also seemed to understand that overcoming these institutionalized problems will take a collective effort. “We must, and we will do better,” concluded President Morris.
Sexual assault remains a prominent issue at many universities across the U.S. It remains to be seen how the ongoing case will be handled, as well as how its results will affect SLU and other communities within academia.